Ratings for Austin Reaves, LeBron James in Lakers win vs. Nets

Raise your hand if you thought this was going to be an easy win for the Lakers?

Naked? No? Bueller?

The moment Anthony Davis was ruled out prior to the game, the safest bet was that this would be a frustrating game that would be far too close. And sure enough, from the jump, the Lakers let the Nets hang around the entire game and almost lost in the funniest way possible: a D’Angelo Russell winner.

Luckily it was a shot from playoff D’Lo and not heat check D’Lo and the Lakers survived.

So let’s dive into the victory. As always, ratings are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance of that player.

Rui Hachimura

32 minutes, 10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 4-10 FG, 1-4 3PT, 1-1 FT, +3

Hardly a banner night for Rui, who struggled with his shot. He started strong with a big finish at the rim, but it didn’t continue.

This is a good time to put our own Alex Regla’s piece on Rui as he debated whether moving Rui to the bench in favor of Dorian Finney-Smith was the right move.

Grade: C

LeBron James

35 minutes, 29 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 12-17 FG, 4-6 3PT, 1-2 FT, -11

In addition to it being a solid statistical night, LeBron’s basket came on time, especially in the first quarter.

As a side note, one of my favorite oddities is that despite averaging (rounded down) 27 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for his career, he has never had a game with exactly 27 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in his career.

He was dangerously close on Friday. If Reaves doesn’t hit his last 3-pointer and then throw a lob to LeBron a minute later, LeBron will finish 27-7-7. Now, at the same time, the Lakers lose the game without those things, but that’s just a fun little statistical quirk from LeBron’s career.

Grade: A

Jackson Hayes

33 minutes, 6 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 3-7 FG, +9

An admirable enough job from Hayes in the starting lineup. He had a two-possession stretch where he was the tallest of flyers and was generally active at night. Nine rebounds for him equals 35 boards for AD.

Grade: B+

Max Christie

33 minutes, 7 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2-13 FG, 2-8 3PT, 1-2 FT, +0

I thought Max was pretty active at night, especially defensively. That activity didn’t lead to production, but I’m fine with a good process, and I thought he was, overall.

Grade: C

Austin Reaves

37 minutes, 38 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 13-23 FG, 4-8 3PT, 8-8 FT, +1

What a fourth block from Austin, man. Fifteen points on 6-11 shooting, and that includes missing his last four shots in the game.

The Lakers rolled the dice on Austin making the jump when they traded D’Angelo Russell. It’s still a work in progress and the Lakers and Austin are figuring things out, but nights like this show just how talented Austin is.

Grade: A+

Gabe Vincent

29 minutes, 10 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 4-8 FG, 1-5 3PT, 1-2 FT, +0

I had some concerns about some shots Vincent took — namely his unnecessary stepback 3-pointer after a fake shot in the second half — and he missed a big shot late, but it’s still a productive night for him.

It’s pretty clear he won’t be the Vincent he was for the Heat in his last season, but this is a solid performance.

Grade: B+

Dalton Knecht

18 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 0-4 FG, 0-3 3PT, 2-3 FT, +6

Every time Dalton has a strong game or a strong stretch in a game, the hope is that it’s the spark for him to finally find his early-season form again. Time and again, however, this has proven not to be the case.

Grade: C-

Trey Jemison

15 minutes, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, -6

Considering Jemison said 48 hours ago he was staying at his mom’s house, I guess I can forgive him for maybe not being good on Friday. Head coach JJ Redick said Jemison was poor defensively because he didn’t know the coverages and the language the team uses. It can be expected.

You can see why the team went after him though. Redick talked this summer about wanting a “big, bruising center,” and that’s the mold of the player Jemison is.

Grade: C

Shake Milton

He played just seven minutes, had one assist and didn’t attempt a shot. No character.

JJ Redick

You know, when JJ said the Lakers would run more two-big looks, I didn’t imagine the first thing we’d see of them was Jaxson-Jemison minutes together.

Less of that, please.

Grade: B+

Friday’s DNPs: Bronny James, Cam Reddish

Friday’s inactive: Christian Koloko, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Armel Traore, Dorian Finney-Smith, Jarred Vanderbilt, Christian Wood, Anthony Davis

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.