Lakers News: Darvin Ham Defends Decision To Bench Austin Reaves With Hall Of Fame Comp
Entering the new NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers believed that the continuity on their roster would allow them to get off to a hot start. But so far, that hasn’t been the case, and LA has started the year off much slower than anticipated.
This led LA head coach Darvin Ham to decide to put guard Austin Reaves on the bench to start their Friday game against the Phoenix Suns. He replaced Reaves with forward Cam Reddish, in the hope that having Reaves come off the bench would provide their second unit with more firepower.
The move seemed to work out well for the Lakers, as they took down the Suns in a thrilling 122-119 come-from-behind victory. Reddish played a big part in that, contributing 17 points, three steals and three rebounds in the win.
Ham spoke about the decision and compared Reaves's role to how the San Antonio Spurs used to apply future Hall of Fame shooting guard Manu Ginobili over the years.
It's an interesting comparison and one that Reaves has found himself in before. Ginobili was excellent for the Spurs over the years and sacrificed his starting spot to have the team win more. Reaves seems to be willing to do the same thing here, and at the end of the day, winning is the most important factor.
Reaves had struggled to start the season, and the Lakers weren't going anywhere with him starting games. Both he and Reddish put together solid nights against Phoenix, so this move may be a good one by Ham.
Only time will tell if this move works out, but so far so good. Hopefully, the Lakers can continue to build off this win and finally start looking like the team many expected them to be before the year started.
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