By Pierre-Andréa Fraile | Sports journalist
Currently fourth in the Western Conference, the Lakers (10-6) have nevertheless been blowing hot and cold since the start of the season. Asked to speak about the level of play of his franchise, Austin Reaves was not gentle.
If we had to take stock of their performances after a month of competition in NBAit would undoubtedly prove rather positive. After all, the Lakers manage to remain in the leading pack of the Western Conference, where the competition is nevertheless fierce at the start of the season. However, everything is not yet perfect in the team’s performance, which can nevertheless be understood given the context.
Appointed at the head of the Angelino bench last summer, JJ Redick necessarily requires time to apply all his playing principles. For the moment, his impact is observed above all in attack. His men are indeed executing many more systems than last year, which allows Anthony Davis to shine even more. On the other hand, things are less encouraging on the other side of the field.
Austin Reaves straight on the Lakers defense
Very effective offensively, the Lakers experience much more difficulty defensively. Currently, they are in 26th place in the league in defensive rating (117.9), which explains the defeats they were recently able to concede against Orlando and Denver. And yet, their plan in this area would be very clear, as Austin Reaves said following training this Monday:
Austin Reaves : I think if you’ve been following basketball for a long time, you know that teams whose defense is known to be physical escape certain whistles. This makes sense, given that referees cannot call a foul on every possession. So, we try to become this kind of physical team and that will involve being sanctioned from time to time by the referees.
Redick’s message to his players therefore seems simple, namely to be aggressive defensively, even if it means receiving more fouls. However, until now, the young coach has not obtained the response he expects from his troops. In any case, this is what Reaves believes, whose analysis on the defense of his team says a lot:
Austin Reaves : If I have to be honest, we are not the best defensively. Of course, we have AD, which allows us to make up for a lot of our mistakes, but we have to be more physical.
A duty that is all the more important, knowing that Davis will certainly not be able to continue at his current pace throughout the season. It remains to be seen whether his teammates, including AR15, are capable of raising their level of play in defense.
Lucid about the pitiful defensive level of the Lakers at the start of the season, Austin Reaves is calling for more physical impact from his team to remedy this problem. This, without forgetting to include yourself among the players for whom this message is intended.
