Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images
The Lakers found another gem in Austin Reaves.
With all the star power that exists between the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies, it should come as no surprise that the phrase “I’m him” was emphatically shouted during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s Game 1 showdown.
What should come as a surprise is who was responsible for that flamboyant celebration. No, not either of the Lakers’ future Hall of Famers, LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Not Memphis’ pair of All-Stars Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. Not even the sweet-shooting Desmond Bane.
The remarks came from none other than undrafted second-year guard Austin Reaves.
Reaves was feeling like a million bucks on Sunday, and rightfully so, as his Game 1 stat line read 23 points, four assists, one steal, and one block on 77.9 percent true shooting en route to a 128-112 road playoff win.
He did most of his damage in the fourth quarter, where he scored 14 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the floor. During that stretch, “him” might as well have been Steve Nash Jr., as Reaves weaponized the trusty old spread pick-and-roll to magnify a weakness in the Grizzlies’ defense.
You see, Reaves spent most of his evening being shadowed by frailer guards like Ja Morant and Tyus Jones, and even when he wasn’t, the Lakers would manipulate the floor to induce that matchup.
Anyway, neither of these guards are great screen navigators, so Reaves would put them through the wringer by having Davis set a ballscreen on them (thereby igniting the pick-and-roll). That Davis as the screener component is key here because the player often defending him in those actions – the aforementioned Jackson – can’t afford to switch the ballscreen, despite being a great switch defender. The reason being that Memphis can’t afford to have either Morant or Jones switch onto Los Angeles’ Iron Giant in the paint. This forced Jackson into a more conservative drop coverage, which left Reaves with a runway to flow into his pull-up jumper – a shot he normally converts at an effective field goal percentage of 53.5 percent. For reference, that’s in the 90th percentile among players who average at least one pull-up per game and have appeared in at least 25 games this season (per NBA.com).
This two-man game with Davis was directly/indirectly responsible for four of Reaves’ five fourth-quarter field goals and his sole trip to the charity stripe.
Now, there are remedies to this dilemma (namely scram switches and more aggressive ballscreen coverages), remedies the Grizzlies will surely turn to in Game 2. Reaves and the Lakers will need to adjust accordingly to these strategies with counters of their own if they hope to duplicate their success.
However, regardless of what happens next, Reaves used his playoff debut to deliver the first meaningful blow of the series. And for that, the “him” moniker is one he’s more than deserving of wearing.
