Austin Reaves Discussion: Overachiever Who Underachieved

Yeah, he missed the threes, but he’s competing hard on both ends and has Significantly improved his defense.

 

I am shocked how little love AR is getting here for the work he is doing on the defensive end. Both games his ball denial and battling bigger guys on the block and in the paint has been exceptional. Game 1 he got into trouble with pump fakes and being in-between helping, trailing the play and the 3 point shooter (like most of our guys) which resulted in a lot of Minny wide open 3's. Game 2 he was much more disciplined and stayed with his man or the switch but still played a hell of a deny game. Especially, when he has been matched up with Julius. I'm guessing JJ will be showing him that film over and over and over again.

I also like that in game 2 he didn't sit back and wait to initiate some offense for himself. His 3 wasn't falling but he was getting to the paint and finishing at the rim on some tough shots. There are def things we need him to improve as we continue going forward BUT I think AR is showing up and is putting it all on the court. When he plays with fire and a chip on his shoulder we win imo. Game 3 is going to be big for him and our team.

 

Yes he has but there’s always going to be the contingent here, LG and everywhere else on line that lazily and inaccurately labels him a weak/bad defender.

 

well...he still grades out negatively on defensive metrics that i trust. he's not a liability, but he's not a positive there, either. good news is that his offense just keeps improving.

but saying he's not a particularly strong defender is neither lazy nor inaccurate, imo.

 

I think some of just get tired of the constant pointing out of his defensive liabilities.
We get it, he’s never going to be a great defender, but he’s improved and tries hard. As a coach, that’s all you can ask for.
Curry was hunted a lot as a young player and became a pretty decent defender over time. I think the same will be said about Austin’s improvement in the next couple of years.

 

Super disappointing thus far in his play.

 

Come on AR got to hit more than one of all those open 3s in the 4th.

 

With all the gravity that Luka and LeBron have he should be having a field day but apparently he isn’t up to it.

 

His BB IQ was a strength in his game but in this series it’s been lacking

 

Austin just left two many plays on the floor. Those misses were killers

 

not sure what he was thinking fouling mcdaniels at the end there. that was the game

 

Reaves’ lack of athleticism has shown in this series, they attack him defensively and he is finding it hard going to get separation on drives consistently.

I’m not sure how much of that is addressable, he is already incredibly crafty getting to the rim and puts maximum effort in defensively.

 

when he missed that three where he could count the laces in the 4th, i literally walked out and did something else. extremely disappointing. if you can only be clutch when no one expects it, you're not a star.

 

He looked like a deer in headlights out there on D.

Unfortunately, as he's my favorite player, I'd argue that no one has hurt the team more in this series than Reaves. He's been a minus on D, hasn't been able to get to the basket, and only really offered some shooting

 

AR also was completely useless in the first half. 0 points.

 

Not a max player. Clearly. Do better in G5 Reaves, or it’s over. I mean, it’s already over, but you know.

 

Can’t blame him for roster construction lol we needed a better rim protector Reaves get targeted constantly before but we had AD and it didn’t matter