The Lakers decision on Austin Reaves this summer is going to signal a number of things. Most importantly, it will signal the belief in the backcourt of Luka Dončić and Reaves.
Offensively, there are few arguments against it. The pair showed they are a more-than-capable on that end of the floor and, in fact, are one of the most potent offensive duos in the league.
The questions largely rest on the other end of the floor. Neither player is a strong individual defender, which raises plenty of questions about whether the Lakers can contend for a title with them as the starting backcourt.
For whatever it’s worth, the Lakers are confident it’s not nearly as much of a concern. In a recent piece on The Athletic, Dan Woike reported that the Lakers feel the defensive issues are “overstated.”
Provided the Lakers address other needs on the wing and at the rim, defensive concerns about a Dončić-and-Reaves pairing are overstated, one team source said. Reaves was also one of the most important voices inside the Lakers’ locker room a season ago, his leadership developing year over year.
The easy reaction to this is that obviously the Lakers would feel this way. In their defense, there are some numbers that back it up. From Feb. 1 through the end of March, a span of 29 games, the Lakers ranked 12th in the league in defensive rating.
That came without the rest of the team necessarily optimized around them. There were few plus defenders on the roster last year, something the team can hopefully address this summer.
If anything, that stat is not just a credit to Reaves and Luka for contributing to a solid defense, but also a testament to the work of head coach JJ Redick this season.
There are going to be caveats with having Luka and Austin on a team together. The team will need to be great offensively, but that should be the easy part. In that same aforementioned span, LA was sixth in offensive rating.
Through an admittedly limited sample size, the Lakers showed they can hang on both ends of the floor with a Luka-Austin backcourt. Clearly, that is enough evidence for them to believe in this long term.
The hope now is that it can be extrapolated to an entire season or more.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
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