Lakers coach likens Austin Reaves to Manu Ginobili.
Speaking to the media following the Lakers' 122-119 win over the Suns on Friday,
Lakers coach Darvin Ham shed some light on his decision to move trusted guard Austin Reaves to the bench in favor of Cam Reddish.
Ham compared Reaves' current role to that of Mani Ginobili on the old Spurs' teams from the 2000s.
Everyone knew Manu [Ginobili] was a starter - it was more about balancing the units. [Austin] still played 35 minutes," Ham said.
"His minutes weren't going to go down; he's gonna finish the game. He was huge down the stretch."
Young Lakers guard Austin Reaves has been impressive in his stint with the Lakers but he's been struggling to start the 2023-24 campaign.
This week, Darvi nHam finally had enough of Austin's struggles and moved him to the secondary unit with hopes of easing him back into form.