Emmanuel Acho did not hold back when discussing Austin Reaves’ performance in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Reaves was held to just eight points while shooting 3-for-16 from the field (0-for-5 from 3) and turned the ball over four times.
"Austin Reaves should be ashamed of himself. The Lakers CANNOT win with Austin Reaves scoring eight points"
– @EmmanuelAcho with some tough criticism following Austin Reaves' lackluster game 1 performance against the Thunder
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“Austin Reaves should be ashamed of himself for the performance he put out on the court today,” Acho said. “I was not surprised. The man to my right taught me about Austin Reaves about two years ago. He said, ‘Acho, watch Austin Reaves in the playoffs, not the regular season.’ So, I started paying a keen eye to Austin Reaves.
“In the playoffs, Austin Reaves goes ghost, particularly against quality on-ball defenders that are not afraid of contact. They’re not afraid to get up in Austin Reaves’ face. He doesn’t have the first step to get by you, and they can close the gap so they’re not giving him wide open 3-point shots. And in the playoffs, the refs aren’t calling those ticky-tack fouls. Austin Reaves was abysmal tonight. You cannot win if you’re the Lakers with Austin Reaves scoring eight points.”
The Lakers lost Game 1 by 18 points despite the fact that LeBron James (27 points, four rebounds and six assists) shot 12-for-17 from the field and 3-for-6 from 3-point range.
With Luka Doncic (hamstring) out of the lineup, the Lakers need Reaves to play at a higher level, but he has not found his groove in the 2026 postseason. In three games (two against Houston), Reaves is averaging just 15.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game while shooting 30.4 percent from the field and 11.8 percent from 3.
Reaves returned from an oblique injury to play in the final two games of the first-round series with the Houston Rockets, but he has clearly struggled to find his regular-season form. During the regular season, Reaves averaged 23.3 points per game and shot an impressive 49.0 percent from the field and 36.0 percent from 3.
The Lakers desperately need him to match that production if they want a chance to dethrone the defending NBA champions.
Oklahoma City has a plethora of elite guard/wing defenders that it can throw on Reaves, including Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso and Lu Dort. That’s going to make things tough on Reaves all series, especially if Doncic misses more games.
Acho isn’t wrong to question Reaves’ playoff performance, as the Lakers guard shot just 41.1 percent from the field and 31.9 percent from 3 in last season’s first-round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Hopefully, Reaves will rebound from his shaky Game 1 performance when the Lakers and Thunder match up on Thursday night in Game 2.
