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Austin Reaves and the LA Lakers are gearing up for their Western Conference semifinal matchup against the Golden State Warriors. LA made it into this stage after defeating the Memphis Grizzlies 4-2 in the first round, while Golden State saw off the Sacramento Kings in seven games.
During team practice on Monday, Reaves was asked how the Lakers’ defensive game plan will change against the Warriors. The second-year guard spoke about how the Grizzlies and Warriors are two completely different opponents.
“They’re two totally different teams,” Reaves said.
“With Ja (Morant), (Desmond) Bane, Jaren (Jackson Jr.), they like getting in the paint. (The Grizzlies) score a lot of points in the paint, but it’s the complete opposite.
“(The Warriors), obviously, shoot a lot of threes. Transition threes, threes everywhere, honestly. We’ve got to mindset shift, but if we gameplan and lock in, we’ll figure it out.”
Austin Reaves was then asked how the Lakers plan to stop the Warriors’ top guards including Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole. He said that LA will have to play lockdown defense for full possessions.
“I mean, obviously, if you watch them play, the movement never stops. All three of them are just as dangerous when they give up the ball as when they have the ball,” Reaves said.
“So we just gotta stay locked in literally all 24 seconds on the shot clock because they like getting them up early in the shot clock, but also they’ll stretch out the shot clock and get good looks late when teams relax.
“Obviously, Steph and Jordan play a lot alike, you know, Steph is a different animal as you saw yesterday (in Game 7 against the Sacramento Kings). So it’s all about us really executing our game plan.”
Austin Reaves on the possibility of the LA Lakers playing a Game 7 on the road against the Golden State Warriors
Later on in his practice interview, Austin Reaves was asked how he feels about the Golden State Warriors having homecourt advantage over the LA Lakers. He was also specifically asked about the possibility of the Lakers having to win a potential Game 7 on the road.
Reaves replied by expressing confidence due to the presence of experienced veterans like LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the team.
“You know the experience that we have with Bron and AD, obviously, gives us a good feel because they’ve been there, done that,” Reaves said.
“Bron’s obviously played against their core many times in the finals and regular season, so he’s always locked in and preparing us for what we need to know. And other than that, our ball club has got a lot of talent.”
Game 1 between the LA Lakers and Golden State Warriors will take place on Tuesday in San Francisco.
Also read: Shannon Sharpe compares LeBron James-Steph Curry rivalry to 'Chamberlain-Russell'
