Reaves has largely been a bench sniper and, since Russell Westbrook was traded, a second ball handler off the bench next to Dennis Schröder, but he has stepped up with LeBron James out.
LOS ANGELES — Darvin Ham gave a glint of a smile when asked about his starting lineup’s recent slow starts.Ham’s penchant for lineup secrecy offered a little suspense leading up to Wednesday night’s home tip-off against Phoenix, but not for long. Fresh offWhile the second-year guard has had his cracks with the starting group – this was his 13th start of the season – Reaves hadn’t started a game since Jan. 4, before he sat out for a month with an injury.
But with LeBron James out of the lineup in recent weeks, Reaves has stepped up. The 24-year-old averaged 17.7 points and 5.3 assists in the 11 games without James while shooting 56.4% from the floor and nearly 40% from 3-point range. The Orlando game just happened to be one when he put it all together for a career night.
“I just think he’s maturing before our eyes as a high-level NBA player,” Ham said of Reaves. “We always saw the talent. We always saw the glimpses. Big moments where he played really, really huge for us. Now it’s just more on a consistent basis. He’s comfortable.” Critically, Reaves has also been effective in lineups with Anthony Davis. Their season-long net rating is plus-9.5, according to stat site Cleaning the Glass. Reaves started Wednesday’s game 4 for 5 in the first quarter with 10 points, and ran pick-and-roll actions with Davis as his screener.
Reaves is also one of the best whistle-inducers in the league: According to CTG, he draws fouls on 20.1% of his shot attempts, one of the best marks for a guard. In crunchtime situations, Reaves has been one of the team’s consistently dependable players, especially when it comes to generating offense.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Homicide investigation in East Austin; police speaking to person of interestThe incident happened in the area of Felix and Montopolis and began when police responded to calls about gunshots at around 12:30 a.m.
Read more »
WATCH: Russell Brand blasts Alvin Bragg's idea 'to arrest Trump and not Clinton’WATCH: Russell Brand (rustyrockets) blasted the ManhattanDA ahead of a possible Trump arrest. 'You can’t claim that you’re going to arrest Trump and then not arrest Clinton,' Brand said. 'Government is founded now on corruption.'
Read more »
Texas architecture firm offers pro bono services for Houston, Austin nonprofitsThe Michael Hsu Office of Architecture is looking for its next Houston or Austin...
Read more »
Keri Russell Is a Formidable U.S. Ambassador in New Footage From 'The Diplomat'New footage from TheDiplomat shows Keri Russell as a formidable U.S. Ambassador.
Read more »