5 Things: Solid Win Against the Kings

First off, I don’t have, nor will I ever pay for, Amazon Prime. I think it really stinks that the league is putting games on that platform. I do not give money to Amazon, if it can be avoided, and as such won’t have anything to say about those games. But last night’s game, that I got plenty to say.

1. Reaves. If you’ve been paying attention ’round these parts you will know that I’ve been pretty consistent in my stance on Reaves as a Laker. They’re all in, he’s all in and the rest will get sorted this summer. His “worth” is a curious question because a lot of lakers fans act as if he’s the first player to be better on offense than he is on defense. News flash: that’s a good 65-70% of NBA players. Where Reaves is different is that he can go get 50 in a solo act or seamlessly mesh into the background as the 3rd option and he plays the exact same way. No carping like Kuminga about his minutes or role, he just goes out and plays hard. I even think he tries his best on defense it’s just that he doesn’t have much in his back pocket and can get moved around by bigger players quite easily. Again, news flash: that’s a lot of guards in the NBA. Point is, the Lakers have long publicly stated that it would take a “can’t say no” offer. Heck, the Lakers even managed to keep Reaves AND trade for Luka. If that doesn’t tell you what he’s worth to Rob and Jeannie I’m not sure what will. At any rate, Austin was masterful last night but my favorite moment was during his post game interview on Spectrum Sports Net right after the game when they informed him of the elite company he had just joined in the 50 As A Laker club and the even smaller 50 points/10 rebounds club. One assist would have meant creating a club unto himself. His reaction? “Oh, I don’t deserve all that. It’s a team game.” Dude…get-the-fawk-outta-here. If that’s not the perfect response I don’t know what is. To top it he listed, multiple times that he had to step up his game with “Luka, LeBron and Jax” missing. Everyone would have put the first 2 on the list, adding Hayes shows what caliber of teammate Reaves is. A most excellent one, indeed.
2. A tale of 2 Rui’s. I was as pumped as anyone watching Hachimura dissect the Kings defense like a surgeon in the first quarter. Three ball, post moves, midrange, open dunks: all of it was working like a Swiss watch. Then came the rest of the game and Rui vanished for just about all of it until he woke again to help close it out. It’s the aggression in his game for 48 that Rui needs to work on more than anything else. Especially with Luka and LeBron out, we cannot afford Hachimura to ghost the 2nd and 3rd quarters and then re-appear in the 4th. We need 48 strong minutes from the dude.
3. DeAndre Ayton’s best game yet. Ayton seems to play better off of Reaves and Vincent than he does Luka and I think I know why. Luka makes plays and passes nobody else sees, including his teammates. So, if you’re not mentally ready for the pass it takes a second to recognize what’s happening around you at a quicker pace than you’re ready for. Vincent and Reaves set things up a little more normally. Luka is almost too good for Ayton. I love how hard Ayton is playing, he’s running up and down the court like a G-Leaguer, he’s playing stout defense, and if we can work out the kinks between his scoring and Luka’s elite passing we have something to build on for a couple of years. Ayton is also likely just finding a level of comfort in an offense that, in all honesty, still hasn’t been fully fleshed because of the LeBron-sized hole in it. So, keeping all of that in mind, I have been very pleased on Ayton’s performance thus far.
4. The Old Guard(s). Vincent left with a badly rolled ankle (left the arena in a walking boot which is never a good sign, X-rays were negative though so hoping for the bets) which means I’d normally type “which means Marcus Smart will likely slide into his role” except we saw Marcus Smart getting his knee checked out, went back to the locker room, but returned to play in the 4th although he didn’t do much. A lot is riding on the health of these 2 dudes, especially with Luka and LeBron being out. I won’t be one bit surprised if both Smart and Vincent were already scheduled for rest days for today’s back-to-back but that just ends up putting a ton of pressure on Reaves and the pressed into duty last night Chis Manan. I hope Smart is OK but this was a big reason why I wasn’t as stoked about picking him up for the price we paid as a lot of other Lakers fans. After a rough first game he’s even out and blended his hustle and grit better but if he can’t play none of that really matters.
5. Jake LaRavia’s big game. Jake is going to get some time to shine for at least a couple more games. I like his overall level of play. I don’t like his inbounds passing and, overall, he needs to find better passing angles. Flat passes led to quite a few transition buckets off of steals for the Kings last night. The good news: that’s an easy to fix error. Jake is a real potential gem we can develop for a couple seasons, so I think it’s good he’s in the mix of the rotation. His first goal should be to work the passing angles better and not back down from his man. Learn where the contact is being applied from and use it against your defender and you’ll open a whole new level to your game.

There were other positives or things to critique. I feel like Reddick is still moody as the day is long in losses, that Vando needs to really apply himself when he attacks the rim (and just keep shooting those open 3’s man) and that we’re a good guard short based on what it looks like Vincent’s and Smart’s availability will be early on but that there are a lot of really solid pieces on the team right now that look like good building blocks.