LOS ANGELES — When coach Darvin Ham made his most recent starting lineup change, swapping Taurean Prince for Rui Hachimura ahead of the Lakers’ Feb. 3 road win over the New York Knicks, it also led to a change in defensive responsibilities.
Prince, who started his first 47 games, was often tasked with defending the opponent’s primary starting scorer/ball-handler when Cam Reddish wasn’t in the starting lineup.
But with Prince and Reddish no longer starters, those assignments have shifted to Austin Reaves.
He’s stepped up for the Lakers amid increased on-ball defensive responsibilities, with Monday’s 116-104 home win over the Oklahoma City Thunder – when Reaves was the primary defender against Thunder guard and league MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – being the latest example.
“He just took the challenge,” LeBron James said of Reaves. “Obviously Shai is one of the best players that we have in our league, so it’s just trying not to put him at the free-throw line because that’s where he gets a lot of his points from too.
“Austin was sensational from the start to the finish, whenever he was out on the floor just trying to play the ball and making Shai and making [Jalen Williams] take tough shots and we’d just try to protect him on the backend.”
Gilgeous-Alexander, who had scored at least 30 points in his previous eight games, was held to 20 points on 5-for-13 shooting – the fourth-fewest points he’s scored in a game this season – to go with seven rebounds and four assists.
Reaves wasn’t the only reason for Gilgeous-Alexander’s uncharacteristically poor shooting night, but his individual defense was a significant factor.
The third-year guard did well with staying attached to Gilgeous-Alexander when he was operating in pick and rolls. Reaves countered Gilgeous-Alexander’s physicality by beating him to spots on drives and showing great anticipation on the moves Gilgeous-Alexander uses to create space.
Completing…
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