Austin Reaves did not look for cover after the Los Angeles Lakers blew a 25-point first-half lead and lost to the Golden State Warriors by double digits on Friday. The guard turned the ball over eight times, shot 9-19 from the field and posted a plus-minus of -13, the worst among Lakers starters. Asked about his performance, Reaves was blunt: « I was terrible again. That's it. »
Reaves was not the sole reason the team collapsed, but his struggles stood out in a game where the Lakers were far more effective with Luka Dončić on the floor. When Dončić sat, the Lakers' lineups were noticeably weaker, and Reaves was at the center of that stretch. Many of the players in those non-Dončić groups joined the team this offseason, and the lack of chemistry is a plausible explanation for the drop-off. Reaves has built his career on steady improvement, and he did not treat his performance as a matter of circumstance.
Reaves acknowledged that the lack of familiarity is real, but he rejected it as an excuse. « It's real, but that doesn't give that second unit an excuse to be pretty terrible, » he said. « And that starts with me. I'll watch the film and try to be better. But you have to learn on the fly and pick up things quickly. As I said, I have to be better to start that. »
The challenge is new for Reaves. He has previously run second units, but those groups often included LeBron James. Opposing teams now game-plan for him more aggressively, sending doubles on ball screens and trying to overwhelm him physically into turnovers. Reaves's answer, as he framed it, is to adjust quickly and make the next counter. The Lakers will need that adjustment soon, because the second unit's problems were the difference in a game they had controlled for much of the first half.
Coverage of the loss has focused on the same question: how much of the second unit's breakdown rests on one player. Reaves's blunt self-assessment has drawn attention because it came without the qualifications players often attach to poor nights. Reporting from Yahoo Sports noted that Lakers coach JJ Redick was asked about Reaves's struggles days after the guard called himself terrible, reflecting how closely the team's staff is tracking his play during this stretch. The Lakers' lineups without Dončić remain the central concern as the season moves forward, and Reaves's willingness to own the result gives the team a clear starting point for correcting it.