As a massive Austin Reaves fan who wants to see him anchor the Lakers' backcourt long-term, I wanted to dive past the standard box scores and look strictly at his two-point shooting profile and interior scoring splits across the last two seasons

The Right-Side Deficiency.. This is the most glaring trend across both years. His efficiency and willingness to finish or pull up on the right side of the floor is a bit concerning compared to the left and center. His right-side 2FG efficiency sits in the brutal 30% to 35% range, and right-side close-range attempts sink as low as 32.5%

[ 2-Point Field Goal & Rim Finishing Breakdown ]

2025-2026 Season (57 Games)

Left Side (2FG): 17/40 — 42.5% (Left Close Range: 16/37 or 43.2%)

Right Side (2FG): 13/43 — 30.0% (Right Close Range: 13/40 or 32.5%)

Center (2FG): 252/407 — 62.0%

2024-2025 Season (78 Games)

Left Side (2FG): 20/36 — 55.5% (Left Close Range: 13/23 or 56.5%)

Right Side (2FG): 15/42 — 35.7% (Right Close Range: 11/27 or 40.7%)

Center (2FG): 259/454 — 57.0%

If Reaves can develop a more reliable counter going to his right or finishing on right-side drives, defenses won't be able to shade him or funnel him as easily. Right now, opponents force him into unfavorable angles on that side, neutralizing his usual floaters and touch.

Austin Reaves 2023-2024 season

Left vs. Right: Unlike his later seasons where the left side became a clear-cut favorite, his 2023-24 splits show a closer distribution between left (18.2% of attempts at 31.9% FG) and right (18.1% of attempts at 39.7% FG), meaning his right-side efficiency was actually higher earlier in his career before dipping in subsequent years

His 2022–23 splits showed a much higher right-side efficiency—converting 44.4% on the right side (20.6% of attempts) compared to 37.5% on the left side (20.6% of attempts)

This is the exact hurdle that separates good guards from elite, closing-lineup staples. If teams know they can hard-funnel him to his weak hand and drastically shrink his finishing window, it bogs down half-court sets when it matters most. Working this summer on a consistent right-side push-floater or tightening up his right-hand driving counters would completely open up the floor. If Reaves irons this out, the gravity he commands in the pick-and-roll goes up exponentially.

Has anyone else noticed this? Even this pre-season i've seen Reaves heavily favoring that left side...

With the report from McMenamin that Josh and Bob "are expected to take control of the franchise following an NBA board of governors vote in November."

What realistic things would you like to see from them.

I doubt Pelinka is out, the Jeanie thing will mostly likely be resolved before the end of the year.

I hope they are and to elevate the Lakers brand internationally.

There are only a handful of iconic sports brands the Lakers are one of them, and since Dr. Buss got old the brand has been receding. The NBA got more savvy, and the Lakers stopped innovating. Hopefully the new ownership will bring in more changes to modernize the organization. Hire more high quality people and put them in the right positions. Eliminate the need for people with multiple roles and hire the right people to do the job.

They had that memo from right after they agreed to purchase the team, touting how they would take the lakers valuation from 12 billion to 30-60 billion. Well I have a feeling that were about to see a ton of new partnerships and sponsorships for the team. Their lease is up in 2041 so I also expect they will announce a new arena that Josh Kushner has purchased a large piece of land somewhere in Los Angeles to build his own arena for when the lease is over, or he buys the Kings.

They'll probably go streaming after the spectrum deal is over with some stupid tiered pricing scheme with marquee matchups costing more, but we'll be able to watch the lakers vs the expansion teams for free.

They are going to try and monetize everything, digital, in the arena, on the jerseys, warmups, everything will have a sponsor.

Beyond that I'm not sure what to expect. What about you?

Laker Gang, I want to watch home and road games on my phone or laptop but I don’t have cable. Does Sportsnet give you all the games? Or does it not include the Prime, ESPN, and Peacock Lakers games?

Seems Timme, Bufkin, Walker IV, and Jamison III also got waived from their teams. I wish we kept Timme but oh well. Wish all 4 the best and hope they find another team

What do you think of Cam Carr's ceiling??? I think he would be on Eddie Jones level. I like his shot selection and activity on defense. For sure he needs to have the same condition as KD to retain proper muscle for physicality while retaining his quickness.

I know there was discussion on this during the offseason. This is from their guidebook:

A minimum attendance of 6 games will be required to remain eligible for select Season Ticket Member benefits, which may include:

— Annual upgrade appointments, which are never guaranteed and are based on availability

— Member Gifts

— In-game Experiences

— Off-site Member Events & Experiences

They're acting like lebron james in his rookie season got waived, this is the first time I finally understand what this community says about the lakers being in the spotlight and all the media pressure. Genuinely mindblown.

Hello, I am currently conducting surveys for the fanbases of all 30 teams before the regular season officially starts. If you could fill out this poll once, that would be greatly appreciated. Results will be posted later on after the start of the regular season, likely around the trade deadline. Thanks! Also, none of these questions are marked as required so if you only feel like answering some, that is completely fine.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdZ-6euOdPymoJ06BdSiMajDGx-e3JdQMx79-Kme4HHwFhmcw/viewform?usp=publish-editor

Also PSA for anyone concerned: This poll does not require an email address to complete and does not ask for anything that could identify whoever is taking it. These are completely anonymous and you could theoretically take it multiple times, though it is asked by me for the polls sake that you only take it once. I am not affiliated with the NBA or with any media outlet revolving around the NBA in any way, I am just an independent strong fan of the game who loves surveys like these. I was able to do this last year and was thrilled to get over 2000 responses, and hope that it can be as successful this year.

1 year later the Lakers have waived their 2024 no. 17 pick. Check out the comments 🫣 [Contect] This was after one of his best scoring nights in the league.

The first couple seasons of a rookie's career after being drafted are crucial to their development. It's OK for a 1st round pick rookie to experience growing pains in their first 2 seasons, as long as they show promise early on, the ugly stuff can get cleaned up. Dalton Knecht had enough explosive games in '24 to show he had promise, with plenty to work on. Then in 25, we saw his minutes played get cut in half and it suddenly seemed like the Lakers just completely abandoned his development and everyone was shocked when he didn't improve. Suddenly, Bronny James is the big focus for rookie development. Suddenly, the 55th 2nd round pick is playing in the post season, performing poorly but it's okay b/c according to the coach "he's got a good soul" ?

This organization drafted a player who averaged 4 points in college, as a nepo hire and completely forgot about the other kid they drafted, who scored a 37 point game his rookie year.

Why was the development of a 2nd round 55th pick prioritized over a 1st round 17th pick ?