Before the playoffs began, a lot was expected of Austin Reaves, the third-year guard who must balance protecting Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray with leading the Los Angeles Lakers in scoring.
It hasn’t been enough, despite Reaves’ excellent defensive play, which has limited Murray to just 37.5% shooting in the first two games of this series. In actuality, Murray was the one who gave the Nuggets a 2-0 series lead by capping off a stunning comeback.
Reaves then made the decision to concentrate on what the Lakers must do moving ahead rather than dwelling on the defeat. Following the defeat, Reaves remarked, “You move on to the next game.” “We have to go defend our home court the same way they did.”
Reaves is correct that Denver just did what they were meant to do, and the Lakers in Los Angeles now have to follow suit, even though it was a painful loss. The Lakers appeared to be able to win in Denver for the majority of the game, but Reaves gave the Nuggets credit for their second-half adjustments, which stifled the Lakers’ offensive.
“We had a few good possessions with AD-Bron pick-and-roll after halftime, but they made a smart adjustment, and it kind of slowed us down,” Reaves continued. “Obviously, 20 and 20 points in the second half, forty points in the second half, isn’t going to cut it.”
The Lakers still had a chance to win the game in the closing minutes despite their poor offensive performance in the second half. However, they were just outplayed in the closing minutes, which has been the case every time they have faced the Nuggets.
“Being in those situations and competing against a hell of a ball team is what you grow to want to do in big games,” Reaves said. “We just didn’t make enough plays tonight, and like you said, you’ll have opportunities to make plays to win games in crunch time.
“However, I felt that in the final three or four possessions, we really got what we needed offensively, and then they would come down and make a couple tough baskets.”
“Being in those situations and competing against a hell of a ball team is what you grow to want to do in big games,” Reaves stated. We simply didn’t execute enough plays tonight, and as you mentioned, there will be chances for you to execute plays to win games when it matters most.
“However, I felt that in the final three or four possessions, we really got what we needed offensively, and then they would come down and make a couple tough baskets.”
Austin Reaves: Despite trailing 0–2, the Lakers’ strategy remains the same
The Lakers, led by Austin Reaves, are presently behind the reigning champion Nuggets 0–2, who have already defeated them in 10 straight games. Reaves believes the Lakers can win this series by identifying the reasons behind their losses and implementing the knowledge gained, even with the circumstances surrounding their Game 2 defeat.
“Obviously, we get momentum going home if we win this one, but that doesn’t change anything about how we approach games,” Reaves stated. “We can watch the films on both games later and see what we did to win those games and, conversely, what we did to lose those games.” Thus, we’ll need to go complete it and assemble a full 48.
