Inside the locker room was a big seating with geography issues and Friday nights and Friday nights in Denver.
Typically using the space allocated inside the Nuggets’ Visiting Locker Room, the Raves sat closest to the shower, and players groped for a chance to stun Denver before leaving him in and out.
Cam Reddish, Christian Coroco, Jordan Goodwin – each passed the space and got some words of encouragement from the lonely starter they played on Friday night.
Again, it wasn’t hard to imagine for the team under the Reaves watch. The unsuspecting third member of the Lakers’ Big 3 took a victory in Denver on the second night of minus minus minus minus minus minus.
However, his 37 points, 13 assists, eight rebounds and four steels weren’t enough. The numbers were very unique, joining Don Sic, James, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Pete Maravich, Bernard King and Kenny Anderson.
Earlier this year, with seven rebounds and seven assists, with the exception of James and Don Sic, the numbers equaled the list of greats in the organization, 25 times the history of the Lakers. Elgin Baylor did it 10 times. Kobe Bryant did six of them. Jerry West had at least 45-7-7 four times. Magic Johnson did it once. And then there’s the leave.
“It looks strange when I see my name there,” Reaves said after the match against the Pacers.
Maybe it’s time to stop being so surprised.
As for its value, Reaves wasn’t so shocked, he’s confident enough to tell people around him that it’s important for the Lakers with a two-way contract after a day’s minicamp.
“I was oddly confident for a long time,” Reeves said Friday night that his feet and ankles were soaked in the ice. “I’m just standing on stage for the world to see. But I always tell you, I just try to play the game the right way. And when the shot drops, it looks better. And when the shot doesn’t fall, everyone is ready to kill me. Everyone in the locker room did what they had to do to win. And unfortunately, we didn’t get it.”
The Lakers should, honestly, probably.
They started with what he pulled the ball away from MVP candidate Nikola Jokic every year after a back-to-back steals by Reaves led to a transition point.
The second stolen led to Dalton’s Knecht Dunk, who landed his back and head in a scary place after the grip slipped off the edge. Denver called a timeout so we checked Knecht and ran, late to his pack.
The nugget came out and attacked Koroko, and Jokic quickly scored and pulled out a foul to tie the game.
“I didn’t have the time to really get the right alternatives and matchups I would have wanted,” Reddick said. “And that’s not a knock on the corner, but knowing that Jokic would go quickly, I just put him in a tough place.”
After the Reaves jumpers were rimmed, Denver created three open Jamal Murrays from the Jokic screen, and as he’s done many times before, Denver Guard hit the biggest shot of the game.
“To lose is suck,” Reeves said. “But I’m pleased what these guys in the locker room did tonight.”
As the Lakers return to Los Angeles on a four-game winning streak, the Reaves’ final two games are one of the few encouragements after the 26-year-old guard shook rust from his two-game absence due to calf tension earlier this month.
He also dealt with pain in his right wrist, wearing a big ice pack on his shooting arm after winning 28 with Milwaukee on Thursday.
On Friday, they watch their sons Bryce and Sierra Canyon win the state title while recovering from tensions in the gro caliber. Starters Jaxson Hayes and Rui Hachimura were also not with the team due to a knee injury. Donsic, who scored 45 against the Bucks, did not play to manage calf and ankle injuries. Key bench players Gabe Vincent (knee) and Dorian Finney-Smith (ankle) also faced no nuggets.
Reaves admitted that all the absentees wondered whether he should get one too.
“They told me to play, so I’ll go and play,” Reeves said afterwards.
If the Lakers were the Reaves team on Friday, that’s not really about moving forward. He assured him that he would become the team’s main creator for the rest of his contract – and if the Lakers were protecting him, and beyond. James will also return to dominant possessions as he spent an All-NBA season. In other words, Reeve is tasked with taking a step back and making three biggest adjustments.
The Reaves are an important part of everything, and finding the lane he leads like this is a major challenge in the final month of the regular season, whether he is in a big seat or not.
“I think Austin has done a great job throughout his career, and through his career that makes you understand that. Reddick said before Thursday’s game. “There’s a lot of things that have happened over the past six weeks. He’s been incredible this season. We have a lot of confidence in him as a player. We have a lot of confidence in him and Luka’s duo together. X and O Wise, he’s going to play with the ball. He’s going to play with the ball. Once he gets LeBron back, there’s a lot of opportunity. These two have such a huge synergy and chemistry. They’re incredibly intelligent players and really understand how to play with each other.
“And when we were all together, you saw it, the guys really learned how to play with Luka, and then got some good things when we were organized.”
