He'll be fine. Obviously tired, I have zero doubt he'll be back better than ever. Might serve him well to come off the bench for a few games and play less minutes but in higher impact times of the game until he gets his mojo going. He'll be in full savage mode soon, book it.
I don't know when the last time you were 25 was but I can guarantee you a 25 year old doesn't get fatigue easily. This has more to do with the Lakers having a new roster and teams are more familiar with Austin Reaves game whereas last year, Reaves was probably the 6th option on the Lakers heading into the season.
But you didn't address it. You just found some stats and selectively chose the ones to fit your narrative. Just reading your stats example, you provide zero context. Banchero is a very streaky player and one of the most inefficient bigs in the league. Bridges PPG is down because he went from taking 19 shots per game to 14. Brunson is shooting 48% from three... funny how you left that out but seemingly use it when it is convenient for other players. Haliburton leads the league in assists with nearly 13 APG. So because his three point shooting is down in a 3 game sample size, he's fatigue because of FIBA? So wait, you use three point shooting as your main focal point for Haliburton but then you ignore it when Brunson is shooting 48% from three? Hart is taking 4 shots per game... If he just made two shots extra, he would be shooting over 55% from the field.. He has only shot two free throws the entire season... made one, miss one. So if he had made both, he would be 100%. Those are the sample sizes you are using to justify them being fatigue? Lol.... How about using some CONTEXT next time?
I don't think just because someone is 25 makes them less tired: Reaves ended up playing more minutes in crunch time than Hart and Brunson for example. But I think just watching Lebron where he starts out slow for the last 10 years basically by reducing the number of games plus how much he moves on the court and then tries to peak at the playoffs (which he has successfully done till last year's injury) does provide evidence that if you don't rest up you are going to not have as much left in the tank. The youth argument in my mind is more that I think he should get better
From Austin's mouth regarding being fatigued in the playoffs: If he ADMITTED to being fatigued and hasn't really slowed down or gotten an off-season since guess what... HE'S STILL GOING TO BE f***ING TIRED. I've had a lot of absurd arguments on message boards over the past couple decades but this one's up there. And on your follow up post, they are strictly the down numbers that are an anomaly the the prior season or if the dip doesn't make sense in the context of the rest of their career. Yes, I'm going to highlight Haliburton shooting 33% from 3 because it's the first time he's shot below 40%
He played a total of 160 minutes in FIBA basketball. If that is SERIOUSLY why he is fatigue, and those games happened nearly 50 days ago, then Reaves needs to get himself a new trainer ASAP. I was 25 not long ago. Not a professional athlete but in shape. I could play hours on end without getting fatigue. IDK how old you guys are but 25 year olds in moderately good physical condition could go on for hours with no issue. It's ridiculous the explanation JSM is pointing out while conveniently nitpicking stats.
And Austin played well in the playoffs so if he was fatigue and played better than he was in the regular season, why do you all of a sudden think fatigue is the reason he is playing poorly now? You're contradicting yourself. Being fatigue playing competitive playoffs basketball is different than being fatigue playing FIBA basketball 50 days ago. I don't understand the comparison you are making. Can players get tired? Yes. But their ability to recover at a young age is very quick which is why younger players obviously play more minutes. Haliburton had a four game stretch midway last season where he shot 23% from three taking 7 threes per game. The simple fact is, you can't nitpick stats that fit your narrative and then ignore it when comparable players are shooting career highs. Haliburton is leading the league in assists by a wide margin. So he's only fatigue when he's shooting the ball but when it comes to passing, he's not fatigue? Brunson is taking 8 threes per game shooting 48% from three. So he's not fatigue when shooting threes but fatigue when he's missing FT's? Your argument falls apart when you start nitpicking stats and don't provide context. It's even more ridiculous when you start comparing FIBA basketball to tough playoffs basketball against Memphis and then having to guard Stephen Curry, a player who is notorious for being in incredible shape and not many players can stay in front of him while he tries to get free from his defender. Even Usain Bolt would be tired guarding Stephen Curry. What's your point here?
