How Long Can Lakers X Factors Austin Reaves And Rui Hachimura Keep This Up?

LA has leaned on its depth thus far.

Although your Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Memphis Grizzlies in a brutal 116-99 blowout loss on Wednesday, it's unfair to lay that at the feet of the two LA role players who have shown brightest during LA's offseason. Starting shooting guard Austin Reaves scored 17 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished out six assists (albeit against four turnovers), stole one ball, and registered a +5 plus-minus. Yes, it took him 13 shot attempts to make four field goals, but he's not perfect. He did, however, execute this perfect give-and-go action with LeBron James last night:

Austin Reaves finds LeBron James in transition with the INCREDIBLE no-look dime 🫣

pic.twitter.com/RII0f4QVEo

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 27, 2023

Reserve combo forward Rui Hachimura had a more modest night than he usually has during the postseason, but it was efficient nevertheless still a low-key solid Rui night. In 21:11, he scored just nine points, but went 4-of-8 from the floor.

There's no question that Reaves and Hachimura, incidentally both restricted free agents this summer, have part of the essential ingredients to LA's current stew.

I'm not the only person who thinks the Lakers' 3-2 series edge is due in large part to the revamped team's improved depth, post-trade deadline.

Through five games, Reaves has been averaging 17.6 points on .453/.400/.833 shooting splits, 5.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 0.8 steals a night in 37.0 minutes per.

Hachimura, meanwhile, has cooled off a bit following his hot start in this series, at least in terms of the volume of his output, but is still shooting far more efficiently than he had during the regular season with LA. He's logging 16.2 points on .566/.579/.833 shooting, 4.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists. 

Hachimura's scorching hot scoring start to LA's series against Memphis has certainly cooled, overall. Through his first three games against the Grizz, he averaged 21.7 points on .667/.750/.800 shooting splits. In the two games since, that number has dipped to 8.0 points per on .353/.286/1.000 splits.

Part of the problem is Ham is using him at a position -- backup center -- with which he's not particularly familiar. 

Reaves' efficiency has dipped, but he keeps drawing fouls and find other ways to contribute when his shot hasn't fallen.

Both players are clearly legitimate contributors. Will that be enough for LA to close things out on Friday?

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