The Lakers have won two straight before the Lone Rangers, but neither the opposing Thunder nor the Magic are playoff-level teams. In this game, they will face the Lone Rangers, who are temporarily ranked seventh in the West and also have two consecutive wins, while the Lakers' Tucker and Munch will miss the game, so this battle will be a difficult game for the Lakers. Sure enough, the two sides entered a tug-of-war in the first half, and the Lakers trailed by three points into the second half. In the second half, the two sides still played hard, and with Ellington hitting a key three-pointer in regular time to tie the score, the game entered overtime. In overtime, the two sides still stood in a draw at a critical moment, and Lakers rookie Reeves stood up in the last minute to hit the decisive three-pointer, helping the team win 107:104.
Reeves was undoubtedly one of the biggest contributors to the Lakers' wins in this game, and he showed a very good three-point feel in this game. In the 32 minutes of the game, Reeves' six shots came from outside the three-point line, hitting five of them to score 15 points, plus seven rebounds and two assists. After hitting two three-pointers in the first quarter, Reeves also shot a long-range three-pointer in the second quarter. In the final moments of overtime, when the two sides were still tied, Reeves received a pass from Wei Shao, hit the decisive three-pointer against the opposing defender, and was knocked to the ground by the opponent after the goal. With the lone row losing the final offense, the Lakers won the game with Reeves' three-pointer and won three straight.
After hitting this deadly three-pointer, Reeves undoubtedly became the darling of the Lakers' entire team. After the game, the Lakers' main players, including James, Davis, and Westbrook, all praised Reeves, and the whole team also celebrated his first kill in the locker room for him, and James also gave him the ball for the game. And that killer goal also made Reeves the first person in the league since Durant, and it is reported that since Durant in 2007, Reeves became the second rookie in the NBA in the last 14 years to hit a three-pointer in the last 10 seconds of overtime. Compared to Durant,who already had a lot of the ball on the team at the time, Reeves, who is only a Lakers role player, is not easy. When talking about this killer shot, Reeves himself first thanked his teammates and coaches, and then said that his shot was actually an option, but fortunately he finally hit the three-pointer.
Despite assembling a competitive superline in the offseason, the losing draft reeves became the biggest surprise of the season. So far, Reeves has played in 17 games for the team, and all of them have played as a substitute, averaging 5.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 19.7 minutes per game, shooting 50% from the field and 39% from three-point range. Although the average score per game is not high, Reeves has brought a lot of help to the Lakers this season. On the offensive end, Reeves has a steady three-pointer, and the Lakers' tactical system dooms them to need such a shooter to pick up James or Westbrook's pass to provide firepower on the outside. Judging from this game, Reeves also has a big heart and can also score key goals for the team in key moments. On the defensive end, although Reeves is not physically strong and the bouncing power is not outstanding, his defense is very smart and full of vitality, making a lot of contributions to the Lakers' defensive end. According to statistics, in the 335 minutes he played, the Lakers conceded 98.3 points per 100 rounds, and the 1097 minutes that were not on the court would lose 109 points, a gap of nearly 10 points.
In addition, although this season is Reeves's first season in the league, he has a very good chemistry with the Lakers players, especially with the team boss James. According to statistics, in the 136 minutes of the duo's appearance, the Lakers can score 115.1 points per 100 rounds, limiting the opponent to only 100.4 points, netting 14.7 points against the opponent, and in the 11 games they played together, the Lakers have achieved an excellent record of 9 wins and 2 losses, and it should be known that the Lakers have only won 16 games so far. The two also got better because of each other's presence, and according to statistics, when James was on the floor, Reeves scored 11.9 points per 36 minutes, shooting 57.1% from the field and 41.2% from three-point range. Similarly, when Reeves was on the floor, James scored 23.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 10.1 assists and 2.7 breaks per 36 minutes, shooting 53.4 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range. In the 496 minutes of Reeves' absence, although James can score 25.9 points per 36 minutes, the assist drops to 5.8, and the two-point shooting rate has also declined to a considerable extent. From this point of view, there is a reason why James likes this rookie so much.
Of course, the most important thing is that Reeves, who is currently only 23 years old, can bring great vitality and energy to the Lakers. As we all know, although a star-studded super lineup has been formed in the offseason this season, their average age is very worrying, of which James is 36 years old, Westbrook is 32 years old, and the role players such as Rondo, Ariza, Howard and Anthony are already veterans in the league. That has caused the Lakers to appear a bit weak at many times this season, with their offensive pace and conversion speed ranking in the middle and lower levels of the league. Reeves, on the other hand, is full of energy, and when he's on the floor, the Lakers' overall conversion offense is significantly more threatening, and Reeves himself converts points per game at the top of the NBA. Whenever he comes on the court, the Overall Performance of the Lakers is getting better.
At present, It is not easy for Reeves to gain a foothold in the NBA and play a world-renowned performance. Although he played extremely stable in college, after all, he is 23 years old, and as an older rookie, he has no advantage in the draft. After losing the election, the Lakers signed a two-way contract with them, and from the current point of view, the Lakers signed this contract is really worth it.