Austin Reaves Discussion: How Much Is He Worth?

I would rather surround Luka and HIM with these mid tier excellent role players as well. I haven’t been sold on the “three star” build.

 

Wait a second. Ireland is somehow ignorant to the mechanics of the NBA game?
Dude has been entrenched within the Lakers for over two decades now and has been the radio play by play guy for the past 14 seasons. Is he the best X’s and O’s Guy we have that’s currently a part of the organization? No. But that doesn’t make him a basketball dummy.

 

He's an idiot when it comes to X's and O's.

I like Ireland, too.

When it comes to analysis, Pete and Darius are probably my favorite, personally. I like Raj. Guru is cool. There's probably more...

 

Right. And nobody's even referring to Ireland's deep X's and O's knowledge, it's simply whether Ireland can tell if Austin can score a lot of points or not.

For that opinion, he started blasting Ireland and me.

 

he's kind of like Jeremy Lin tbh

 

General question/thought experiment:

If you replace Haliburton last playoffs with current Reaves, does it significantly change the results, or does Indiana have about the same run?

Haliburton 2024-25 playoffs
17.3 pts, 8.6 asts, 5.3 rebs, 2.3 3's, 1.3 stls, 0.7 blks, 2.3 TO's
46.3 FG%, 34.0 3P%, 82.8 FT%, 54.9 eFG%, 58.1 TS%

 

Reaves is SGA without the defense. A higher volume 3-pt shooter than SGA though. Might be better offensively overall. Very impressive. I always said he would be James Harden, if the lane were to be opened up for him. He was a rough fit with AD and Lebron, and with no perimeter defenders. If the Lakers didn't do the Luka trade, I feel like they might of had a plan b and c involving AD. I felt like maybe they were possibly talking with Chicago and Utah about getting LaVine and Kessler, in a multi-team trade. No information on this, just thought I heard some talk/message board fodder some where that they were interested in both players, and a hunch. Lakers did end up still utilizing Utah in the Luka deal, but dumping JHS on them, so Pelinka and Ainge were apparently having some kind of communication. Anyway, I wasn't sure if Reaves would get the opportunity on this roster, and thought he would be best utilized trading for better players to compliment the stars if they were not going to utilize his strengths. I also said the new rules would benefit foul baiters the most. This is an area where Austin is elite at. So he also has that benefit, and he has the carrot of the new contract too, and he has ice water in his veins, so Reaves is not going to shy away from getting that contract. Glad he is getting the chance to show what he could do as the focal point of an offense. Even the fit with Luka is just fine with him, as long as they are complimented with 3 and D players.

 

Gave the post a like generally. But the (implied, tired and inaccurate) wording on this quote to be accurate should have read "without as much defense".

Might not have been your intention, but most of the Reaves detractors just state it as fact. AR competes his a** on man to man and team D and the added strength will help there too. SGA is NOT Alex Caruso or Jrue Holiday at POA either.

AI:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is considered a
high-level, impactful defender and a major factor in the Thunder's elite team defense, but is not generally described as a traditional "lockdown" point-of-attack defender in the same mold as specialists like Jrue Holiday or Alex Caruso.
Here's a breakdown of his defensive reputation:

• Defensive Playmaker: His greatest defensive strength lies in his off-ball defense and defensive instincts. He led the league in total steals and deflections in the 2023-24 season, effectively creating havoc in passing lanes with his long 6'6" frame and massive wingspan.
• On-Ball Defense: He is considered an above-average to good on-ball defender capable of taking on superstar guard matchups, but not a "lockdown" specialist for an entire game, partly due to his immense offensive workload. Some advanced stats show he has a high "blow-by" rate, which is a key metric for evaluating point-of-attack defense.

 

Me either.

 

Ditto, to you!

 

The ole, “I don’t care what anyone thinks, I know better than you dummies” really brings a lot of productive conversation to the site. Also, definitely doesn’t scream massive insecurity.

Looking forward to being ignored as well.

 

IDK man, last season SGA was #9 in both DBPM and STEAL%. Reaves was #112 and #91 in DPMN and STEAL% respectively. Out of 179 players ranked in these categories. Those numbers suggest SGA is one of the best defensive guards in the NBA. Albeit, quietly. I know the guy is not flashy, in any way, really. I'm never said SGA was good at POA specifically, but he is generally regarded as an excellent defender, and his DBPM and STEAL% indicate that. I know there are more advanced defensive metrics out there, but these seem to be fairly universal and reliable for guards. Offensively, Reaves is awesome, and on the cusp of maybe being regarded as one of the best offensive players in the NBA. Like I said, him and Luka just need elite 3 and D players around them, and hopefully Ayton's defense is good enough too.

 

sga's a plus defender and reaves isn't. that's ok.

a question that started this was about reaves and haliburton, and that one's pretty interesting, as they grade out similarly on defense (as LT said, reaves grades out much better than, say, kyrie, who has been pined for and considered a second star). i think haliburton is probably better on offense in peak form, but it's hard to know, as reaves has never had the keys for long stretches. for short stretches, he's been better, tbh.

 

Any defensive deficiencies Reaves has is not for lack of effort, that's for sure. He does the best he possibly can. He is one of the best in drawing charges in the entire NBA, which suggest he is definitely not soft, and he has a strong work ethic, we know that already. With that being said, yeah he does have his limitations, and that's okay (with the proper defensive support players). He's probably had problems specifically due to his lack of muscle. Gets targeted in that way, but he addressed that by adding some muscle, which should help him. But he's likely never going to be more than an average POA defender, just need to get someone else to do that. The guy is bringing it on the other end, and he is not complete trash on defense. He needs to be the 4th or 5th worst defender in a starting unit though. So that is telling me that Rui and maybe even Ayton might not be the best fit with Austin, from a defensive standpoint. Rui for sure though.

 

This is insane. Everyone else on this list is 40-60%. Austin is over 70%.

 

Fake stats!! Not athletic enough to possibly come even close to those numbers.

 

Austin has everything he needs to be a first or second option if that even needs to be designated. What takes him beyond is that the other players rally around him and he makes every single player on the court better. Austin has the skills, desire and intangibles. His detractors want to point out that he failed in the playoffs. He is in a much better position now to lead. The team is much better when he is guiding it. Last year'a squad was injured, lacked chemistry and going nowhere. This season is completely different. NBA history is full of superstars that came up short before succeeding. Not everyone is Magic.

 

It’s a shame he can’t see any of my Kleber posts… hahahaha