Austin Reaves shocked the NBA universe when he did a Steph Curry in the Round 2 series scoring from halfway in the last playoffs. The Los Angeles Lakers dominated that series as they won 4-2, knocking out the then-defending champions. Stephen Curry was on his way to lead the Golden States Warriors to their 5th title in nine years. Anyway, the two-time MVP has helped his team become a modern-day dynasty. But he was sad to not go through to the conference finals. It was a clash between LeBron James and Stephen Curry again.
The Lakers had a difficult season until they turned things around and reached the Western Conference Finals, defeating the Warriors. However, the young sensation of the Los Angeles Lakers, Austin Reaves, expressed how difficult it was to guard the three-point king. Everybody knows Stephen Curry can shoot from anywhere. Recently, AR revealed why he struggled in the first two games of round 2 against the Warriors. Reaves mentioned that it had a lot to do with Steph Curry.
Austin Reaves Revealed It Gave Him Hell While Guarding Steph Curry
On the podcast, All The Smoke, Austin Reaves revealed that it honestly felt like hell guarding the greatest shooter of the game. Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson asked him to elaborate, and Reaves added that Steph Curry never let him relax because of his system and the way he moves without the ball. The system is just perfect for him. In the first two games of the Western Conference semis, AR had a tough time making a shot. hE said everybody looked at him like, “What’s your problem?” The Oklahoma Sooners kid answered why could not he make a shot then. He replied, “I don’t have no legs.” Austin Reaves felt like hell chasing Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
“It’s honestly hell… You literally can’t ever relax. I remember Game 1 and 2, chasing him and Klay around, and I couldn’t make a shot… I’m like ‘I ain’t got no legs!’”
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 20, 2023
Austin Reaves describes guarding Steph Curry in the Playoffs🥵
(via @shobasketball)pic.twitter.com/EmxJMCwph7
Reaves mentioned that he has a lot of respect for Steph Curry. Moreover, Curry’s approach to the game of Basketball is too special. The Laker even admired the way Stephen Curry sees the game and the way he plays. According to him, it was a lot of fun and excitement to play against the Golden States Warriors. But he is glad that the Los Angeles Lakers won the conference semis. However, the Kobe Bryant fan emphasized that Curry gave him hell, especially in the first two games. But it is a good sign for the Lakers that Reaves was able to make the much-needed adjustments to play against Curry. These adjustments will help him the next time he faces Curry on the court.
Lakers Want Reaves To Get On The Caruso Plan
On the other hand, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin mentioned that the Lakers are looking to get Austin Reaves on the Alex Caruso plan. On The Lowe Post podcast, McMenamin informed that the Lakers’ front office plans to transform Reave’s body. They want him to look like Caruso did till he moved to Chicago Bulls.
Moreover, the Lakers have faith in Reaves with his work ethic and love for the sport. He can certainly achieve it. On a lighter note, that physical transformation does not mean going bald but getting more chiseled. Moreover, it should not be a problem for Reaves to give Drug tests. Especially after he looks like Caruso’s photoshopped images of working out.
