Austin Reaves has been playing at an All-Star level since taking over the lead creator role for the Lakers

When the Los Angeles Lakers traded D’Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith, it was a signal to guard Austin Reaves. Head coach JJ Redick told Reaves that he was ready to become the primary creator and initiator of an LA offense that was in the top half of the league for most of the season.

In the seven games prior to the deal, Reaves had averaged 20.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 7.4 assists per night with relatively good shooting numbers. That gave the organization confidence that he could continue this on a larger scale. And in the seven games since the trade, he averaged 18.9 points and 8.6 assists. His shooting numbers are down slightly, but he’s undoubtedly off to a good start.

Redick was asked how he thinks Reaves is adjusting to the new role and how he is reacting to the slight drop in shooting numbers. He had a lot of praise for his point guard.

“Yeah, I think, I don’t know if you did, but I know someone asked me a similar question when this whole thing started. Could have been Dan. It’s all about the sales and living with them, but also about finding the balance. You have to give him his courage. He has a brave mentality. For this you have to give in a little and allow him to live in this space. I think if he played the right way, taking responsibility for what he is for this team, being the main creator, and making the right shot and making the right passes, then I’ll be honest with you, he’s at his best played at a star level,” Redick said.

“He was that good. There are no 10, 12 game stretches in an NBA season averaging 22, 8 and 6 games at high efficiency without playing properly. And he was so good for us.

“It’s when the game somehow goes wrong. And we talked about that yesterday. The game goes sideways. It’s like you can’t get out of character. Then you can’t decide, “I’m going to take bad shots because I haven’t had a chance in a while.” I’m going to do that. “Our team needs you to play the right way every time.” And when he did that, he was elite.”

With Reaves being so new to the role, there are bound to be some mistakes and some games where he might miss something. But there is no denying that he has shown the potential to emerge as a major creator.

And it doesn’t look like the Lakers are going to give up on him in that role anytime soon.

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