Austin Reaves ignites the Lakers’ transition to the starting lineup
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Darvin Ham sat down in front of reporters after his team’s 122-111 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday and couldn’t help but smile at how his new-look starting lineup performed.
“Do you like the little trick I have up my sleeve?” Ham inquired.
He was referring to his decision to start Austin Reaves in the first unit over Malik Beasley, who had just posted a career-high 35 points.
Reaves responded with a career-high 11 assists to go with 25 points against the Suns, and the Lakers defeated the Western Conference’s No. 4 seed to reclaim the No. 10 seed and the final berth in the play-in tournament.
“It’s really the same mindset going into every game, and it’s win — at any cost,” Reaves said of his new starting job. “Win. That is all that is truly important.”
With nine games remaining, the Lakers are a half-game ahead of the No. 11 Utah Jazz and only a game and a half behind the No. 6 Golden State Warriors.
“Obviously, we don’t want to be in this situation,” said Reaves. “We want to finish first in the league. But this is the situation we’re in. So it’ll be hectic, but that’s why you play the game. You want high-pressure situations and to play under the lights.”
Reaves’ inclusion in the starting lineup demonstrated how effective Los Angeles’ offense can be when multiple playmakers share the floor. Not only was Reaves posing a threat, but so were Anthony Davis (27 points and five assists) and D’Angelo Russell (26 points and six assists).
Russell said of Reaves, “I’m not going to lie to you, the dude is good, man.”
L.A. attempted a season-high 46 free throws, with the second-year wing getting to the line 13 times and making 12.
“I just felt like it made perfect sense,” Ham said of the lineup change, which he informed Reaves about at Tuesday’s practice. “And kudos to Beas for being a pro’s pro, understanding the strategic aspect, and being locked in and ready. Came off the bench and hit two big three-pointers for us while competing. That’s exactly what we require, man.”
Both of Beasley’s three-pointers came in the second quarter, when the Lakers outscored the Suns 36-26 to take a seven-point lead into the half.
Davis dominated the third quarter, scoring 14 points in the frame.
Davis’ second-half surge was attributed to “his dumbass coach just starting calling his plays more, calling his number more,” Ham said.
The Lakers led by three points going into the fourth quarter, but the Suns cut it to 99-98 with 7:29 left before Los Angeles used a 10-2 run over the next two minutes to take control for good.
But it all began with Reaves.
“Obviously, getting out to a fast start and not falling behind 10, 12 like we usually do was good for us,” Davis said of the lineup change. “So Austin comes in and scores 10 points in the first quarter to help us get started, and it was good for us.”
On Friday, L.A. (36-37) hosts the West’s No. 8 team, the Oklahoma City Thunder (36-36), in another game with significant seeding implications. The season series is tied at one, so the tiebreaker is up for grabs in addition to the crucial game outcome.
“The guys understand what’s at stake. We must make the most of this homestand “Ham stated. “Some of the games that slipped through our fingers [hurt us], it goes without saying. But that is now old news. Hopefully, we’ll have the same amount of juice and energy on Friday as we did tonight.”
