Austin Reaves Is a Hero as the Lakers Knock off The Mavericks for a Third Straight Win

In a season filled with a string of disappointments, from bad losses to injuries to, now, what appears to be a (hopefully contained) Covid outbreak, the Lakers have been short on genuinely good and joyous stories. The exception there has been undrafted rookie Austin Reaves, who started off as a ready-made substitute to make Alex Caruso-themed jokes, before building into a player the Lakers might be able to use more than expected, before becoming someone the Lakers needed in their rotation. Wednesday in Dallas, Reaves became a damned hero, nailing the game winner in overtime to give the Lakers a third straight win. He hit five of six from downtown, overall, and Frank Vogel said after he couldn't pull Reaves off the floor because his defense was too good. In the short term, the Lakers will give Reaves a lot of floor time because they don't have many players (Malik Monk, Talen Horton-Tucker and Dwight Howard are in the Covid protocols and Trevor Ariza is still not ready) but long term for a team desperate for predictable two-way players, Reaves is quickly becoming indispensable. Meanwhile, it wasn't a great night for the Big Three. None were bad, none were great, and yet the Lakers won. That hasn't been the norm through most of the season. It's because they got just enough when it was needed most, and the team was willing to commit for four quarters (plus five minutes) defensively. Yes, the Mavs struggled on their own, but LA put in the work. Are they turning a corner, not necessarily in their performance (they were held under 100 points in regulation, so the offense has some work left to do. But they won anyway. LeBron talked about it after - what does this say about the group's evolution? HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: Austin Reaves, the hero the Lakers want AND the hero the Lakers need. This is a really cool story. SEGMENT 2: The Big Three weren't great, but the Lakers won anyway. That's meaningful for this team, given their track record this season. SEGMENT 3: LeBron talked about the team's identity. How are they recalibrating their sense of collective self? How important is that for turning things around in a meaningful way? Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline AG There is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus. PrizePicks Don’t hesitate, check out PrizePicks.com and use promo code: “NBA” or go to your app store and download the app today. PrizePicks is daily fantasy made easy! TrueBill Don’t fall for subscription scams. Start cancelling today at Truebill.com/LOCKEDONNBA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices