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Lakers guard Austin Reaves, who has a knack for making plays on offense, has shown new Lakers coach JJ Redick what he can do on defense this training camp. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
As coach JJ Redick began to extol the virtues of Austin Reaves’ game and how the Lakers have asked for a little more out of the guard, Redick also mentioned the word defense.
No, Reaves is not a lock-down defender, but he has shown Redick during training camp and the first two preseason games that he knows how to guard.
“I never thought he was a chump defensively, but he competes his ass off on that end,” Redick said after the Lakers’ practice Tuesday. “He knows what he’s supposed to do. He’s in the right spots. If he’s supposed to veer, he veers. If he’s supposed to be the low man, he’s the low man. If he’s supposed to be at the nail, he’s at the nail. He just does a lot of really good things on the basketball floor.”
When Reaves talked to the media, he was told about Redick’s comments. Reaves raised his eyebrows and smiled.
“So, he said I was playing good defense, or no?” Reaves asked.
In a sense, yes, Reaves was told.
Read more: Lakers LeBron James, Bronny James play together in NBA preseason game for first time
“Oh, he said that? Oh, wow,” Reaves responded.
Redick said Reaves knows where to be on defense. Does Reaves think that’s a good thing?
“Yeah, I would hope so. It’s better than not being in the right spot,” Reaves said. “No, I think it’s just, you know, having a foundation, having a system, when you know exactly where the rotation is going to be, where you’re supposed to be, where the help is going to be. It gives you a good feeling as you’re guarding the ball, knowing, ‘All right, well, I can be a little bit more aggressive because I got AD [Anthony Davis] on the back row and I know he’s going to be there. But not just AD, if they skip it to the corner, then X [teammate] is going to be there.’
“So, just having faith in what we’re doing and the foundation that we’re putting in is the biggest thing for me.”
Over the course of his three years with the Lakers, Reaves has shown the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/lakers-coach-jj-redick-noticed-003503970.html
Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2024-10-09 00:35:03
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