Lakers’ Anthony Davis says Austin Reaves is ‘not scared of the moment’
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Austin Reaves has only logged three appearances with the Los Angeles Lakers but the rookie has already impressed some of his veteran teammates in such a small sample size.
The latest compliment came after Reaves produced a career-high 10 points, two rebounds and one assist to help the Lakers to an overtime win on Tuesday over the San Antonio Spurs. He went 3-of-5 from the field, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range, in 30 minutes of work.
The Lakers entered the fourth quarter trailing by 12 points. Reaves scored five points in the period as L.A. outscored San Antonio 29-17 to force overtime. From there, veterans Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis took over.
Afterward, though, Reaves earned some praise from Davis for his effort.
He comes in and played extremely well, hit some shots. (He) got hit in the face again. He plays through it. He is physical, tough. He is not scared of the moment. Any rookie can get scared in the moment — overtime, fourth quarter. The first time he has been through that in a close game as far as the NBA level. He stayed composed the entire time. He is definitely a guy we can use throughout the season.
The Lakers leaned on Reaves a little bit more with LeBron James out because of right ankle soreness. He gave the team a solid effort on defense, making a number of hustle plays, and picked his spots well on the other side of the ball.
The participation that Austin Reaves is having in this start of the season never ceases to amaze me. Last night he played more than 30 minutes, including the final moments of the game. He wasn't bad at all on either side of the court. There is a player!
pic.twitter.com/yUfqpAZKjX— Scoreboard (@scoreboardUS) October 27, 2021
Reaves earned the trust of head coach Frank Vogel during the preseason and proved he can be counted on in crunch-time situations. Vogel admittedly was unsure if he would crack the rotation but is excited about his future with the team.
His offensive instincts are outstanding. We saw that in college with the tapes we studied and we were really high on him. We were surprised he didn’t get drafted and we were fortunate to pick him up. I think Rob making a great call late in the offseason and giving him that 14th spot is paying big dividends right now.
The Lakers have dealt with several injuries to open the season, which has opened the door for Reaves and others. He looks to be fully capable of stepping in and producing off the bench, something the team will certainly need in spurts this season.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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