Austin Reaves Has Been Great In FIBA ... Could He Be An All-Star?

[Dacost]

So much laker B.S here dude got bullied like a little Bword but apparently it doesn't matter what your eyes sees because stats are what truly what matter.

It's OK to love your team and be a homer and I never once call Reaves a scrub but this LAKER propaganda to make him all -star is just insane.

[zimpy27]

He ended up being one of the best players on Team USA

[bronxknicksfan1]

The players that bullied Reaves are ones that were grossly larger or faster. Dennis Schroeder is one of the quickest guys in the league...not many are staying in front of him 1 on 1. It's odd that he's so polarizing on defense. Many analysts believe he's a good defender, yet several in here claim he's awful. He doesn't have elite natural tools but he gives effort and is disruptive against modern nba offenses. Regardless of his alleged defensive defficiencies, he still posted one of the few positive +/- in today's game.

Have you been watching FIBA at all? Opponents are hunting him on switches whenever he’s out there.

[Ayt]

Herro is 23, has put up 20-5-4 seasons already and gets trashed like he’s a negative player

This guy has a decent season in a smaller role at 26 and people are overrating him, debating future all star convo, gets invited to Team USA.

It doesn’t make sense to me at all.

-Herro is 23, turning 24 next Jan. Reeves is 25, turning 26. Getting one age correct and the other's wrong, when making an age-based argument, is pretty interesting. Reeves was 25 the entirety of the last regular season.
- It's also interesting that you fail to mention Reeves' improvement curve and fewer years in the league, again in an age based argument.
- Was Herro even interested in playing for team USA? To use Reeve's team USA invite as a sign of him being overrated vs Herro is a little irrelevant if Herro wasn't interested/wanted to focus on his health this summer.
- I'm not turning this into a Herro vs Reeves. Herro is a great player, is younger as you mentioned, and Reeves only has around half a season playing a role like Herro's, while Herro has done it for 2-3 years. I simply wanted to point out the inaccuracies in the post I quoted, along with the missing context.

Uh, no. Reeves turned 25 in May. He was 24 in every game he played in last season.

[zimpy27]

The players that bullied Reaves are ones that were grossly larger or faster. Dennis Schroeder is one of the quickest guys in the league...not many are staying in front of him 1 on 1. It's odd that he's so polarizing on defense. Many analysts believe he's a good defender, yet several in here claim he's awful. He doesn't have elite natural tools but he gives effort and is disruptive against modern nba offenses. Regardless of his alleged defensive defficiencies, he still posted one of the few positive +/- in today's game.

Have you been watching FIBA at all? Opponents are hunting him on switches whenever he’s out there.

Yeah without rim protection his defense gets exposed. He's a perimeter defender like Kawhi or KCP, they play perimeter players close looking for steals but they are easier to get by because they play close, so you need some interior presence to warn that off. Especially Reaves because he's not as athletic as KCP and Kawhi.

If you look at Reaves impact it's much higher with Davis on court with Lakers. These players are valued defenders but defense is a team game, people shouldn't forget that.

Reaves still got top minutes because he played hard, got offensive boards and was the most efficient scorers on Team USA.

[3toheadmelo]

Where’s that guy that thinks he’s gonna average 8 points per game lol

Read on Twitter

[facothomas22]

Where’s that guy that thinks he’s gonna average 8 points per game lol

Read on Twitter

How did Reaves look on defense?These points hardly mean anything if you're such a liabaility on defense to point where you make Kevin Huerter and D'Angelo Russell look good by comparison on that side of the ball. He also only had one assist compared to 3 turnovers. How is that impressive? This basically makes him a Duncan Robinson/Buddy Hield cailber player who's unplayable when he shot isn't falling. That just futher solidifies the fact that Reaves is around 15 minute per game player who's a good, but not great shooter and any team that's expecting him to be anything more than that asking for big trouble if their goal is making the playoffs.

