Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves experienced early-season struggles replicating his offensive production from the previous season’s end. However, in a pivotal game against the L.A. Clippers, he broke through with an impressive performance, tallying 15 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, setting season highs in points and assists.

This resurgence coincided with a comeback overtime victory that ended the Lakers’ 11-game losing streak against their fellow Crypto.com Arena occupants. It was a particularly critical performance, considering the Lakers’ eight-man rotation due to various players being out of the lineup.

Reaves reflected on his early-season slump and addressed concerns about his lack of offensive production. He emphasized the multifaceted contributions he makes on the court beyond scoring and how fans often rely on box scores to evaluate a player’s performance. Reaves highlighted the importance of perseverance and the Lakers’ ability to adapt to different lineups and situations.

“I haven’t played bad, I just haven’t made shots,” Reaves said. “And for me, like you said that there’s a million other things you can do on the court to help your team that not the normal fan, or someone that don’t really know basketball understands, and people pull up box scores, and they look or he went 2-for-15, it could be anybody and it’s, ‘Ah, he played trash.’ And that’s partially true. Because as an athlete, player, or anybody, you want to make shots. I hold myself to a high standard when it comes to that, but no athlete ever went through their whole career and played perfect. So you have these things happen, and you just got to figure out a way to get through it.”

The Lakers guard zoomed out to focus on not just his performance, but an impressive outing from a short-handed Lakers team to do what they did against the Clippers.

“I think it’s just perseverance. You know, like I’ve said many times, we have a very talented group and a bunch of guys that are very capable of doing a lot of things,” Reaves said. “We can be very versatile, we can show different lineups.

“You know, kind of like in the [Orlando] Magic game where we can finish big. We had C-Wood, Bron, AD. Those as our 3-4-5 just gives us different looks, and tonight, they went small, we went small. So, like I said, you know, we’ve got a group that can do multiple things and figure out stuff on the fly, and then Bron, AD and DLo especially score kept it somewhat of a game early, and then everybody else started to trickle in and help.”

Reaves credited teammate D’Angelo Russell for offering guidance during his early struggles and encouraging him to maintain confidence in his abilities as a basketball player. Reaves’ performance is significant for the Lakers this season, as he plays a pivotal role both in terms of production and leadership within the starting lineup alongside Russell, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis.

“I mean, it felt really good to see a shot go in. Made my first one, and then I missed, like, six in a row. But making the baseline jumper or coming off the ball screen off a little jumper and then the baseline jumper just felt good. And shout out to DLo for constantly being in my ear this whole time. ‘Forget all of that. You’re a really good basketball player. Don’t let that slip. You go do what you’re supposed to do.’ And like I’ve said, you go through stretches like this, and you had to fight your way out. And that’s what I’m doing.”

Additionally, the report mentions that Lakers forward Rui Hachimura was placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol, a development that followed his initial diagnosis of a left eye contusion. The team is monitoring his condition on a day-to-day basis.

“He continued to show symptoms and so he saw a specialist today and the team doctors. Just working through it and just take it one day at a time. He saw a specialist today and we’ll see what tomorrow looks like tomorrow.”