Lakers: Austin Reaves Says LA Roster Isn't Mentally "Checked Out"
The Lakers lost in frustrating fashion on Saturday to the Warriors 117-115. The loss plunged the Lakers five games under the .500 mark for the first time this season. Even after another disappointing loss, Lakers guard Austin Reaves stated that LA’s veteran roster isn’t throwing in the towel.
In fact, he thinks the Lakers veterans set a fine example for the handful of younger players on the team.
“The way they conduct themselves on and off the floor. Things haven’t went the way we wanted them to go, but nobody is checked out. Nobody is like ‘screw this, we’ll focus on next year’. It’s still in the moment.”
Even with the Lakers mediocre record, Reaves says the LA locker room is confident they have the personnel to start consistently winning games.
“We got vets that have done this for a long time and they know what it takes. They know that we have what it takes to take that next step. It’s really just figuring it out and putting it all together. In my opinion, it starts with the energy we had in the Golden State game…”
Reaves and the Lakers held a slim lead for the majority of the fourth quarter in San Francisco. Then, Klay Thompson happened. Thompson dropped 16 points in fourth-quarter.
Yet, the Lakers still had a chance to send the game to overtime. LeBron had three free-throw attempts with the Lakers down by three with 2.4 seconds remaining in the fourth. He went one-for-three, game over.
A win against the two-seed in the West might have been the spark the Lakers needed.
Instead, Reaves and his teammates are hoping some sort of blueprint for success can be created from another bad loss.
Last time this writer checked, there isn't a column in the standings for moral victories. If there was, LA would have the best record in the NBA.
The time to figure it out, is right now.