[Dacost]

Where’s that guy that thinks he’s gonna average 8 points per game lol

Read on Twitter

How did Reaves look on defense?These points hardly mean anything if you're such a liabaility on defense to point where you make Kevin Huerter and D'Angelo Russell good by comparison on that side of the ball. He also only had one assist compared to 3 turnovers. How is that impressive? This basically makes him a Duncan Robinson/Buddy Hield cailber player who's unplayable when he shot isn't falling. That just futher solidifies the fact that Reaves is around 15 minute per game player who's a good, but not great shooter and any team that's expecting him to be anything than that asking for big trouble if their goal is making the playoffs.

This is my take 1000%

Robinson/hield are great player there is no shame in that the only reason we are talking about a role player is because he is a laker

[3toheadmelo]

Where’s that guy that thinks he’s gonna average 8 points per game lol

Read on Twitter

How did Reaves look on defense?These points hardly mean anything if you're such a liabaility on defense to point where you make Kevin Huerter and D'Angelo Russell good by comparison on that side of the ball. He also only had one assist compared to 3 turnovers. How is that impressive? This basically makes him a Duncan Robinson/Buddy Hield cailber player who's unplayable when he shot isn't falling. That just futher solidifies the fact that Reaves is around 15 minute per game player who's a good, but not great shooter and any team that's expecting him to be anything than that asking for big trouble if their goal is making the playoffs.

Duncan Robinson? Lol

Did you even watch the playoffs?

[ROballer]

Where’s that guy that thinks he’s gonna average 8 points per game lol

Read on Twitter

How did Reaves look on defense?These points hardly mean anything if you're such a liabaility on defense to point where you make Kevin Huerter and D'Angelo Russell good by comparison on that side of the ball. He also only had one assist compared to 3 turnovers. How is that impressive? This basically makes him a Duncan Robinson/Buddy Hield cailber player who's unplayable when he shot isn't falling. That just futher solidifies the fact that Reaves is around 15 minute per game player who's a good, but not great shooter and any team that's expecting him to be anything than that asking for big trouble if their goal is making the playoffs.

This is my take 1000%

Robinson/hield are great player there is no shame in that the only reason we are talking about a role player is because he is a laker

And you both are clueless turds.

This guy played 36 minutes in the NBA playoffs and played the 3rd most minutes on team USA.

If by any chance you would be right in anything you say(you're dead wrong), someone with some credentials might have pulled the plug on him by now, don't you think? But what do the NBA coaches know better than some random internet warriors, right?

D'Angelo Russell and Duncan Robinson LMFAOO...you haven't watched an NBA game in your damn life, get the f out of here.


And his shot is always falling btw. Check the efficiency everywhere he went including FIBA.

This guy is something else. You realize the Lakers made the Western Conference Finals last yeary with Reaves being an integral part(3rd best player on the team) right?

And were out of the playoffs for most part of the year when he was playing off the bench and Westbrook was starting?
What are you remotely talking about? I haven't see so many wrong takes in a post in my damn life.

[facothomas22]

Where’s that guy that thinks he’s gonna average 8 points per game lol

Read on Twitter

How did Reaves look on defense?These points hardly mean anything if you're such a liabaility on defense to point where you make Kevin Huerter and D'Angelo Russell good by comparison on that side of the ball. He also only had one assist compared to 3 turnovers. How is that impressive? This basically makes him a Duncan Robinson/Buddy Hield cailber player who's unplayable when he shot isn't falling. That just futher solidifies the fact that Reaves is around 15 minute per game player who's a good, but not great shooter and any team that's expecting him to be anything than that asking for big trouble if their goal is making the playoffs.

This is my take 1000%

Robinson/hield are great player there is no shame in that the only reason we are talking about a role player is because he is a laker

Yeah when it comes to current NBA players, he's very comparable to Robinson/Hield. There's nothing wrong that. You need someone who's capable of coming off the bench to play around 15 minutes per game to hit their shots. What I have a issue with is those who are blinded by their Reaves/Lakers fandom is that they try to make him more than that. The fact is if Reaves is your starting cailber player, you're likely going to be a very bad team just like the Pacers and Kings have been every year because Hield is being asked to play more than he should. The fact he's a NOT a starting level player and never will be. The only reason why this is even a conversation is becasue he plays with Lebron James on the Lakers, otherwise everyone would've just accepted him as he is, which a 15 minute per game player on good team(a average to below average role player).

