Patrick Beverley, Austin Reaves will start tonight for Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers guards Patrick Beverley and Austin Reaves will start tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Tonight’s matchup is the Lakers’ third preseason game on their schedule. As a starter, in Los Angeles’ 119-115 loss versus the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, Reaves amassed 6 points, 7 boards, 9 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks in 28 minutes of action.

According to some NBA betting sites, the Lakers have top-10 odds of winning their 18th championship in 2023. Find out which sportsbooks are expecting another playoff appearance.

LeBron on Austin Reaves: "Austin can fit in any group. A guy who plays extremely hard, plays well, doesn't make mistakes, always in the right place at the right time … he plays extremely hard. His IQ is very high. Always good to be on the floor with him. I love AR." https://t.co/O76NUmMXUY

— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) October 6, 2022

On Monday, in the Lakers’ 105-75 loss to the Sacramento Kings, Patrick Beverley finished his night with 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist in 13 minutes played. Though, the 10-year veteran was rusty. He shot 1-of-5 from the floor and 1-of-3 from downtown.

As for Reaves, he finished with 5 points, 1 assist, and 1 block in 20 minutes played off the bench. Likewise, the guard struggled to find his rhythm. He shot 1-of-5 from the field and 1-of-3 from beyond the arc.

Lakers guards Patrick Beverley and Austin Reaves will start tonight against the Timberwolves

However, Beverley ended his Wednesday outing with 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists in 20 minutes of action. Plus, he shot 2-of-5 from the field and from 3-point range.

Fellow teammate LeBron James was asked about Reaves’ impact on the Lakers. “Austin can fit in any group,” said the four-time MVP. “A guy who plays extremely hard, plays well, doesn’t make mistakes, always in the right place at the right time — he plays extremely hard.”

“His IQ is very high. Always good to be on the floor with him. I love AR.” And James is also excited to finally play alongside Patrick Beverley.

Head coach Darvin Ham also discussed Reaves’ performance on Wednesday after the game. “Austin is like a Swiss Army Knife,” explained Ham. “He’s going to be a really, really valuable piece for us as we try to turn this thing around.”

So far, the Lakers are 0-3 in the preseason. While exhibition games are typically meaningless for starters, the team went 0-6 in the 2021-22 preseason. Then, Los Angeles failed to qualify for the play-in tournament.

Exhibition matchups can give bettors some indication of where a team will finish in the standings. Quite a few fans were overcritical of the team last season. Spectators still wonder if the Westbrook experiment will work.

Nonetheless, with LeBron, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, and Patrick Beverley, the Lakers are more than capable of returning to the postseason in 2023. It’s all a matter of staying healthy. After all, they’re starting over fresh with a new coach.