Austin Reaves Unpacks How Lakers Find Success Without LeBron James in the Lineup

The shooting guard shared how the Lakers have found a way to be successful without their best player in the lineup.

Dec 31, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) moves the ball against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers thrive when they have both of their superstars on the court at the same time. When LeBron James and Anthony Davis are on the court at the same time. That's when they became one of the most dangerous teams in the NBA. When one or both of them sit, they become a lot easier to beat.

Still, they both have to rest at certain points in the game. There have also been multiple times this year where each of them are out of the lineup due to injury or illness. When that happens, the Lakers have to figure out how to be successful without them.

That's especially true when James is out of the lineup. He is part of so much of what the team likes to do both offensively and defensively. If he is out, the Lakers have to adjust their strategy on both sides of the court. Austin Reaves recently shared how the Lakers are able to be successful on the court without him out there.

"It's really just about playing the game the right way, trusting the offense, the system that we have," Reaves said. "It's never fun to not have Bron. He creates so much chaos and security for us. But it's just a collective group. Everybody knows that they got to step up and do something too for us to be successful."

Reaves has the right mentality with that. He knows that everyone else has to do a little bit more when James is out of the lineup. James covers up so many troubles from other players that the other Lakers have to make sure they play more mistake-free.

Offensively, the Lakers are going to have more issues creating offense now that they traded away D'Angelo Russell. Russell was one of the few players they had who was a great passer. Now, James is the only player who is a good playmaker. The Lakers might have to make another move to address that issue.

With LeBron James now 40 years old, the Lakers are going to be without him a lot more going forward. He has started to find himself more injured in recent years, so the Lakers will have to figure out who they can trust to generate offense. Reaves might have to take on a bigger role in initiating the offense.

More Lakers news: Nick Young Seemingly Takes Big Shot at D'Angelo Russell Following Lakers Trade