4 Lakers Who Need More Playing Time for a Championship Run

2. Austin Reaves

The Los Angeles Lakers relied heavily on Austin Reaves as one of the primary creators in their conference finals run last season. There were times LeBron James trusted Reaves in the clutch to run the offense and the 25-year-old guard delivered time and time again.

This season, he has been getting pulled in and out of the starting lineup for some reason. Coach Darvin Ham keeps trying new things instead of trusting what brought the team success last season. Reaves is the third-best player on the team and he should be treated like it.

In the 16 playoff games last season, Reaves averaged over 36 minutes per game. This year, he only just started playing over 30 minutes a game, with his season average only at 31.1. His usage rate is also only at 20.6% this season. Not only does Reaves need to start playing more, he needs to have the ball in his hands more often as well.

The Lakers have to remember that the best they looked over the last two seasons was when Reaves had a huge offensive load.