Lakers’ Austin Reaves: Playing Without James, Davis a Chance to Show What You Can Do

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Despite missing LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 114-105 win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.

“This is an opportunity to show the world what you can do,” Reaves told reporters after the game, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

The 25-year-old played 35 minutes, dropping 32 points on 10-18 shooting which included a career-high seven made three-pointers. He also grabbed two rebounds and dished out three assists.

James and Davis were ruled out due to separate ankle and hip injuries, respectively. This seemed like a grave sign for the Lakers, who have typically struggled when one of their star players is inactive. In the three games that Davis previously missed this season, Los Angeles was 0-3. As for James, the Lakers were 2-3 in his five absences prior to Thursday’s contest.

While Reaves has improved his production compared to the 2022-23 season, he hasn’t delivered the breakout year that many fans envisioned amid his string of admirable performances during the 2023 playoffs. He’s bounced back and forth between the starting lineup and the bench, while his shooting has been inconsistent.

After the game, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham revealed to reporters that he had a private discussion with Reaves on Wednesday and expressed his appreciation for the guard’s mindset.

Perhaps an increased role was all Reaves needed, as he looked extremely comfortable operating as Los Angeles’ top scoring option against a Celtics team that owns the No. 3 defensive rating in the league (via NBA.com).

As trade rumors have swirled around the Lakers roster ahead of the Feb. 8 deadline, Reaves name has come up. The asking price for the combo guard appears to be very high though, with Jovan Buha of The Athletic reporting on Jan. 26 that Los Angeles would only consider dealing him for a “bona fide third star” such as Utah Jazz All-Star Lauri Markkanen.

If Reaves continues his strong play, he may become an untouchable asset in trade talks moving forward.