Austin Reaves situation has Lakers falling short of realizing full potential

Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves has earned justified rave reviews for his sustained stretch of All-Star-level play. He's taken a significant step forward as both a scorer and playmaker, posting some of the best games of his NBA career thus far.

Unfortunately, the hurdle facing the Lakers stands to make or break their season: Figuring out how to prevent Reaves from flipping the switch off again.

What could previously be described as an impressive stretch of games has now become a new standard for Reaves on a nightly basis. Since returning from a five-game absence in mid-December, the 26-year-old has averaged 20.4 points, 7.4 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 2.6 three-point field goals made on .451/.389/.878 shooting.

With a strong sample size of 16 games, Reaves has understandably earned praise from his coach and skeptics alike for the manner in which he's played and produced.

In recent days, Reaves has proven how adaptable he is during wins over the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets. He tallied 14 points and 14 assists during a 117-108 victory against the Heat, and scored a career-high 38 points in a 102-101 escape of the Nets.

Unfortunately, Reaves' next game epitomized the last remaining hurdle he faces as a scorer: Explosive performances have been followed by inefficiency or a general lack of production.

Austin Reaves must find an answer to hot and cold tendencies

In his first game since setting a new career-high in points, Reaves attempted just six shots against the LA Clippers. He actually shot well, going 4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, ending the night with 14 points despite his limited number of attempts.

The Clippers deserve credit for the defense they played against him, but Reaves going from 38 points to six field goal attempts is too drastic a change to justify.

The concerning truth is that this isn't an entirely new development. Earlier this season, he averaged 18.3 points per game across a three-game stretch that included peaks of 26 and 23 points, but attempted just six shots in just under 28 minutes the next time out.

Reaves responded by averaging 20.0 points per game across his next six appearances, but shot just 37.5 percent from the field during the seven outings that followed.

That trend continued when he scored a then-season-high 35 points against the dominant Cleveland Cavaliers, only to shoot 35.6 percent from the field during his next five games played. It's a credit to Reaves that he's still finding ways to contribute, but his ebbs and flows as a scorer are concerning.

The Lakers don't necessarily need him to score 20 points every game, but peaking at explosive and consistently declining to sustained stretches of extremely inefficient shooting is an issue.

There's a case to be made that Reaves' ups and downs are a part of the process of taking on a larger scoring role. He's been featured relatively prominently since 2022-23, but this is the first time in his NBA career that he's been a true offensive focal point.

If the Lakers are going to maximize what could realistically be the last season during which LeBron James plays at an All-Star level, however, Reaves will need to find the key to consistency by the playoffs.