Austin Reaves rookie season on all accounts Lakers was As great as it was unexpected.. From an undrafted free agent, he became a consistent role player in the starter during his first season and was able to play well overall. Earn votes for the All-Rookie team..
Obviously, there was still room for growth as great as his inauguration season. One of those biggest areas for growth is from his aggressive jumper, especially from the 3 point range.
Reeves, an area where he struggled even in college, entered the NBA and shot 31.5% across the arc. This is actually an improvement over the 30.5% shot from the 3 point range in the final season of college. He had a powerful shooting flash from range, His game-winning shot against the MavericksIt wasn’t a consistent part of his game this season.
Not surprisingly, his three points were highlighted in the interview as areas that Reeves focused on during off-season training. Lakers Nation’s Trevor Lane and Matt Peralta..
“First, stay in the waitroom as much as possible. Just get stronger and really work on everything. Really, the main thing is catch and shoot three. Indeed, corner three. Little by little every day. We are working on everything. “
For the curious, Reeves revealed that many young Lakers were with him in training at the Lakers facility during the off-season.
“We were all in the gym together. Stanley (Johnson), Malik (Monk), Talen (Horton-Tucker), Wenien (Gabriel), Mason (Jones) saw them a lot. I ( I lifted it with a lot of them. Most of the workouts are more individual, but at the same time I’m in the gym. So far, I’m off to a good start in the summer. “
A deep dive into Reeves’ shoot split reveals that two areas were Reeves’ weaknesses last season.
Regarding his catch-and-shoot opportunities, Reeves shot 35.6% in 132 attempts, accounting for more than three-quarters of his three pointers. For reference, in the final season with the Lakers in 2020-21, Kentavious Caldwell-Pop shot 42.0% in those attempts.
Alternatively, with three pointers in his corner, Reeves shot 36.7% in just 49 attempts. That number ranked him in the 41st percentile in the wings of the league in terms of accuracy and the 45th percentile in terms of frequency.
Both areas were where Reeves struggled during the season and where the team struggled. As a team, the Lakers ranked 20th in the league with a percentage of 3 points in the corner this year at 37.9%. Similarly, the team shot only 35.8% on catch-and-shoot opportunities, ranking 21st.
It will be an area where the Lakers need to improve as a whole, not just individual improvements. It makes sense and wise for the Reeves to tackle that aspect of his game, but the Lakers as a whole need to target players who succeed in those aspects. Shooting is an overall weakness for the Lakers last season, and the Lakers must take a step forward to be more competitive in that regard.
Therefore, the Lakers will focus on improving not only the general three-point fire, but also its very specific aspects, whether due to individual improvements from players like the Reeves or new additions. is needed.
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