Austin Reaves has been a revelation for the Los Angeles Lakers squad this season. He has been part of the team since 2021 but has made a permanent place in the team after displaying a new avatar this season. Albeit AR came to the team two years back, he started as a reserve. That time, he would never really get a chance to be part of the starting lineup. However, this season changed everything. Austin Reaves came into the limelight when the Lakers really needed him.
It was a tough situation when the team reshuffled the roster and was trying to fix a lot of injury issues. After James was out, Anthony Davis needed support, and that’s when Austin Reaves caught everybody’s attention. There were even a few matches when Austin Reaves turned out to be the star of the LA side. Moreover, AR displayed Steph Curry-like magic right before halftime on the way to eliminate the defending champs in Game 6 last night.
Austin Reaves Does A Steph Curry
In Game 6 at home, the Lakers rising star Austin Reaves, who is playing in his second season and the first postseason, was in terrific form. However, LeBron James led the team in scoring, but Austin Reaves was ready to score valuable points in crunch situations. Moreover, AR ended up scoring 23 points. But what caught everybody’s attention was when Austin Reaves did a Steph Curry on the brink of a halftime buzzer. Furthermore, AR earned three points right before the end of the second quarter and shot a long-distance basket. That is something people have often seen Curry do in crunch situations.
As a result, everybody in the Crypto.com arena jumped up and cheered hard for their team. The whole crowd at the arena went berserk. But Austin Reaves helped the Lakers gain seven points lead as they went to halftime. Almost throughout the match, the Lakers maintained a healthy lead. At one point, the Lakers had a 17 points lead over Curry’s team. But the two-time MVP could not do much about it. Finally, it is all over for Steph Curry and the Warriors this season. On the other hand, the Lakers will meet the top-seed Denver Nuggets at the Western Conference finals.
Lakers Lucky After February Trade Deadline
It is fair to say that Los Angeles Lakers have been lucky to make the changes in February. These trades saved their season from a disastrous ending after a disappointing beginning. Also, the Lakers did not make the postseason last time. Hence, the 2-10 start was soul-crushing for the fans of the franchise. However, the big change in February helped the Lakers transform their season completely. The Lakers have not only made the postseason.
But also eliminated the second seed of the Western Conference as well as the defending champions on their way to the conference finals. The Lakers are the seventh seed of the West. Hence, Los Angeles Lakers became the first team since Seattle SuperSonics in the 1986-87 season to make the conference final after finishing as the seventh seed in the regular season. People expected tougher competition from the Warriors under the leadership of Stephen Curry in round 2 of the playoffs. But the Lakers were ready for any challenge the reigning champions were going to throw at them. Ultimately, the Lakers won the series 4-2.