[mattg]

He ended up being one of the best players on Team USA

eh, he had some of the most empty stats. Where you'd look at box scores and be like Reaves was awesome...but when you watch the game in it's entirety Reaves gets hunted EVERY single possession defensively and that strategy worked for the USA opponents. Didn't matter if it was in the post or just getting the matchup on the perimeter for the simple blow by, he couldn't guard a chair the whole tournament. He shot the ball very well though, but if Team USA was going to be insistent on switching everything (which was a brain dead dumb coaching choice for FIBA IMO) then Reaves was unplayable.

He'd do better IMO if Team USA didn't switch everything (which again was a really, really stupid choice for FIBA without defensive 3 seconds, makes ZERO sense), but because they did Reaves was one of the biggest reasons teams could ensure a high quality shot every possession Reaves was on the court.

[facothomas22]

How did Reaves look on defense?These points hardly mean anything if you're such a liabaility on defense to point where you make Kevin Huerter and D'Angelo Russell good by comparison on that side of the ball. He also only had one assist compared to 3 turnovers. How is that impressive? This basically makes him a Duncan Robinson/Buddy Hield cailber player who's unplayable when he shot isn't falling. That just futher solidifies the fact that Reaves is around 15 minute per game player who's a good, but not great shooter and any team that's expecting him to be anything than that asking for big trouble if their goal is making the playoffs.

This is my take 1000%

Robinson/hield are great player there is no shame in that the only reason we are talking about a role player is because he is a laker

And you both are clueless turds.

This guy played 36 minutes in the NBA playoffs and played the 3rd most minutes on team USA.

If by any chance you would be right in anything you say(you're dead wrong), someone with some credentials might have pulled the plug on him by now, don't you think? But what do the NBA coaches know better than some random internet warriors, right?

D'Angelo Russell and Duncan Robinson LMFAOO...you haven't watched an NBA game in your damn life, get the f out of here.


And his shot is always falling btw. Check the efficiency everywhere he went including FIBA.

This guy is something else. You realize the Lakers made the Western Conference Finals last yeary with Reaves being an integral part(3rd best player on the team) right?

And were out of the playoffs for most part of the year when he was playing off the bench and Westbrook was starting?
What are you remotely talking about? I haven't see so many wrong takes in a post in my damn life.

How much can we really take away from the fact that the Lakers made the Western Conference finals? They played vs a Grizzlies team that was missing Steven Adams and had a lot maturity problems. They were playing vs a Warriors team that was dealing the Jordan Poole drama and was very much undersized. Not to mention Klay Thompson was flat-out unplayable at times in that series and Curry wasn't his usual self. As soon as the Lakers ran into a team that didn't have major issues, they got swept. Not to mention they had a very easy schedule post tradeline. The fact is that if Reaves is you're 3rd or 4th option, that team is quite likely going to be a lottery team.

[3toheadmelo]

How did Reaves look on defense?These points hardly mean anything if you're such a liabaility on defense to point where you make Kevin Huerter and D'Angelo Russell good by comparison on that side of the ball. He also only had one assist compared to 3 turnovers. How is that impressive? This basically makes him a Duncan Robinson/Buddy Hield cailber player who's unplayable when he shot isn't falling. That just futher solidifies the fact that Reaves is around 15 minute per game player who's a good, but not great shooter and any team that's expecting him to be anything than that asking for big trouble if their goal is making the playoffs.

This is my take 1000%

Robinson/hield are great player there is no shame in that the only reason we are talking about a role player is because he is a laker

Yeah when it comes to current NBA players, he's very comparable to Robinson/Hield. There's nothing wrong that. You need someone who's capable of coming off the bench to play around 15 minutes per game to hit their shots. What I have a issue with is those who are blinded by their Reaves/Lakers fandom is that they try to make him more than that. The fact is if Reaves is your starting cailber player, you're likely going to be a very bad team just like the Pacers and Kings have been every year because Hield is being asked to play more than he should. The fact he's a NOT a starting level player and never will be. The only reason why this is even a conversation is becasue he plays with Lebron James on the Lakers, otherwise everyone would've just accepted him as he is, which a 15 minute per game player on good team(a average to below average role player).

