{"id":73234,"date":"2024-04-14T14:45:49","date_gmt":"2024-04-14T18:45:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=73234"},"modified":"2024-04-14T14:46:16","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T18:46:16","slug":"austin-reavess-scoring-puts-him-in-elite-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/04\/14\/austin-reavess-scoring-puts-him-in-elite-company\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin Reaves&#8217;s Scoring Puts Him in Elite Company"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lakers guard <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/reaveau01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Austin Reaves<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has displayed tremendous signs of growth in his third season. Now, his standout scoring has landed him on a list with NBA stars.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Austin Reaves&#8217;s Scoring Puts Him in Elite Company<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>The List<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to data compiled by Synergy\u2019s Todd Whitehead, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/03\/26\/two-time-champion-has-high-praise-for-austin-reaves\/\" target=\"_self\">Reaves<\/a> is the 14th most efficient on-ball scorer, which considers players who score \u201cas the ball-handler on picks, isos, post-ups, and in transition.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Most efficient on-ball scorers in the NBA this season. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NqH2sRUfua\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/NqH2sRUfua<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CrumpledJumper\/status\/1779361461535727626?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 14, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s worth noting that Reaves has averaged the same Points Per Possession as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/f\/foxde01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">De\u2019Aaron Fox<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lillada01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Damian Lillard<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. His numbers are also not far behind <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/i\/irvinky01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kyrie Irving<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/georgpa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Paul George<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or even two-time MVP <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jokicni01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nikola Jokic<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Austin Reaves up here with the best scorers in the league \ud83d\udc40 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/mErI5TOVdn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/mErI5TOVdn<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jake (@playoffjake) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/playoffjake\/status\/1779534684340260900?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 14, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Bunch of max and supermax contract guys and Austin Reaves who\u2019s making 12M per <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Lakeshow?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Lakeshow<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/r7PR2c3l7W\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/r7PR2c3l7W<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Ralph Mason (@Ralph_MasonJr) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Ralph_MasonJr\/status\/1779407500791734510?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 14, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seeing Reaves on here has many fans doing a double take, given the other names on this list. However, it\u2019s a true testament to his improvement this year, and an encouraging sign heading into the playoffs.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Breaking Down Reaves&#8217;s Scoring<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reaves is one of the Lakers\u2019 iron men this season. He has appeared in all of the team\u2019s games so far, averaging 15.8 points on .484\/.366\/.856 splits. He may not have the same resume as the more illustrious names in that category, but he\u2019s found success as a third or fourth option on the Lakers this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reaves has made 151 threes so far\u2014second only to record-breaker <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/russeda01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">D\u2019Angelo Russell<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (251). He is also third in two-pointers made (298) and fourth in total field goals (449). To date, the young guard has had 20 games scoring 20 points or more, a significant jump from the ten he had last season. He has done all of this while shifting between the two guard slots, taking on increased responsibility as a ball-handler but delivering every time. All of these are signs that Reaves has made it a point to be more aggressive, which has only helped the team as they\u2019ve gone through the trials of this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>A Sign of Things to Come?<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the playoffs fast approaching, Reaves\u2019s stellar offense is certainly promising. The Lakers will need all the help they can get as they battle out of the Play-in and hope to repeat their run from last year. Though all eyes are focused on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LeBron James<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/davisan02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anthony Davis<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Reaves has shown he can be a threat, too. His impressive run in last year\u2019s playoffs showed just that. Regardless of how far the Lakers go, Reaves will make his impact known every game. His presence will be vital as the team continues to deal with injuries and matches up against teams with red-hot scorers in their own right.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reaves\u2019s production was also a key factor in the Lakers keeping him out of trade talks for star guards. Even as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/articles\/10116270-blockbuster-nba-trades-were-already-thinking-about\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">those conversations persist into this summer<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, there\u2019s little chance their stance on Reaves has changed, and he\u2019ll stay a Laker unless drastic moves are made.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>The Last Word<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Austin Reaves has continued to impress in his time as a Laker. Being on a list with such elite company only adds to his case as a rising star in this league.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lakers guard Austin Reaves has displayed tremendous signs of growth in his third season. Now, his standout scoring has landed him on a list with NBA stars. Austin Reaves&#8217;s Scoring Puts Him in Elite Company The List According to data compiled by Synergy\u2019s Todd Whitehead, Reaves is the 14th most efficient on-ball scorer, which considers [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":62263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,26,62],"tags":[240,4556,187,664,406,38,72,50],"class_list":["post-73234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-nba","tag-anthony-davis","tag-austin-reaves","tag-damian-lillard","tag-deaaron-fox","tag-kyrie-irving","tag-lebron-james","tag-nikola-jokic","tag-paul-george"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}