Austin Reaves didn’t mince words after Friday’s brutal loss to the Golden State Warriors, flat out admitting, “I was terrible again. That’s it.” Yeah, he said it. And honestly, it’s hard to argue with him after seeing the stats from that October 30th game in San Francisco. Reaves was at the center of a total meltdown, a game where the team blew a massive 25-point first-half lead and ended up losing by double digits.
The Numbers Don’t Lie After a Brutal Night
When you sign a superstar contract, you get superstar scrutiny, even if you are not the *sole* reason for a loss. Reaves was in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons against the Warriors. He coughed up the ball a shocking eight times, shot just 9-19 from the field, and finished with a minus-13 plus-minus, the worst among the starters. Those are numbers that make any fan cringe, especially when your team is letting a huge lead slip away. The honesty is appreciated, sure, but the performance just wasn’t good enough.
No Excuses, Just Answers
The contrast in play was stark: when Luka Dončić was on the floor, the team looked great, and let’s be real, that was mostly because of him doing Luka things. But the moment Dončić sat, everything fell apart, with Reaves stuck right in the middle of the mess. You could try to offer an excuse, like how a lot of the guys in those non-Luka units just joined the team this offseason and are still trying to build chemistry. That’s a legitimate point, right? Not to Austin. When asked if that was fair rationale for their struggles, Reaves shut it down immediately. “It’s real, but that doesn’t give that second unit an excuse to be pretty terrible,” he said. “And that starts with me. I’ll watch the film and try to be better. But you have to learn on the fly and pick up things quickly. As I said, I have to be better to start that.” That’s the kind of accountability you want, but now we need to see the action.
The league knows what’s up now. Reaves has run second units before without Luka, but often that came with LeBron James flanking him. This season is a whole new challenge. Teams are putting him higher on the scouting report, and the word is out: throw doubles at him on ball screens, try to physically overwhelm him, force those turnovers. That’s the punch defenses are throwing. Now, it’s on Austin to throw a counterpunch. He’s built his career on constant improvement, so you gotta believe he’ll figure this out. The question is, how quickly can he? Because the season isn’t waiting.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Silver Screen and Roll.
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