"Not gonna shy away": Austin Reaves insinuates he's not the one to be pushed around by the likes of Kawhi Leonard
The LA Lakers do not have enough defensive talent on their roster right now which leaves guys like Austin Reaves having to step up when playing against teams that have lots of firepower on the perimeter. This has been the case in many of their games and was quite evident when they took on the LA Clippers yesterday (Jan. 23).
The Clippers have plenty of talent on the offensive side that can wreak havoc on the perimeter, especially with superstars like Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and James Harden leading the charge.
A player tasked to stop these guys defensively can easily feel intimidated but Reaves is not afraid of putting his body on the line to stop the offensive juggernauts on the Clippers roster, or on any other team for that matter based on a quote posted by Lakers Nation.
"I'm not ever gonna shy away from the competition of trying to compete and gets stops."Reaves said. "You tip your cap to them for the made shots and go try to score on the other end."
Austin Reaves has displayed a certain level of fearlessness that has endeared him to the fans but his defensive prowess leaves much to be desired. Hopefully for the Lakers, his desire to step up on the defensive end is followed by an improvement in his abilities to stop opposing players.
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How did the Clippers offense fare against Austin Reaves and company?
There is no debating that the Clippers are currently winning the battle for LA this season just by looking at the standings. The Clippers are fourth in the West with a 28-14 record while the Lakers are at 22-23, good enough for ninth place.
Being ahead in the standings is not enough for the Clippers and its fans as they look to gain every edge against their hometown rivals as they proved in their most recent matchup.
The Clippers trounced the Lakers 127-116 to once again show that they are the better LA-based team this year. Unfortunately, Austin Reaves could not do much to stop Kawhi Leonard who finished the night with an impressive triple-double.
Leonard ended the night with 25 points, 10 assists, and 11 rebounds and was hot from the floor all night as he went on an 11-for-16 shooting clip. He was the biggest proponent for the win as shown by his plus-minus, coming away with a +15.
He was helped by the performance of James Harden who added 23 points on an 8-for-17 shooting night from the field and a 4-for-8 performance from downtown. He also helped his teammates score, contributing 10 assists to his fantastic scoring performance.
Austin Reaves on the other hand failed to get anything going. He was able to force two turnovers and reject one shot on the defensive end but his performance could hardly be considered a lockdown defender at this point.