As coach JJ Redick began to extol the virtues of Austin Reaves’ game and how the Lakers have asked for a little more out of the guard, Redick also mentioned the word defense.
No, Reaves is not a lock-down defender, but he has shown Redick during training camp and the first two preseason games that he knows how to guard.
“I never thought he was a chump defensively, but he competes his ass off on that end,” Redick said after the Lakers’ practice Tuesday. “He knows what he’s supposed to do. He’s in the right spots. If he’s supposed to veer, he veers. If he’s supposed to be the low man, he’s the low man. If he’s supposed to be at the nail, he’s at the nail. He just does a lot of really good things on the basketball floor.”
When Reaves talked to the media, he was told about Redick’s comments. Reaves raised his eyebrows and smiled.
“So, he said I was playing good defense, or no?” Reaves asked.
In a sense, yes, Reaves was told.
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“Oh, he said that? Oh, wow,” Reaves responded.
Redick said Reaves knows where to be on defense. Does Reaves think that’s a good thing?
“Yeah, I would hope so. It’s better than not being in the right spot,” Reaves said. “No, I think it’s just, you know, having a foundation, having a system, when you know exactly where the rotation is going to be, where you’re supposed to be, where the help is going to be. It gives you a good feeling as you’re guarding the ball, knowing, ‘All right, well, I can be a little bit more aggressive because I got AD [Anthony Davis] on the back row and I know he’s going to be there. But not just AD, if they skip it to the corner, then X [teammate] is going to be there.’
“So, just having faith in what we’re doing and the foundation that we’re putting in is the biggest thing for me.”
Over the course of his three years with the Lakers, Reaves has shown the ability to do quite a few things. He has been able to run the offense, make the right pass for an assist, shoot the three, drive the lane and shoot the floater.
There’s more that Redick wants out of Reaves.
“We’ve talked a ton throughout the offseason. We’ve seen it already in the gym,” Redick said. “He’s had a specific sort of pie to choose from, a menu to choose from so far in his career. We’re going to try to give him a little bit more on the menu. Just make him a little more dynamic. I actually wouldn’t say ‘shocked,’ [but] I’ve really been pleasantly surprised at how much he can do off the ball. He’s a terrific passer. He’s able to create pace both off the ball and on the ball. He’s just a really dynamic offensive player.”
More threes, please
So, Redick said he was “joking about the 50” times per game the Lakers should be shooting three-pointers this season, but 40 is a good number.
Last season, the Lakers took 31.4 threes per game, the third fewest in the NBA. They made 11.8, the seventh fewest, while shooting 37.7%, which ranked eighth.
In two preseason games, they are 21 for 72 (29.1%). So, the Lakers are getting up the threes, they just aren’t making enough. They’ll get another shot when they meet the Bucks in a preseason game in Milwaukee on Thursday.
“Yeah, I think 40 is a lot, But if you’re generating good ones, that’s a great number,” Redick said. “I would like us to average five or six more threes a game. But you have to be conscientious about how we’re generating those threes.
“I actually think we’ve done a pretty good job of getting good looks. There were a couple forced ones in transition off of the dribble in the first half. Then there were a couple off offensive rebounds in the second half that I thought maybe we could’ve kept the ball movement moving and gotten a better shot. I like the mindset overall to shoot when set and shoot good threes.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.