LOS ANGELES – When the Los Angeles Lakers traded D’Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets last month, it meant Austin Reaves was officially the full-time starting point guard. That move was kind of made clear when Lakers head coach JJ Redick moved Russell to the bench early in the season. But the trade cleared any remaining doubt. By Reaves’ own admission, he is learning his new role on the fly. It’s come with a learning curve, including increased turnovers, but Redick isn’t too concerned with that part of Austin Reaves’ game due to LeBron James.

Prior to the Lakers’ game against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, which marked Russell’s first game back as an opponent since the trade, JJ Redick acknowledged why LeBron James is the reason he isn’t alarmed by Austin Reaves’ fluctuating number of turnovers.

“I think you have to be willing to live with some turnovers with Austin because he plays at a certain pace, and he’s like LeBron, willing to make daring and difficult passes at times. That’s part of what makes those guys great shot creators,” Redick said. “There’s not a noticeable difference in terms of play style from him.”

One thing that Redick did acknowledge was that Reaves, like James, is seeing an increased level of defensive attention from opposing teams by virtue of being a primary ball-handler.

“There are certain teams, because he is our primary ball-handler, there are certain teams that have guys that are disruptive. They pick up full-court,” Redick said. “So it’s really a game by game thing depending on the other team’s personnel for both LeBron and Austin, in terms of what type of pressure they are getting. And that can obviously lead to some turnovers.”

Austin Reaves’ as Lakers’ full-time point guard

Through the four seasons that Reaves has been in the NBA, he holds a career average of 1.6 turnovers compared to 4.0 assists. This season, his turnovers have increased to around 2.5 per game compared to 6.2 assists. Both are career-highs.

He’s had games such as the 14 points, 14 assists and zero turnovers he finished with against the Miami Heat earlier this week. Then he’s had games such as earlier this month against the Atlanta Hawks six assists and six turnovers.

In Reaves’ last ten games, he’s averaging 8.8 assists and 3.3 turnovers, as per StatMuse. In the past four games, however, he’s averaged only 1.5 turnovers while dishing out 8.3 assists. Obviously, as Redick said, some of it comes with the territory of becoming a primary ball-handler and shot creator. But if the last few games are any indication, Reaves may have found a way to limit his turnovers while still being able to create shot opportunities for his teammates.

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