The Los Angeles Lakers are turning their attention to the Oklahoma City Thunder after eliminating the Houston Rockets in six games, and guard Austin Reaves insists he has no complaints about the way Shai Gilgeous-Alexander piles up free throws.
Reaves, who returned from injury for Games 5 and 6 against Houston, addressed Gilgeous-Alexander’s league-leading ability to draw contact as the teams prepare for their Western Conference semifinal series. “He wants to win and he’s going to do whatever it takes,” Reaves said. “If that means shooting 20 free throws, so be it. I’d be happy if I got to the line 20 times, too.”
Gilgeous-Alexander, the front-runner for what would be his second consecutive MVP award, averaged more than 10 free-throw attempts per game during the regular season. His style has frustrated opponents around the league, but Reaves called it “somewhat of an art,” noting that a high-usage guard who attacks the paint as often as Gilgeous-Alexander is unlikely to finish a night without trips to the stripe. “You’re not going to shoot zero free throws,” Reaves added.
Like the Thunder star, Reaves frequently earns fouls by initiating contact on drives, a skill the Lakers relied on to compensate for a shortage of downhill playmakers earlier in the postseason. Los Angeles hopes that physical approach carries over against an Oklahoma City squad that features multiple scoring threats beyond Gilgeous-Alexander.
Reaves also took a moment after the Rockets series to praise LeBron James, telling the 40-year-old forward he was “incredible” following James’s vintage performance in Game 6.
The Lakers and Thunder open their best-of-seven matchup later this week at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
Source: LakersNation.com
