He isnāt a cone on defense. He holds up decently in iso but is regularly targeted and not really ever at a point where he is giving resistance to the ballhandler. Guys also generally get to their spots pretty comfortably vs him. Again, solid, but he should be the third best defender on the floor ideally.
BenLemons
I dont know about A- but this idea that he’s supposed to be this complete traffic cone I never understood.
If anything we have seen teams TRY to hunt him defensively and not really get the results they were angling for
Confident_Pen_919
Listen I think Austin is over hated on defense but uhh what the fuck A-
WhatitdoFlightCrew39
He’s not bad in isolation. He’s horrible in pick and roll and help defense and obviously close to the rim defense.
Pikminious_Thrious
If 2024 Austin is an A-, then what are the elite perimeter guys graded? SSS+?
throwawaybaybay123
Matches the eye test but not the result. He plays super hard defense and people seem to just get buckets on him. I think there’s some luck factor involved but man.
He definitely gets into more “battles” where he cooks someone on offense and they want to get back at him.
Ok_Conversation_2734
Reaves i wasnt really familiar with your game š„š„š„š„š„š„š„š„š„
prodij18
Austin isnāt lightning quick but he isnāt slow either. Heāll never be Jrue Holiday but he can be fine on an otherwise good defensive team. Just stacking Reaves, DāLo, and Rui altogether is just too little quickness, size, and defensive ability all at the same time. Which is why we need to mix up the rotations and give guys like Christie and Vando more time on the court.
Another problem Austin has is he might have been one of the top 10 players with the weakest upper body strength in the league which meant if his assignment was in the paint it was over. They would just go through him. He said heās addressing that in the off season though, so hereās hoping.
cheaseedz
My goat
cheaseedz
Grade would be a B+, but his games against Jamal Murray boosted him to an A-. But those winners were off pick an rollsā¦ my goat needs to hit the track.
Bahamut727
His second half of the season defense was pretty good.
I think teams think they can bully him, and if they score on him itās āsee! He sucks!ā But then the metrics tell you they donāt score on him as much as they think
LudwigNasche
I’m a big Reaves supporter because he always tries,Ā but he isn’t a good defender. Those are nit picked stats showing what he does well, but overall he isn’t a plus defender.Ā
Ā That said he is still young as is improving,Ā in playoffs he was guarding the opposite team best perimeter scorer and did a decent job. I believe getting stronger and with more experience he can be an average defender.
I think he gambles and helps too much, but I’m not sure how much can be due the defensive schemes and playing alongside bad defenders,Ā but I don’t understand when he leaves his man to help Anthony Davis inside.
blacPanther55
You can’t watch Reaves on defense and think he’s good. Go back and watch his games against the Kings. If he was as good as this claims the team would have been way better.
Miserable-Lawyer-233
Sure but he’s not often in perimeter isolation defense. And there are other categories of defense.
3PT Contests: C- Deflections: C- Passing Lane Defense: C- Pickpocket Rating: C- Steals: D Blocks: D- Help Defense Talent: F Help Defense Activity: D+ Help Effectiveness Rating: F
D’Angelo Russell scored better than Reaves as a help defender, if you can believe that.
15 Comments
Huh interesting
Doesnāt match the eye test or the result.
He isnāt a cone on defense. He holds up decently in iso but is regularly targeted and not really ever at a point where he is giving resistance to the ballhandler. Guys also generally get to their spots pretty comfortably vs him. Again, solid, but he should be the third best defender on the floor ideally.
I dont know about A- but this idea that he’s supposed to be this complete traffic cone I never understood.
If anything we have seen teams TRY to hunt him defensively and not really get the results they were angling for
Listen I think Austin is over hated on defense but uhh what the fuck A-
He’s not bad in isolation. He’s horrible in pick and roll and help defense and obviously close to the rim defense.
If 2024 Austin is an A-, then what are the elite perimeter guys graded? SSS+?
Matches the eye test but not the result. He plays super hard defense and people seem to just get buckets on him.
I think there’s some luck factor involved but man.
He definitely gets into more “battles” where he cooks someone on offense and they want to get back at him.
Reaves i wasnt really familiar with your game š„š„š„š„š„š„š„š„š„
Austin isnāt lightning quick but he isnāt slow either. Heāll never be Jrue Holiday but he can be fine on an otherwise good defensive team. Just stacking Reaves, DāLo, and Rui altogether is just too little quickness, size, and defensive ability all at the same time. Which is why we need to mix up the rotations and give guys like Christie and Vando more time on the court.
Another problem Austin has is he might have been one of the top 10 players with the weakest upper body strength in the league which meant if his assignment was in the paint it was over. They would just go through him. He said heās addressing that in the off season though, so hereās hoping.
My goat
Grade would be a B+, but his games against Jamal Murray boosted him to an A-. But those winners were off pick an rollsā¦ my goat needs to hit the track.
His second half of the season defense was pretty good.
I think teams think they can bully him, and if they score on him itās āsee! He sucks!ā But then the metrics tell you they donāt score on him as much as they think
I’m a big Reaves supporter because he always tries,Ā but he isn’t a good defender. Those are nit picked stats showing what he does well, but overall he isn’t a plus defender.Ā
Ā That said he is still young as is improving,Ā in playoffs he was guarding the opposite team best perimeter scorer and did a decent job. I believe getting stronger and with more experience he can be an average defender.
I think he gambles and helps too much, but I’m not sure how much can be due the defensive schemes and playing alongside bad defenders,Ā but I don’t understand when he leaves his man to help Anthony Davis inside.
You can’t watch Reaves on defense and think he’s good. Go back and watch his games against the Kings. If he was as good as this claims the team would have been way better.
Sure but he’s not often in perimeter isolation defense. And there are other categories of defense.
3PT Contests: C-
Deflections: C-
Passing Lane Defense: C-
Pickpocket Rating: C-
Steals: D
Blocks: D-
Help Defense Talent: F
Help Defense Activity: D+
Help Effectiveness Rating: F
D’Angelo Russell scored better than Reaves as a help defender, if you can believe that.