“Cost Himself Millions”: Austin Reaves’ Embarrassing Night vs. Thunder Sparks Uncomfortable Talk From Lakers Nation

He’s fairly athletically limited, and that’s where Thunder defenders dominate. Austin Reaves, so far in his fourth game against the Thunder this season, has yet to reach 20 points or make more than six field goals. Similarly, he struggled against the Timberwolves and their elite, physical defenders in last years playoffs. The Sooners alum shot just 31.9% from 3 in the series, including a 2-for-10 performance in the Game 5 elimination loss. AR also averaged just 16.2 points in the playoffs, a drop from his late-season scoring surge.

BR had another report where they suggested that other teams can offer only $179 million-4 year contract. Paying a penny over would be a bad financial decision. This recent report and AR’s performance against OKC in Game 1, as the fans are convinced that the star’s next contract won’t be as big as previously predicted.

Fans question if Austin Reaves is worth big bucks

“Austin might’ve cost himself millions today”, a comment resonated with many. After all, his performance ended up being on the wrong side of history. Austin Reaves just had the lowest FG% by a Laker in a playoff game this century (min 15 FGA). Similar comments regarding the performance spread like wildfire.

“Force shot looking for foul not for a shot.. better JJ reddick give some minutes to other player..bronny,theiro,dalton, smith jr,” was another comment urging coach JJ Redick to use his bench players. Austin Reaves performance was also disappointing, because the Lakers also lost Jarred Vanderbilt to an injury. Despite this, the Lakers had only eight players who logged at least 10 minutes. In comparison, the Thunder had 10 players play more than 10 minutes. OKC’s bench outscored the Lakers’ bench 34-15.

There could be a reason why AR failed to perform tonight. A fan pointed, “He literally just came back from being injured.” That being true, Reaves also got injured not even 4 minutes into the game; he was holding his right knee. With just the third game back after being out for close to a month, maybe the expectations should be limited. Or maybe it’s down to his performance.

Another fan suggested that Rich Paul was right in suggesting to trade away Austin Reaves. “Such a winnable game too… killing momentum ugh. Rich Paul got killed for being right about him smh.” According to Paul, if the Lakers want to maximize their championship window with Luka, they have to be willing to part with their most beloved role player to land a defensive titan like Jaren Jackson Jr. Before his injury, the Jazz forward averaged 19.4 points and was an effective point of attack defender, something that Austin Reaves clearly lacks.

Similarly, netizens slammed the continuous poor outings in the postseason from AR. “He’s not a playoff player; he’s always struggled in the playoffs.” With Luka Doncic still sidelined, AR will need to lift the offensive weight on his shoulder, even if he is not 100%. Tonight again, LeBron James had a game-high 27 points, which doesn’t bode well for Reaves, who is eyeing a massive pay upgrade.

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