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Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers

It would be hard for even the most optimistic and sun-shiny coach in the NBA to put a good spin on the way that Lakers star guard Austin Reaves played on Tuesday night in the team’s loss to the Thunder to open the conference semifinals. And one thing we know about JJ Redick of the Lakers is this: He is not sun-shiny.

Redick has earned a reputation as a blunt speaker who will not paper over obvious problems. And there was no more obvious problem when it came to the Lakers’ anemic performance against the Thunder than the way that Reaves shot the ball: He was 3-for-16, and he missed all five of his 3-point attempts. He also committed four turnovers and, for a guy who is returning from an oblique injury that he suffered a month ago, that’s a concern.

The Lakers, with Luka Doncic still out because of a hamstring injury, face an uphill battle against OKC even on their best day. But when Reaves shoots that poorly, it’s clearly not his best day.

Lakers’ JJ Redick: Austin Reaves ‘Didn’t Play Well’

So, what can the Lakers expect from Reaves heading into Game 2? That’s still unclear. He played for the first time since the injury last week against the Rockets, and started off with a 4-for-16 showing in a loss. But he was better from the field in Game 6, shooting 7-for-14 (though he was 0-for-4 from the 3-point line in that game).

Now, it’s 3-for-16 against the toughest defense in the NBA, with a string of 14 missed 3-pointers in a row.

Lakers coach JJ Redick was honest about Game 1 but said that Reaves’ bounce-back is not his big worry.

Said Redick: “He didn’t play well, but he’s gonna bounce back. He’s a great player.”

Lakers Seeking Tighter D

More than just the shooting of Reaves and the flop of the Lakers offense–they scored 90 points against OKC and shot just 41.2% from the field with 18 turnovers–Redick was concerned about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder star and reigning MVP. Statistically, the Lakers handled SGA, keeping him limited to 18 points and six assists with seven turnovers.

But Redick said the Lakers want to tighten up on Gilgeous-Alexander more.

“I think there’s some stuff we did that was good with the Shai coverages,” he said. “I think there is some stuff within that that we did not do well. We need to create better clarity for our guys. We used, the film today was primarily defensive tape and tomorrow will be our offensive attack edit. I do think we have to be better when he’s not on the floor. They play a very specific way when he is not on the floor, and they were plus-9 in those minutes and we have got to at least be even.”

Austin Reaves Plan: ‘Make More Shots’

eaves said after Game 1 that he was not sure there was anything he or the Lakers had not seen from OKC before. He pointed the finger at himself, and his litany of missed shots.

Said Reaves: “Making a couple mental mistakes. Felt like we got some good looks and just did not make them, but every time you watch them throughout the year, every time you make a couple mistakes in a row, they take capitalize on those.

“Obviously, the easy thing is to make more shots. I got to my spots multiple times and just missed a couple easy shots. For the most part, got to limit the turnovers, they pressure the ball really well. Just got to give us an opportunity to get a shot up.”