The Los Angeles Lakers were led by another dominant performance from Anthony Davis on Sunday night. He finished with 36 points and 16 rebounds on 15-for-21 shooting as the The Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers, 150-145. Given the final score, it was no surprise that three other Lakers finished with scores over 20, including 25 points from Austin Reaves.
Reaves and Davis shared the floor a lot together during the former’s three NBA seasons. In fact, they have played the most minutes of any two-man combination for the Lakers this season, averaging 26 minutes per game of shared time on the court. And even though they haven’t been the best statistically (-0.9 net rating), they are extremely effective as a duo with a true shooting percentage of 60.7.
Reaves only experienced what it was like to play without Davis when the Lakers big man was injured, but from then on, he knows that playing alongside the superstar makes everything flow better.
“I just love being his teammate,” Reaves said. “Obviously he makes life a lot easier for everyone on the pitch. But for me, I don’t want to say more than everyone else, but it makes my life a lot easier when he’s on the court just because of his domination of the game on both ends of the court.
“You know you can be more aggressive with the ball when you guard the ball knowing he’s the weak side. And then offensively, with Bron and AD, they’re probably the two best guys in everyone’s scouting report, so anytime you put them in action and defenses are hesitant to go back to them because it’s probably what you should do, it makes life easy. I really wouldn’t expect anything less, he just keeps doing it over and over again.
Above all, Reaves wanted to be sure to credit Davis’ basketball IQ, because he feels it’s a part of his game that isn’t talked about enough.
“No, it’s not,” Reaves said when asked if Davis gets enough credit for his IQ. “I think it’s IQ and feel. I think his feel for the game is second to none. You just have to know where the rebounds are happening, knowing how to get in the right pocket in pick-and-roll situations. Like you said, his IQ, all of that goes hand in hand, just knowing the game and knowing how people are going to defend him and passing out on doubles, all that. So him doing all this is really nothing new to me.
Reaves and Davis have a strong relationship after sharing the starting lineup for nearly three years. And they both do things to make life easier, but Davis’ dominance is something very few players in the league can duplicate. And Reaves witnesses it firsthand every night.
Anthony Davis praises Spencer Dinwiddie
Davis, despite his own dominance, does not hesitate to support his teammates. He recently did it with Spencer Dinwiddie, praising him for his ability to adapt to a new role so quickly.
“We’re constantly preaching to him to be himself. Be Spencer Dinwiddie,” Davis said after the win. “Don’t be passive, you know, trying to pass the ball and looking for guys. Obviously, that’s what he does. But at the same time we want him to be aggressive if he’s open to shoot the ball, attack the basket, finish and you can tell he’s getting more and more comfortable and just playing basketball.
“So what he did tonight, we’re going to need him in these last 12 games and then some, but he’s starting to feel comfortable like you saw tonight.”
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