Lakers’ Austin Reaves Says Anthony Davis ‘Makes Life So Much Easier For Everybody’

After the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers, Austin Reaves spoke to NBA reporters about Anthony Davis. 

Reaves said he enjoys being Davis’ teammate. 

“I just enjoy being his teammate,” Reaves said about Davis, via The Athletic. “He makes life so much easier for everybody on the court. His dominance of the game on both ends of the floor.”

The Lakers defeated the Pacers by a final score of 150-145. Davis finished with 36 points, 16 rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block while shooting 15-of-21 from the field, 1-of-2 from beyond the arc and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line. 

“I just try to read the defense,” Davis said. “They were doubling me, (so I) make the right pass out and guys were making shots. They tried the one-on-one coverage, and I just tried to score the basketball.”

Davis is having a terrific season for the Lakers. He’s averaging 24.6 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.4 blocks while shooting 55.8% overall and 81.2% from the foul line. 

The 31-year-old Davis is 11th in the NBA in points, 15th in points per game, third in rebounds, third in rebounds per game, fourth in blocks and fifth in blocks per game. 

The Lakers’ win, their third straight and fifth in their last seven games, moved them to 39-32, the first time they’ve been seven or more games above .500 this season. They’re now 2.5 games ahead of the Golden State Warriors (36-34) for ninth place in the Western Conference standings. 

Seeds 1-6 automatically qualify for the 2024 postseason, while seeds 7-10 compete in the play-in tournament. 

“We’ll put up a slide and look at the standings and see more so where we are and what we need to do in terms of winning games,” Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said. “And obviously, if you can win every game the rest of the way, that’s great. That’s always great. But different, unforeseen circumstances sometimes affect the outcome of going undefeated.”

The Lakers’ next six games are on the road. They will face the Milwaukee Bucks, Memphis Grizzlies, Pacers, Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards.