This article continues to complement our series of articles. Analyze Austin Reeves and the Lakers' new signings.
Austin Reeves' offense.
As we said in the previous article, Austin Reeves is the Most Anticipated Lakers player next season — because he is probably the only guy besides the Lakers who can do both offense and defense next season.
Defensively, he has the second place in the team and the first defender in the team when he defends and defends the ball in one-on-one defense; He is the best defender in the league in terms of creating offensive fouls; All high-level defensive stats are also ranked first among all the Lakers' guards - next season, he is likely to be the best defender for the Lakers' defense. (Detailed analysis can be seen in the previous article)
So let's talk about the offensive end – yes, Reeves is good defensively, but we said he's especially because of his [offense and defense] in particular.
Here I don't know if it's necessary for me to explain what the word offensive and defensive means. By attacking and defending, we don't mean reeves has the potential to become a player averaging 20+ per game.
Offensive ability is not only measured by points, but more importantly, efficiency and impact — Horton Tucker averaged 10 points per game last season, but his offensive EPM can only surpass 24% of the league's players; Last season,Reeves averaged just seven points per game, and offensive EPM can surpass 53 percent of the league's players.
Tucker himself is more capable of scoring, but his poor shooting and demand for the ball make his offense worse when he is on the floor;
Although Reeves does not score high, his shooting is better, and he knows how to create scoring opportunities for the team through running position, empty cut, cover, etc.; When limited opportunities arise, the grasp and offensive options are better – when he is on the floor, the team's offense is improved. And the same is true on the defensive end.
This is what we mean by attacking and defending.
So let's get to the point.
Austin Reeves was underrated on the offensive end last season, and he's a better offensive player than his stats look.
Look at his shooting stats: When the 2021-2022 season ended, Reeves shot 31.7 percent from three-point range and averaged 0.9 three-pointers per game — which looks like the stats of a mediocre shooter.
But in fact, this is mainly due to his physical problems. From October to December last season, Reeves shot 37.8 percent from outside the three-point line. On Dec. 15, he scored the winning goal in Dallas — Reeves' brightest moment of the season. In 14 of 18 games in those three months, he made at least two three-pointers, including his career-high five against the Lone Rangers.
But after entering 2022, Reeves' performance as a goalscorer has fallen sharply. From January to March, his three-point shooting percentage was just 27.6 percent, nearly 8 percent below the league average.
The main reason for this is physical fitness – from January to March, Reeves more than doubled his appearances from October to December, and his playing time increased from 20 minutes to 23-25 minutes. And most importantly:
During this time, in order to improve the offense, the Lakers began to give up the small lineup of the inner line; And Horton Tucker was also cut back on playing time because the offense was too poor – so Reeves had to take on more of the task of defending the opposing front, and even changing the inside line.
Previously, TA reporter Jovan Buha's article had described in detail the physical crisis encountered by Reeves, he wrote: "Former head coach Frank Vogel repeatedly mentioned that Reeves hit the rookie wall because he felt that Reeves was too tired to play at a normal level.
And Reeves himself admitted that, saying: 'Probably everything, I've never played 37 games in a season – up to 40 before. But there are 82 games this season, I've played 61 this year, and I'm still traveling when I'm not playing. So that's definitely a reason. ’
As a result, Reeves also did more physical training on this in the offseason — he went from 197 pounds (178 pounds) last season to 209 pounds (189 pounds) now.
Jovan Buha wrote in the article: "Reeves said he wanted to use this extra weight to improve his flank defensive ability and withstand physical contact on the offensive end.
He vowed not to give his next coach any reason to doubt his ability to cope with the physical stress of more than 82 games.
Last season, opposing teams would target Reeves on the defensive end, trying to take advantage of his thin body. He maintained his advantage in many of the pairings — his ball-on-ball defense was one of his best skills as a rookie — but he was sometimes exposed against more athletic wing players. ”
Beyond the physical crisis, there are many more positives about Reeves' shooting ability.
