SALT LAKE CITY — With nearly 20 percent of the Los Angeles Lakers’ regular season in the rearview, Austin Reaves sat in front of his locker in Utah in as good a position as he’s been in his five-year NBA career.
His team had just hung on to beat the Utah Jazz for its fourth win in a row, moving to 12-4 on the season — tied for the third-best record in the NBA. He had another 20-plus-point game, something he’s done in all but one of his games this season.
And, while it’s not front of mind, a massive payday is waiting for Reaves this summer when he can become an unrestricted free agent and earn more than $40 million a season.
Almost everything has been going right — until Reaves got asked about the most glaring thing that wasn’t.
At the mention of his and the Lakers’ 3-point shooting, Reaves leaned back in his chair and delivered another clank — this time with the back of his head bouncing off the frame of his locker.
“F—,” he said before apologizing to the team’s communication staff.
Maybe the quick blow to the back of the head will be the thing to get Reaves and the Lakers’ shooters back on track.
“I’ll do anything to make a 3,” he half-joked after going 1 of 8 behind the arc against the Jazz.
He’s not alone. Despite the Lakers’ best 16-game stretch to open a year since 2021, their shooters are almost universally ice cold. LA’s three leaders in three-point attempts, Luka Dončić, Reaves and Marcus Smart, are making just 29.6 percent combined. Dončić and Reaves are both at 31.1 percent from 3, both significantly lower than their career averages.
“I think me and AR haven’t hit a shot this season,” Dončić said.
Only the Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies are making a lower percentage from 3. Those teams have started the year a combined 20-48.
The Lakers still haven’t shot better than 33 percent from 3 in three straight games this season, the slump now stretching past the first month of their schedule. They went 10 of 38 (26.3 percent) on Sunday.
“We’re literally one of the worst shooting teams in the NBA right now,” coach JJ Redick told his team after the game. “I don’t think that’s who we are. We’ve got to make shots. We’ve got to shoot them with confidence.”
Asked if his team is shooting with confidence right now, Redick quickly deadpanned, “We’re shooting.”
So how have the Lakers, with their 15th-ranked offense and 14th-ranked defense, managed to win games like Sunday’s?
“I think it’s just chemistry. Care factor’s high,” Reaves said. “You wanna go out there and do whatever you can do to help one another succeed. And I think that that goes a long way. There’s no selfishness; everybody wants to see everybody succeed.”
The Lakers have continued to try and build the team’s chemistry throughout the season, both on and off the court. On Friday, instead of holding practice, they had a pickleball tournament. LeBron James’ sciatic irritation forced them to learn how to win short-handed from the jump, an ability that got sharpened when they had to play — and win — without Dončić and Reaves earlier this year.
“Just our resilience,” Smart said. “It’s something new every game for us.”
The latest is a knee contusion that knocked Deandre Ayton out of the second half on Sunday. The team didn’t have an update on his condition postgame.
In addition to the toughness and the vibes, James’ return has helped to raise the Lakers’ ceiling. He had 17 points, six rebounds and eight assists against the Jazz — though he went 0 of 4 on 3s.
“I’m in great shape physically,” James said. “But as far as my wind, I got to (keep working). And it doesn’t help that it’s my second game back playing in Utah altitude. It doesn’t help, that’s for sure. So every game I’ll get better and better. My wind will get better and better. But, s—, this week was kind of like my training camp for me, to be honest. I didn’t get an opportunity to practice with the guys at all throughout camp, throughout the preseason.
“So I’m still working my way back.”
James should help the shooting. So should improvement from Dončić and Reaves. Despite the lousy numbers, no one is too concerned, as the Lakers are pleased with the offense they’re creating even if the results aren’t fully there.
“We’re not worried about it,” James said. “We got too many good shooters. It won’t last.”
Eventually, Redick admitted, the Lakers are going to have to shoot the ball better. But for now, the foundation they are building, one in which they’ve survived all the missed 3s, has them believing that the rims will eventually loosen up.
“Our togetherness is important, playing for each other, the bench spirit tonight was great,” Redick said. “I do think there’s something with this group where we just whatever the game requires that night, that’s what we’re going to do to try to put us in a position to win. We’ve had to, kind of strategy-wise, mix in a bunch of different things, and the guys have been bought into just, ‘Hey, this is what tonight requires.’
“Let’s go out there and try to execute that.”
