Austin Reaves Discussion: Will He Stay Or Will He Go?

When Lebron is gone, Luka will play the 3/4 on defense. Get POA and wing defender that can take either forward position and crisis averted.

 

Luka isn't backcourt on defense even now, or at least, shouldn't be by the end of the season (or even the beginning of the season, outside of the opening minutes of each half).

On defense we should look like:

POA/stronger guard: Smart, Vincent, Vando
Weaker guard: Austin, Vando
Stronger forward: Rui, LeBron
Weaker forward: Luka, LaRavia
Center: Ayton, Hayes, Kleber, Rui

This formula should hold true for the future as well, so it doesn't matter if Luka+AR is a weak backcourt defensively, bc Luka would be guarding the weaker F and Austin the weaker G. In the future it should be:

Smart or better
Austin
Rui or better
Luka
Ayton or better

If LaRavia, Thiero, or Bronny develop, that would be really helpful, as they could fill some of those roles, at least for bench minutes.

 

I am.
I love both players. They both bring a smile to my face when I get to witness their greatness on the floor.
As others have said, it’s up to the FO to surround them with great defenders who can either shoot or finish a lob.

 

the only reason we couldn't play reaves and luka is if we committed to the (unwise) switch-everything defensive scheme that jj was doing a lot at the end of last year (starting pre-luka trade, iirc).

our problem right now is that our other forwards are lebron and rui, both of whom don't cover ground in help schemes the way you need guys to do with luka and reaves. that is something that can be remedied later. for now, we'll have to outscore some folks.

 

I actually think LaRavia could be a very high quality wing stopper and he is already on our roster. I’ll be keeping my eye on that - smart seems to think he should be defending the opponents best player nightly.

 

I agree that it's not a problem to play Reaves and Luka together if Luka guards a forward, like in a Smart, Reaves, Luka, Rui, Ayton lineup.

Did you mean it's not a problem to play Luka in the backcourt on defense, as long as the other forwards are better on help defense, and we don't switch everything? Like with a lineup of Luka, Reaves, Vando, DFS, Ayton?

I could see this. I know people are optimistic about him, and I hope you're right.

 

no. luka needs to be in the helper role, primarily assigned to the weaker offensive player in the 3/4 spot on the other team, imo. but that's where we've been putting lebron for years, and it's his favorite role, too (i think lebron's best defensive role right now is actually anchor/center, tbh).

so, yes smart/reaves/luka/lebron/ayton can work. i don't think the current projected starting lineup (last year's with ayton instead of hayes) will be good enough defensively. you've got three guys who should be in that helper/weak forward role/assignment. you're just begging teams to dribble penetrate the lane and break things down, creating scrambling/chaos and ultimately easy looks and offensive rebounding advantages. this happened in the playoffs, of course.


separately--did smart say that laravia was that good a defender? i missed it if so. that would be really helpful, though i'm not sure he popped like that on any film i've seen. more like luka in that he's strong and aggressive and has good hands and instincts. but just not quick enough to be sent at primary initiators.

 

Ok, gotcha. Was gonna argue a little, but too bad, looks like we agree again. Lol.

That's what I was seeing also. I think Smart was talking about potential, and LaRavia could get there. I may have missed something, but all I found were these tweets, and articles/forum threads based on it. I couldn't find the actual soundbite, but the tweeter is the Grizzlies beat reporter so I guess it's legit.

 

I'm just going to keep saying it. Our best chance to win the championship is with LeBron as sixth man. Not a knock, just how our team is currently stacked. That could change but for now that is just how it is. Championship before ego or feelings.

 

Interesting take, but I think everyone knows he wants at least one more chip, and doing it as Robin would be bad enough. Doing it off the bench? Pretty sure he'll retire before going to the bench.

 

Do you mean for the regular season, or for the playoffs too? If for the regular season, I could see it, mainly for preservation, and because other guys can handle increased roles. (Although I agree with sirron, I don't think he would do it.)

If for the playoffs, I like LeBron better, but what is your rationale? I assume you mean a starting lineup of Luka, Smart, Reaves, Rui, Ayton, is that right? If so, you think Rui is better than LeBron in that lineup? I guess Rui's 3-ball is better, but pretty much LeBron's everything else, including defense, is better in the playoffs.

 

That's crazy ahah