Austin Reaves started on a team that literally went to the WCF lol

[Dacost]

This is my take 1000%

Robinson/hield are great player there is no shame in that the only reason we are talking about a role player is because he is a laker

Yeah when it comes to current NBA players, he's very comparable to Robinson/Hield. There's nothing wrong that. You need someone who's capable of coming off the bench to play around 15 minutes per game to hit their shots. What I have a issue with is those who are blinded by their Reaves/Lakers fandom is that they try to make him more than that. The fact is if Reaves is your starting cailber player, you're likely going to be a very bad team just like the Pacers and Kings have been every year because Hield is being asked to play more than he should. The fact he's a NOT a starting level player and never will be. The only reason why this is even a conversation is becasue he plays with Lebron James on the Lakers, otherwise everyone would've just accepted him as he is, which a 15 minute per game player on good team(a average to below average role player).

Austin Reaves started on a team that literally went to the WCF lol

well DUH he plays with LeBron and Anthony Davis.

Reaves usually plays vs the bench and is very effective at doing that.


So many people defending here but no is actually saying anything.

Do you guys really think he is All star?
Is he really worthy of being a starter?

All you see is empty stats all over the place but
no one actually has a take.

[JB2]

One particular poster tis really solidifying his grip on that #1 biggest clown of RealGM spot

[bronxknicksfan1]

The players that bullied Reaves are ones that were grossly larger or faster. Dennis Schroeder is one of the quickest guys in the league...not many are staying in front of him 1 on 1. It's odd that he's so polarizing on defense. Many analysts believe he's a good defender, yet several in here claim he's awful. He doesn't have elite natural tools but he gives effort and is disruptive against modern nba offenses. Regardless of his alleged defensive defficiencies, he still posted one of the few positive +/- in today's game.

Have you been watching FIBA at all? Opponents are hunting him on switches whenever he’s out there.

Yeah without rim protection his defense gets exposed. He's a perimeter defender like Kawhi or KCP, they play perimeter players close looking for steals but they are easier to get by because they play close, so you need some interior presence to warn that off. Especially Reaves because he's not as athletic as KCP and Kawhi.

If you look at Reaves impact it's much higher with Davis on court with Lakers. These players are valued defenders but defense is a team game, people shouldn't forget that.

Reaves still got top minutes because he played hard, got offensive boards and was the most efficient scorers on Team USA.

Almost every player’s defensive impact would look much better when having AD on the court. He’s one of the best defenders in the league. Doesn’t change the fact that Reaves just isn’t a good defender.

[zimpy27]

Have you been watching FIBA at all? Opponents are hunting him on switches whenever he’s out there.

Yeah without rim protection his defense gets exposed. He's a perimeter defender like Kawhi or KCP, they play perimeter players close looking for steals but they are easier to get by because they play close, so you need some interior presence to warn that off. Especially Reaves because he's not as athletic as KCP and Kawhi.

If you look at Reaves impact it's much higher with Davis on court with Lakers. These players are valued defenders but defense is a team game, people shouldn't forget that.

Reaves still got top minutes because he played hard, got offensive boards and was the most efficient scorers on Team USA.

Almost every player’s defensive impact would look much better when having AD on the court. He’s one of the best defenders in the league. Doesn’t change the fact that Reaves just isn’t a good defender.

Well they don't on the Lakers.

Yes defenders benefit from rim protection but some defenders take advantage of that by being able to play aggressive defense on perimeter. Other players are safe defenders regardless.

[Buckets22]

Reaves is the perfect 6th man - gives you buckets, steals, energy...I got a bit overboard with him - no way he is the main defender on 3 or 4 for parts of the game. Post abuse alert.

[ItsDanger]

People on this board repeatedly criticize some player's defensive issues. But some players escape the criticism and posters just highlight the offensive/counting stats. Reaves got abused in the post every time giving up ultra high % shots. His offensive stars are inflated because he's a ball handler and can dictate the offense. Other players need someone to get them the ball. His proper role is 6th man in NBA,