Austin Reeves on Sportish about the flu game in Las Vegas: “You don’t always have to stick to the threesome”

It was just a few minutes before the final of the in-season tournament began when Athletic’s Sams Sarania tweeted the following: “The Lakers guard plays sick against the Indiana Pacers“. That guard was Austin Reeves.

If you watched him warm up, you could tell that his gait was heavy and that his body wasn’t in ideal shape for such an important game. And yet the explosive and beloved goalscorer of the Los Angeles team outdid himself.

Sportish mission to Las Vegas: Haris Stavrou

In the first half, Reaves scored 22 points on 7/8 two-pointers and 8/9 shooting. In just under 13 minutes. He dismantled the Pacers with penetrations, penetrations, penetrations. By correctly assessing the opposing defense, with determination, with energy, with speed. He was adored by the crowd and his teammates and, despite being positive, in the second half he made way for Anthony Davies to take action and clear the game. With a little help from the Reddys – Prince, and enough from LeBron James.

In the Finals, Reaves was the last to arrive in the Lakers’ locker room. Loud music covered almost everything, LeBron James was “encased” in ice and not particularly in the mood for conversation, the few designated reporters (among them). Sportish) were waiting for their opportunities, and since King James and Anthony Davis had fulfilled their… press conference duties, most were waiting for Austin Reeves.

“I just want to get out of here and go to my bed” was the first thing he said to us when he finally got to his seat and heard LeBron James screaming.”Who had a better flu game, Michael Jordan or Austin Reeves?“.

“We focused on our scoring, we focused on every possession, we treated the game like it was a playoff game. As LeBron told us, this was a good opportunity to experience success. We are the first to do it, we are the first to do it, so success has a special value“ were Reeves’ first words.

“We try to play the right way and we try to do that every night, every game. Against every opponent” he added and when we asked him what LeBron said a few minutes ago, he avoided big words and said: “I let him talk and try to play properly. I want to read the closeouts correctly, be aggressive and help the team and those around me“.

The fact that the Lakers handled such a crucial game with confidence, making just two shots on 13 attempts, speaks volumes for their ability to dominate the stick. We asked Reeves if he realized his team beat such an underperforming district: “We can dominate many areas of the game and there is no need to always shoot at a high rate or insist on three-pointers. However, I think that everything is judged by the occasion, by the opponent, by the evening. We didn’t have many free throws tonight, so we attacked the bat and got the job done that way“.

And because Reeves experienced the World Cup, he knew what it meant to play a single game, qualify, be eliminated and win the title in just 48 minutes: “Obviously it’s not easy to win a trophy in one game. The Pacers are a great team, Halliburton is an incredible player. He tries to control your attack from the first second to the last, keeping you constantly on alert. I don’t know how many points Cam Reddys scored tonight, I think he controlled the tempo, he was one of the best on the floor, he made life difficult for Halliburton“.

On how important it is to have LeBron James by your side in games like this, Reaves responded: “His career says it all, he prepares us, he prepares himself, he is the ultimate professional. We are also around him, we are his friends, we ask him, we get things from him all the time“.