Austin Reaves, the winning poker move

“Did you like this trick up my sleeve? » Darvin Ham launched this sentence to the journalists at the beginning of his press conference, even before being asked the slightest question. The Lakers coach was referring to his decision to put Austin Reaves in his five major against the Suns, in place of Malik Beasley.

As the guard was coming off a 35-point game against the Magic, seeing him shine is no surprise. It is his presence among the starters, for the thirteenth time this season, which is new. Is starting the game a big change for Reaves?

“The mindset is always the same, match after match: win at all costs”, does he answer ESPN. “Winning is all that matters. Because we would have liked not to be in this position, but to be in that of dominating the league. It’s going to be tight and that’s why we play. »

In this important victory against Phoenix, the 24-year-old full-back again achieved one of the best matches of his career with 25 points at 6/10 in shooting and 12/13 in free throws, plus 11 assists (his personal best in this domain). In March, he averaged 17.8 points and 5.1 assists at 56% shooting!

” I’m not going to lie to you: this guy is good”says D’Angelo Russell. “It was good to start well and not be 10 or 12 points behind as usual,” assures Anthony Davis. “Austin scored, I believe, 10 points in the first quarter to help us get going. »

A good game from Reaves and a victory: Darvin Ham’s poker move was therefore (doubly) a winner. “It was totally logical to make this decision,” the coach justifies himself. “I also salute the attitude of Malik, who was a pro and understood this choice. He came off the bench and scored two important award-winning baskets. We needed it. »