\u201cI didn\u2019t have the series that I wanted to have. You can point the finger at me. I wasn\u2019t good enough to help us be successful. I wish I coulda done more. I didn\u2019t. I struggled. You live and you learn, and I guarantee that I\u2019ll get back to work this offseason and be better.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nLeBron James’ Message To Bronny James Post Lakers Playoff Exit: “I’ll See You When I See You”LeBron James’ Message To Bronny James Post Lakers Playoff Exit: “I’ll See You When I See You”
\nRead More
\nIt\u2019s a rare and admirable admission in a league where finger-pointing can sometimes cloud postmortems. But in this case, the self-critique is grounded in truth. Reaves entered the series with high expectations.<\/p>\n
Just a couple of years into a four-year, $53.8 million deal, he had already proven himself a capable playoff performer in 2023, especially during the Lakers\u2019 run to the Western Conference Finals. This time, however, he fell flat.<\/p>\n
Across five games, Reaves averaged 16.2 points and 3.6 assists but shot just 41.1% from the field and an icy 31.9% from three-point range.<\/p>\n
In comparison, Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels, seen as Minnesota\u2019s third option, averaged 17.4 points on 57.4% shooting while also locking down defensively. Reaves, often tasked with guarding bigger wings, struggled on both ends.<\/p>\n
The low point came in the decisive 103-96 loss in Game 5. While Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Rui Hachimura each scored over 20 points and battled to keep the Lakers’ season alive, Reaves had just 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting and committed a team-high six turnovers.<\/p>\n
He went 2-of-10 from beyond the arc, missing several wide-open looks that could have swung momentum.<\/p>\n
With no bench player scoring more than four points, Reaves\u2019 struggles carried added weight. Head coach JJ Redick had shortened the rotation to seven players by Game 5, a move that only amplified the impact of every starter\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n
In that context, Reaves\u2019 inability to produce consistently on offense and defend at a high level left a glaring hole.<\/p>\n
Reaves\u2019 willingness to take the blame offers a silver lining. It speaks to his maturity, leadership, and accountability, traits the Lakers value deeply.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s no doubt this offseason will be pivotal for his development. He\u2019ll need to work on improving defensively against larger matchups and continue refining his shot under pressure.<\/p>\n
The Lakers, meanwhile, enter another offseason of uncertainty. LeBron James\u2019 future looms large, and the roster clearly lacks depth and frontcourt size. But with Doncic locked in, Reaves under contract, and a strong core in place, the foundation remains solid, provided lessons from this postseason are learned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Austin Reaves admits struggles in first-round loss to Wolves. Austin Reaves is owning the weight of the Los Angeles Lakers’ early exit, stepping up and taking full… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57833,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n
HOT NEWS: Austin Reaves Takes Responsibility For Lakers' Early Exit After Disappointing Series - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=57832\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"HOT NEWS: Austin Reaves Takes Responsibility For Lakers' Early Exit After Disappointing Series - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Austin Reaves admits struggles in first-round loss to Wolves. Austin Reaves is owning the weight of the Los Angeles Lakers’ early exit, stepping up and taking full...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=57832\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-01T14:12:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2-2.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"673\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MsThao\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MsThao\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=57832\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=57832\",\"name\":\"HOT NEWS: Austin Reaves Takes Responsibility For Lakers' Early Exit After Disappointing Series - News 365\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=57832#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=57832#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2-2.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-01T14:12:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-01T14:12:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bd62b4f1523cc864d4f4e151cc009bc0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=57832#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=57832\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=57832#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2-2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2-2.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":673},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=57832#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"HOT NEWS: Austin Reaves Takes Responsibility For Lakers’ Early Exit After Disappointing Series\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"News 365\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bd62b4f1523cc864d4f4e151cc009bc0\",\"name\":\"MsThao\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/38555279c6b6b7febdf09c87b184059dc428484397a9d8d577024da5d6e35287?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/38555279c6b6b7febdf09c87b184059dc428484397a9d8d577024da5d6e35287?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MsThao\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"HOT NEWS: Austin Reaves Takes Responsibility For Lakers' Early Exit After Disappointing Series - News 365","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=57832","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"HOT NEWS: Austin Reaves Takes Responsibility For Lakers' Early Exit After Disappointing Series - News 365","og_description":"Austin Reaves admits struggles in first-round loss to Wolves. Austin Reaves is owning the weight of the Los Angeles Lakers’ early exit, stepping up and taking full...","og_url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=57832","og_site_name":"News 365","article_published_time":"2025-05-01T14:12:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":673,"url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2-2.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"MsThao","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MsThao","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=57832","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=57832","name":"HOT NEWS: Austin Reaves Takes Responsibility For Lakers' Early Exit After Disappointing Series - News 365","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=57832#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=57832#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2-2.png","datePublished":"2025-05-01T14:12:21+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-01T14:12:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bd62b4f1523cc864d4f4e151cc009bc0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=57832#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=57832"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=57832#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2-2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2-2.png","width":1200,"height":673},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=57832#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"HOT NEWS: Austin Reaves Takes Responsibility For Lakers’ Early Exit After Disappointing Series"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/","name":"News 365","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bd62b4f1523cc864d4f4e151cc009bc0","name":"MsThao","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/38555279c6b6b7febdf09c87b184059dc428484397a9d8d577024da5d6e35287?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/38555279c6b6b7febdf09c87b184059dc428484397a9d8d577024da5d6e35287?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MsThao"},"url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=57832"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57834,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57832\/revisions\/57834"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/57833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=57832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=57832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=57832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Austin](\"https:\/\/fadeawayworld.net\/.image\/ar_16:9%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cg_faces:center%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620\/MjEzNTAzMTgxMzAzMzI2MTU5\/austin-reaves-in-action-against-the-bucks.jpg\")