True statement is a true statement folks. Since Luka has been out and with LeBron still suffering from old-man-itus (chill, this is shade on me too), Austin Reaves has been enacting a basketball strategy most akin to how the Russians handled Napoleon back in 1812. Scorchin’ that Earth, am I right?
Aye, as you know, I love my science, buy why not bring in more history? I mean, I’m still sitting on my sick Great Fire references for when the Chicago Bulls finally go full-tank, but something tells me I’m gonna be waiting a few more decades if not epochs to use em.
Anyways, as the opening paragraphs take a long time to say; Austin Reaves has been a destructive force with usage, and the Lakers, as a group, are responding right back with the same energy and execution. Why he can get his teammates to actually not brick shots, we may never know, because if we did, Luka and LeBron would waste no time in doing the same thing. That’s not to take a way from Reaves’ 28 PTS, 16 AST and 2 STL night at all, but it certainly helps when Jake LaRavia is hitting anything and everything. He went 10-11, 5-6 from three with 27 points and 8 rebounds in the last second win against the T’wolves. Even Dalton Knecht had 15 points on 7/13.
I’ll repeat it again, that’s not to take anything away from the streaking Reaves, over his last three games, he’s averaging 40/10/5 on 50/41/93 splits and hit the game-winning floater last night. And if you want to know if this is real or not… yeah I don’t think the averaging 40 points thing is real, but if you look back at his usage and stats when LeBron and Luka are off the floor, it kinda backs up that he is a dude that can play-make at a high level. Is something like 26/8 there for him? Totally.
And wait a sec, is that right, another Deandre Ayton sighting? I’m a bit more used to seeing his “I’m still here” tour once a month, but once a week? I bet Lakers fans love that music. Are Blazers and Suns fans ready to submit their mea culpas though? For those wondering, nah, they are collectively tellin y’all to just wait. I tend to agree.
Former Lakers star (soft segue!) Anthony Davis was slow to move around the court after the Mavs last possession last night. I’m not doctor, but any time Davis grimaces, I feel that’s like an automatic two-week DNP incoming but we’ll see.
He was already on the injury report before yesterday’s game with bilateral Achilles tendinopathy, so either his competitive nature to give Dallas something to root for post-Luka (and the unfortunate burden he bears from that trade) and/or Nico Harrison’s penchant for being a complete cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs type of dude probably played a part for sure, which is concerning. All speculation, but I don’t think it’s a wild thought-process, no?
And I know I had the Bulls catching a stray in the lede, but did you know they are 4 wins above their eternal resting spot of .500? Last night’s win was fueled both by Matas Buzelis (27 PTS) and Josh Giddey (20/8/12).
Nikola Jokic just doing very Nikola Jokic things with another triple-double in a win over the Pelicans where he provided 21 PTS, 12 REB, 10 AST in just 28 minutes.
The Orlando Magic needed to start the season strong (well, maybe needed is a strong word) but they are all in and losing to the Pistons with a 30/6/10 performance (plus 3 steals and 3 blocks) from Cade Cunningham to fall to 1-4 is a bit concerning.
We’re about halfway to that that first 10-game mark when we can start to see some noise settle down and we can all get a better grasp on the season. Some advanced metrics is showing beyond-the-arc percentages taking a step back league-wide with paint-points (and dunks) going up, and it doesn’t take a mathematician (thank goodness) to tell us that scoring overall is up around the NBA. Let’s talk more about this in a couple of weeks, until then, submit your questions below!
Jay is a longtime Razzball everything who consumes an egregious amount of Makers Mark as a vehicle to gain wisdom and augment his natural glow. Living in the D.C. area, he also likes spending time visiting the local parks and feeding lettuce to any turtles he encounters, including Mitch McConnell.
