The Los Angeles Lakers haven’t seen much of LeBron James or Luka Doncic this preseason, but the rest of the roster has been busy finding its rhythm, especially Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton, whose chemistry has quickly become one of the team’s bright spots.
Reaves is a big fan of Ayton’s work.
“Just how much skill he has,” Reaves said, via Lakers Nation. “People forget about when he was in Phoenix and how dominant he was there and how he was one of the biggest reasons that team made it to the Finals that year. Talent is high, he can play in the pick-and-roll, protect the rim. So we need that. We need him to flourish in that role.”
Reaves highlighted how the reps in camp have helped build a growing connection between the two.
“I think those things just grow throughout reps, and that’s kind of what we’re trying to do in preseason,” he said. “Get those reps. I’m not sitting there thinking about it in the moment — if I can go by my guy, I’m gonna go by him, and if not and I need a screen then I’ll have him come screen. It’s been fun to get to play alongside him in that pick-and-roll.”
The Lakers have lacked a true interior presence since the departure of Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee, and Reaves believes Ayton fills that void, both on and off the court.
“He’s gonna have a lot of responsibility this year for things that we want to do and if we want to be as good as we think we’re gonna be, we need him to be at his best self,” Reaves explained. “Whatever that looks like, we all got personalities in here and we just gotta continue to gel those, learn things about one another, connect off the court and just have genuine relationships. Because once you have that and you look around the locker room and you know that guy will go to war with me… it’s not about me, it’s about us and how we can get a win that night.”
READ MORE: Russell Westbrook & Kings Maintain ‘Strong Mutual Interest’
