The Los Angeles Lakers have been through a lot of challenges this season. The team did not look like a contender, as they had no balance. They also had issues with injuries to key players throughout the year. At a moment, fans were losing hopes of a postseason this year. Last year as well, they could not make the postseason. The team was heavily dependent on LeBron James as Anthony Davis was out with a stress injury. But after the February trade this year, the squad is looking much better in terms of balance.
As a result, they started getting momentum, and even when James was unavailable for weeks due to an injury, the team kept the hopes alive for the fans. Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell became big hopes after returning from injuries. Other than them, the Lakers found new heroes in Austin Reaves, Jarred Vanderbilt, Wenyen Gabriel, Dennis Schroder, Rui Hachimura, and others. But Reaves has gained the most momentum than any other Lakers’ young gun. And looks like, once again, he has done something to make LeBron James and the Lakers’ brigade proud.
Reaves Gave A Sweet Reply To Pat Bev As Lakers Get Their Revenge
After LeBron James returned to the lineup, the Lakers faced the challenge of the Bulls. It is safe to say that the return was not a successful one. The visitors beat the Lakers at home. Meanwhile, Patrick Beverley, a former Laker, made a couple of gestures to insult LeBron James and the Lakers. The Los Angeles side was supposed to meet the same team in their next game. And what happened last night could not get any sweeter for a Lakers fan. The squad beat the Bulls at United Center and climbed to the 8th seed in the Western Conference. But on top of that, the young Laker, Austin Reaves, gave an excellent response to the former Laker’s gesture.
Too small @patbev21 🤣 pic.twitter.com/960p8nABTZ
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) March 30, 2023
Patrick Beverley had made a “too small” celebration against LeBron James after scoring a basket over the King. It is ironic because Pat is 6’2, whereas James is 6’9. But Pat’s gesture implied that James was too short to stop his shot. However, at United Center last night, the Lakers were on the verge of winning the game when Reaves scored a basket in a pretty similar fashion over Pat. He did not forget to avenge the King. And later, when Reaves spoke in the press conference, he mentioned, “I did not plan to do this, but it seemed like the right time, so I did. I have a lot of respect for Pat. He knows that. It is just my way of competing.“
LeBron James Is Proud Of Hillbilly Kobe
On the other hand, LeBron James was speaking to Jovan Buha when he mentioned, “Austin has always got my back.” He even joked that “even if Reaves has been a fan of Kobe more than mine back in those days, I forgive him.” A decade ago, the NBA had a great rivalry between LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. Austin Reaves must have been a high school kid back then and a Lakers fan. Hence, it is understandable if he liked Kobe more. But at present, the young Reaves, in his second year with the LA side and in NBA, is making a lot of noise.
LeBron James on what he thought about Austin Reaves doing the “too small” gesture to Patrick Beverley: “That AR always got my back. Always. Even though he loved Kobe back in the day more than me. I forgive him.” pic.twitter.com/pt0jAMTFO9
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) March 30, 2023
Now, Reaves and the veteran James are coming together in the party to take the Lakers to the top six. It is still a very close fight at the West table. With only six games to go, the Los Angeles side is the 8th seed with a .500 record. The Lakers are sharing the same win-loss ratio with the Pelicans on the table. All they need is to build a winning streak from here in the remaining regular season games.
