Austin Reaves Discussion: Foundation Piece Or Trade Piece?

bUt CaN thE LaKeRz aFForD HiM?1

 

That spinning out of nowhere juke move we haven’t seen before was awesome!!



Too bad DLO couldn’t convert on the assist …. that would have blown the Crypt’s roof off.

 

I mean... the dude is STONE COLD.

I was wondering (Bron's self-promotion aside), did they see THAT in him when they drafted/scouted him? I'd love to hear.

 

I’m honestly surprised by his driving game.

 

I keep seeing people say that Austin is getting stripped a lot which in part I understand how people could think that as he has gotten into the paint and doesn't get the calls he was being accustomed to. I could go on about that to say why i think he is a really good ball handler and takes care of it but I was curious to what the T/O averages were for the team during these 4 games.

According to ESPN our TO averages are:

Davis 3.0 (38.8mpg)
Bron 2.5 (38.5)
Russell/Schroder 2.3 (31.5 and 22.5)
Reaves 1.3 (36.3)
Vandi 1.0 (21.5)

Now I know stats don't tell the whole story but Austin imo takes care of the rock, puts pressure on the defense, relies on that midrange game and finds teammates. There is a reason 2 HOF'ers let the offense run through him a great deal in 4th quarter.

As far as losing the ball he loses it most when he is driving to the paint and gets bottled up. I don't remember him getting his pocket picked bringing the ball up or initiating the action. Im sure it may have happened by I have see that (though I have't been able to watch 100% of the full games just most of each).

Anyway, I think this kid is the real deal and I totally trust him with the money on the line.

 

I watched a lot of his college ball before the draft last year. How he is playing isn't a big surprise. The kid has skills and is tough as a bull moose during rut. Underestimate AR at your own peril.

 

as one of them, i'll say it's not about turnovers. it's about the effort it takes to get into sets when he has to dribble against pressure starting in the backcourt.

it doesn't matter, as we rarely use him that way. but we don't for a reason.

i absolutely trust him to handle and make decisions on the pick and roll in the halfcourt or on the break as a primary ballhandler.

also, my observations are based on two years, not the last 4 games. he hasn't gotten stripped in this series that i can remember.

regarding whether this was foreseeable: i can't imagine anyone thought he'd be doing this now. he's basically playing exactly how he did in college but against MUCH better competition. that doesn't happen often, particularly for guys who aren't super athletic. if one of our scouts was on record predicting this, we should listen to that person and only that person forever.

 

Does Chicago like him? They DO use us as their outsourced draft department after all.

 

Were you watching him on purpose or he was on a team you were following? That’s impressive if before we got him you were following him for being impressed and liking his game. Also if he happened to be on your team and you had the opinion he could make it in the pros with his not real beefy body at that point in time.

 

He's our 2nd best decision maker . If the ball isn't in Bron hands , it should be in his down the stretch

 

he might be the best

ahem, he doesn't seem to pound the rock for 20 seconds and launch fall away bail out threes that have no prayer as a 30% deep shooter. Just saying.

 

im actually with Sirron here. I question some of LB's decisions especially late in the game. He makes so many great ones that it is hard to criticize but he has cost and almost cost us games with the slow ground (stop moving) and pound (just dribble dribble... long shot or late clock pass) decisions. I think Austin is pretty consistent with the ball in his hands attacking and making the pass or taking the shot if needed. Does he make mistakes? of course but I trust him with initiating the offense more than the other guys including LBJ.

 

Lebron was better in Game 4 than he's been lately with his 3 layups down the stretch in this department

But yeah I guess I wasn't the only one here who thought he was going to jack up a 3 instead of attacking the rim on the last possession

 

I don't really trust his layup touch around the basket. I was surprised (pleasantly) that his prayer shot went in.

tbh, he doesn't have the greatest touch on shots like that. He's more of a power layup guy than a finesse shot guy. But maybe this is a sign he's adjusting his game for his current set of tools. if so, that's a very good sign. He already has given up needing to be the PG to close out games. That's pretty huge all by itself.

it also means he's trusting who he's playing with to do stuff at least as well as he could at that point in time

 

he's the Lebron of high off the glass layups

 

I was fortunate enough to see him have a particularly good game on tv. After that I followed him mostly through YouTube videos catching highlights here and there. Right before the draft I dug into his profiles that others put online. He caught my eye similarly to how Kenny Smith did in college though I was able to watch Kenny live in three games. That makes a huge difference compared to tape. It was easy to tell he was better than the other players but mostly it was his vision. I like players that see the game developing ahead of most everyone else. That is actually why I compare Austin to Steve Nash...lol. I coached a kid that just happen to be named Austin that had that gift. It can take you along way.

 

If that scout exists, he should be getting a massive bonus every year Austin is a Laker.

 

He’s also the LeBron of getting hit in the face(unfortunately).