‘I ain’t got no legs"- $56 million star Austin Reaves went through 'hell' while guarding Steph Curry in the 2023 NBA Playoffs

Austin Reaves’ biggest task in the LA Lakers’ semifinal series against the Golden State Warriors was to try to contain Steph Curry. Lakers coach Darvin Ham’s strategy was to use Jarred Vanderbilt, Dennis Schroder and Reaves on the NBA’s all-time three-point shot leader.

While Vanderbilt would have been the ideal choice to shadow “Chef Curry,” the forward couldn’t consistently stay on the floor due to his poor offense. It ultimately fell on Reaves to try and limit one of the NBA’s best players.

In the “All The Smoke” podcast, Reaves had this to say about taking on Steph Curry:

“It’s honestly hell… You literally can’t ever relax. I remember Game 1 and 2, chasing him and Klay [Thompson] around, and I couldn’t make a shot… I’m like ‘I ain’t got no legs!’”

In the LA Lakers’ stunning win in Game 1 to grab home-court advantage, Austin Reaves played 39 minutes. He finished with 10 points on 4-9 shooting, including 2-5 from deep.

Game 2 was even worse as the Warriors tied the series. Reaves tallied seven points, going just 3-11 with his shots and 1-5 from behind the arc. Meanwhile, Steph Curry had 20 points but also dished out 12 assists. Several of his passes went to Klay Thompson who led all scorers with 30 points.

Thompson had the hot hand in that game, forcing Ham to put Reaves on “Killa Klay.” Golden State’s shooting guard still hit 11-18 and made all but three of his 11 triples.

The LA Lakers, however, got what they wanted. They had the home court edge as the series shifted to Hollywood.

The change in scenery didn’t help much when it came to Reaves’ scoring. In Game 3, he played 30 minutes and finished with 10 points. The former undrafted rookie continued to hit bricks, making just 2-8 field goals, including 1-4 three-pointers.

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Austin Reaves’ offense began humming starting Game 4 against the Golden State Warriors

The Crypto.com Arena crowd finally got what they wanted from Austin Reaves on offense. He was as dogged and as determined on defense since Game 1 but his offense needed to catch up.

In Game 4, his shots finally started to fall. Reaves went 7-15 and sank 3-6 three-pointers to finish with 21 points. In the close-out win against the Golden State Warriors, he capped off his series with 23 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Austin Reaves drilled seven of his 12 attempts and hit 4-5 from deep. He was a big reason why the Lakers sent home the Warriors 122-101 and proceeded to take on the Denver Nuggets in the conference finals.

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