Being 25 doesn’t mean you are somehow immune to fatigue. And Austin is not some uber athlete. He’s a pretty skinny kid with not a ton of muscle. Also have you not been watching Austin? He ran out of gas last mid season for a spell and his first season as well if memory serves. He’s only entering his third season as a pro and he just played international basketball this summer. There’s a lot that goes into all of that besides just how many minutes he logged on the court. And coming off a deep playoff run as mentioned. Exhaustion is mental as well. A lot of high pressure play and expectation can take a toll too. The evidence is there - his shots are short, he’s slow on defense and his passes are not crisp at all as we have gotten so used to. His shot execution is off. I have no doubt he’ll come back. But right now I think he should come off the bench while he recovers his mojo.
Points listed all over the place but you "seem" one of those guys because You have an opinion, it's infallible and you DON'T listen, acknowledge or give a crap about what anyone else has to say? Lot's of good points on this topic as far as this interested observer is concerned, including yours. If all you care about is your opinion and winning or having the last say on any disagreements that's an entirely different issue. You already did it with me on Cam Reddish, ignoring what I had written in a really short post to come back hard with a gotcha about his offense when I stated up front the only thing I was talking about was his POA defense here on the Lakers. How bout toning down the attack mentality?
Definitely agree there may be a fatigue element to his struggles, but overall I’m not too concerned about AR. Seen a lot of chatter about how now other teams have learned how to gameplan against him, but I don’t think that’s the case. He’s missing a lot of good shots that he typically makes.
This is after the Laker went on a deep playoff run as well. I think your being way too dismissive here what other Team USA played on a team that got to the WCF for example? The only other would be DS on Germany. Playing basketball is a lot more wear and tear then hitting the gym
He did play well, but he had a 5 game stretch from the Grizz series through the GS series where his shooting numbers really fell off, he wasn't getting lift, the shot was short (just as it is now). He figured it out, dug into the reserve and grinded his way through it. There's no contradiction. Just a clear lack of understanding of how the fatigue component can snowball and if he didn't get adequate rest/ramp up this summer then it's not going to magically clear up. You make it sound like he got 50 days off. He didn't. 30 days after the last Team USA game was training camp. But all the guys were back in the gym doing unofficial group work before that. So I'm guessing he got closer to 2-3 weeks. You remember the bubble hangover? How a large chunk of the league either started poorly or suffered injuries right out of the gate because there was virtually no off season? ... Same thing. Yes, younger players typically recover quicker than older players. BUT not all players recover the same. Going from the college schedule to the 82 game grind can be a lot for players. Austin struggled heavily with this in year one. Less so in year two, but it was still an issue because the minutes and number of games went way up. So yes, when you pack on even more games of high level competition, it's likely that fatigue would be an issue. I don't understand why you're considering this a hot take. If a player has a history of fatigue in new roles/situations as they adjust to NBA life, they had an extremely short off-season, they're coming up short on shots, they're making mental mistakes that are uncommon for them, the eye test shows it, people who cover the team for a living have acknowledged they see it... it's real. Without getting into an oral history level project here, where tapes of previous stretches are dissected, interviews are conducted, and experts are on the record with their professional assessment; there's no real way of knowing why a 4 game stretch mid-season resulted in a steep dip. Fatigue? Injury? Role change? All these players went through the same experience and their shooting was negatively impacted in some way coming off the extended run for international play. That was the point of the number share. Do you understand the different motions one uses when shooting and passing? That's your argument? At minimum, you don't have to jump to get an assist. That's enough clarification. This is already going on way too long for no reason. Covered it above. Compounding issue.
Now I know why I warned not to come to lakersball. Dude comes out here saying Josh Hart FT' percentage is down even though he has only taken two FT's the entire season as evidence that Austin Reaves is fatigue, lol. I'm guessing most of ya'll are hovering near 50 and forgot what it feels like to be 25. Peace out. Back to Lakersground. Enjoy the 20 users here remaining.
And for sure the discussion is much more logical and reasonable over at LG. Now, where’s that rolls eyes smiley at?
So, I guess Austin isn’t allowed to be in a slump? The best players to ever play the game had down periods throughout their illustrious careers. Whether it’s fatigue or something else, it won’t last. Our best two way player couldn’t shoot from long range at all for an entire season and so far, it looks like he’s back on track.
