Austin Reaves had a night to forget in Game One against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but LeBron James made sure to remind everyone about the circumstances surrounding his teammate’s struggles.
The Lakers guard scored just 8 points on 3-of-16 shooting as Los Angeles fell to the Thunder by 18 points in the opener of their second-round playoff series. With Luka Doncic still sidelined, the Lakers desperately need Reaves to help carry the offensive load alongside James, making his rough performance a major talking point after the game.
But James quickly came to Reaves’ defense postgame, pointing to the fact that the guard is still working his way back after missing significant time with a Grade Two left oblique strain.
“He was out a month,” James said. “We know he’s gonna make shots and make plays, but that’s tough when you were out a month towards the end of the season. Obviously we’re trying to fast-track him getting back on the floor and doing the things he was doing before the injury or whatever the case may be. But he was out a month, so rightfully so if he has some games where he’s missing shots or whatever the case may be. But his presence alone helps us, no matter what.”
Reaves returned straight into a massive role due to the Lakers’ injury situation, without much opportunity to ease himself back into game rhythm or conditioning. That challenge has only been amplified by the level of competition Los Angeles has faced during the postseason.
The Lakers first had to deal with Houston’s physical defense in the opening round before running into an Oklahoma City team loaded with elite perimeter defenders and one of the NBA’s best rim protectors in Chet Holmgren.
Still, the playoffs leave little room for excuses, and Reaves himself wasn’t interested in making any after the loss. The Lakers guard acknowledged he simply has to perform better moving forward if Los Angeles wants any chance of competing in the series.
Reaves reportedly admitted after the game that he needs to take better care of the basketball and improve his overall play, adding that nobody cares about injury issues once the postseason begins.
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