Austin Reaves reveals Lakers’ mindset for Thunder series
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Austin Reaves and the Los Angeles Lakers head into their Western Conference semifinals series against the Oklahoma City Thunder as underdogs. They will face the defending NBA champions without homecourt advantage, and the team will continue to play shorthanded as Luka Doncic is still recovering from a hamstring injury.
However, the Lakers have momentum on their side after defeating the Houston Rockets 4-2. Reaves returned for the last two games and averaged 18.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists, supporting LeBron James in advancing to the next round.
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Locking in is the key for the Lakers
The odds may be stacked against them entering the semifinals, but the Lakers’ star shooting guard made it clear that he and his teammates understand what they need to do to upset the Thunder.
“You could say nobody thought we were going to get past Houston, but everybody in this building believed,” Reaves said on Sunday. “It’s the same mindset going into this. We obviously know the team that we’re about to face and how good they are and the problems that they can create for 48 minutes. So, we’ll have to lock in every single day, film, whatever it could be, to continue to get better and pay attention to all the little details like they do.”
Reaves will likely be one of multiple players tasked with guarding reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. It won’t be easy as he would still need to be a consistent contributor on the offensive end. The good news for him is the versatility of his teammates, with the likes of James, Rui Hachimura and Marcus Smart all capable of guarding multiple positions.
Game 1 is set for Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET at Paycom Center. It will be broadcast live on NBC.
