Austin Reaves dismisses concerns about defensive pairing with Luka Doncic citing top-5 defensive record 

Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic are at the center of the LA Lakers’ future core. Both guards are younger than 28 and have already enjoyed massive success in their NBA careers. However, their pairing in the Lakers’ backcourt raises questions on the defensive side of the ball. Reaves, however, is not concerned based on the team’s second half of the season.

The LA backcourt was developed in two different ways. On one hand, the Lakers developed Reaves nearly from scratch after he went undrafted in 2021. On the other, Los Angeles traded away one of the biggest stars of the modern era to the Dallas Mavericks to bring in Dončić. Together, they provide opponents with a daunting challenge thanks to their offensive talent.

Reaves and Doncic are offensive-minded guards, often to the detriment of their defense. However, the 27-year-old guard sat down with Lakers Nation’s Trevor Lane on Tuesday at his youth basketball camp to break down his thoughts on the team heading into the offseason.

When the subject of LA's defense came up, Reaves was confident the Lakers could be successful, citing what the team did defensively after acquiring Doncic.

"Defensively, we just have to lock down and just be with it mentally every possession," Reaves said about his team. "Right after the (Doncic) trade, for like a month or two months we had a top five defense in the NBA. We've shown that we can do that, we just gotta continue to grow."

When the Lakers traded for Doncic, experts around the league predicted that Los Angeles’ defense would suffer. After their first-round playoff loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves, those questions still linger. However, Reaves does not believe it is as big a deal as it is being made out to be.

"When you become a really good defense, it's not about one individual defender guarding the ball," Reaves said about the defense. "It's about everyone who's locked in to rotations if you do get beat."

The LA Lakers are searching for centers to help cover Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic defensively

In their series against the Timberwolves, the Lakers faced two major problems: depth and the lack of a center outside of Jaxson Hayes, which forced them into smaller lineups that Minnesota exploited. As the offseason approaches, acquiring a center is LA's biggest priority.

The Lakers have been linked to several players who could be available via trade, including Nic Claxton, Walker Kessler and Jarrett Allen. All three are upgrades on both ends of the floor and capable lob threats alongside Doncic. However, Los Angeles general manager Rob Pelinka does not have many assets to move if the Lakers want to keep Reaves long-term.

Pelinka could use the team’s mid-level exception to bring in a center like Clint Capela to help through the first part of the season and try to make a bigger deal at next year’s trade deadline. Regardless of who the team brings in down low, many eyes will be on the backcourt pair of Reaves and Doncic. The former is ready for the challenge — ready to prove doubters wrong on defense.