Austin Reeves has a pedigree as a shooter: He shot 45.1 percent from three-point range in his two seasons at Wichita State (and then transferred to Oklahoma in 2018). When the Lakers' scouts evaluated him, his shots were one of his appealing traits.
"As he continues to get stronger, I think he definitely has the potential to be a more consistent outside shooter," said Jesse Bass, assistant to the Lakers' general manager and head of scouting. "One of the things that's interesting while at Oklahoma is that even though Reeves doesn't shoot very well from three-point range, one thing I noticed is that his catch shots are very efficient. He received three-pointers in his senior year and shot about 40 percent of the way. Given his innate shooting feel, I think it's something he can grow up with. ”
Last season, Reeves showed this with the Lakers, shooting 35.6 percent more than the league average compared to the not-so-good 31 percent overall three-point shooting percentage, and in the first three months of the season, his three-point shooting percentage was 39 percent of the best shooter.
In addition, Reeves' agent also noticed that Reeves had a number of three-pointers last season, shot before the offensive time ran out, or during the garbage time of the fourth quarter, which lowered his three-point shooting percentage.
In fact, according to NBA.com data, Reeves's 8.2 percent of three-pointers last season were "catch-and-shoot balls" that shot very late (4 seconds or less left), the highest percentage on the team. In this case, he hit only five of his 26 shots (19.2 percent shooting), and if he excludes those shots from his three-point shooting percentage— his three-point shooting percentage would rise to 33.8 percent.
In addition, In fact, Reeves can not only be used as a player without the ball, in the limited ball-holding attack, Reeves showed a very high efficiency:
According to the NBA's official website, Reeves has played a total of 30 one-on-one singles this season, shooting 56% of the way — just look at the shooting rate is the Lakers' first team.
As a ball carrier, Reeves also showed a certain potential - this season Reeves launched 43 ball-holding demolitions, shooting 45.8%, which is the third highest shooting rate of the Lakers.
Although the small sample size weakens the persuasiveness of the data to some extent, I think that reeves does have a certain potential to hold the ball from the perspective of his technical completion.
Breaking through the turn and jump shot, Reeves's occasional inspiration last season was a technique that could be called a village mamba, but not just because of defense.
In fact, There are not many such shots from Reeves last season, showing his solid dribbling skills and ability to create scoring opportunities on his own — he is also a player who averaged 32 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists per game in high school to lead the team to the state championship, he is not just a shooter.
In the final game of last season, with the main rotations suspended, Reeves finally had the opportunity to show off other aspects of himself, and he cut 31 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists against the Nuggets, becoming the first rookie to score a 30+ triple-double in a rookie season since Jerry West.
Reeves said he could take on a greater offensive load if necessary, only in the teams of James, Davis, Westbrook, Malik Munch and Carmelo Anthony, he wasn't asked to do so on a regular basis.
"He can play any role he wants, really," Buzz said. "He's that multi-faceted on the offensive end."
Of course, with the Lakers still having LeBron James, Westbrook, Talran Horton Tucker, it's unrealistic to expect Reeves to make big strides on the offensive end — as we've emphasized before, he's not a player who averages 20 points per game even at his best.
The expectation for Reeves should be a more consistent three-point shooter and a more well-rounded player on the defensive end — like Alex Caruso, the last favorite white guard in Los Angeles.
Personally, I am very supportive of Reeves continuing to be the Lakers' starting team next season, compared to Lonnie Walker and Kendrick Nunn, Reeves has the incomparable value of the Lakers' other defenders in defense and space. Whether it's partner Westbrook or even the Lakers trading Kyrie Owen, Reeves is a golden backcourt partner. (In the next post, we will analyze Lonnie Walker and other new recruits)
But, as we said in the previous post, Reeves is good, but if he's the third best [offensive and defensive] player on a team, this team is hopeless... You know, the Celtics, the Suns, these teams, have 7-8 players like Austin Reeves.
So, the Lakers have to have someone else to stand up.
We'll see you in the next article.
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