Austin Reaves woke up Friday, October 25, to a text from Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick at seven o’clock in the morning.
“I was still asleep,” Reaves told Lakers sideline reporter Mike Trudell after he dropped 26 points on 12 shots. “He obviously was [awake] and told me that he could see me having a big night tonight. Waking up to a text like that builds confidence in yourself.”
Reaves spearheaded the Lakers’ 22-point comeback with his playmaking and efficient shooting night to beat the Phoenix Suns 123-116 for their second straight win.
The Lakers are 2-0 to start the season for the first time since 1999, during Phil Jackson’s first year as the team’s coach. They went on to beat the Indiana Pacers for the first of five championship runs under Jackson.
Redick, a first-time head coach, is nowhere near Jackson’s Hall of Fame resume. But Redick has been pushing all the right buttons to win his first two games as an NBA head coach.
That includes manifesting Reaves’ big night after the fourth-year guard scored only 12 points on 14 shots in their season opener.
“Some of that offense was very intentional in the second quarter, and that’s what got him going a little bit,” Redick told reporters when told about Reaves’ sharing his text message. “We felt like there was a specific thing that we could do that we could get good offense out of our action. And he manipulated that really well. That got us back in the game. The flow in the offense got back.”
“He’s a guy that has thrust and a pace to his offensive game in the half court. We need that. And then he was just fantastic in the second half.”
JJ Redick Didn’t Panic
Reaves scored 15 points in the second half. He finished with a game-high eight assists, tied with LeBron James, who also had 21 points.
With Reaves and James’ playmaking, the Lakers’ offense started to hum after a disastrous opening quarter.
The Lakers gave up 14 fastbreak points in the first quarter, with the Suns zooming ahead 38-23. A Bradley Beal jumper in the early moments of the second quarter capped a 7-0 start that gave the Suns a 45-23 lead.
But Redick didn’t panic. So, the Lakers followed his lead.
They adjusted and slowly chipped away the Suns’ big lead.
“Even when we’re down 22, no one pointed fingers, no one rattled,” Lakers star Anthony Davis, who led scoring anew with 35 points, told reporters after the comeback win. “We just settled into the game. We just knew what we had to do.”
Reaves and Davis said Redick huddled them at halftime and told them they were fine and just needed to settle down since they were getting good looks.
“Him, not panicking, honestly makes us not panic, and we’re able to wear [the Suns] down and eventually take the lead,” Davis said.
With Redick’s calming presence, the Lakers executed better in the second half.
Down 61-52 at halftime, the Lakers buckled down to work and took the lead 82-81 on a Gabe Vincent 3-pointer off James’ fifth assist with 1:35 left in the third quarter.
“We’re trusting what [Redick] has been doing,” Davis told reporters, “What he just schemes and what he’s putting in on both ends of the floor, him and his staff, and it’s paying off.”
Austin Reaves’ Agent Proves Prophetic
Reaves’ agent, Aaron Reilly, was ecstatic when the Lakers officially named JJ Redick as the team’s new head coach, replacing Darvin Ham.
“This coach is about to show a different part of Austin’s game [that] none have you seen. Kept receipts on all that third superstar [expletive]. Great hire for LA – going to be a big year next season,” Reilly tweeted on June 20.
Just two games into the season, Reilly’s words look prophetic.
Reaves is averaging career-high numbers across the board with 19.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks.
“The main goal every time you step on the court is to win,” Reaves told Trudell. “And regardless of how you do that, what it looks like, you know every single day, that’s what this coach has to have, is preach and figure out a way to win. And that’s what we’re doing right now.”
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