NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal recently saw and reacted to a clip of the Los Angeles Lakers guard duo Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic. In the clip, Reaves is seen unintentionally ignoring a dap from Doncic and leaving the star hanging. While reacting to this mishap, O'Neal said:
"You know what that tells me? They don't fear him in the locker room," said O'Neal, while responding to a comment by Kenny Smith. "That would never happen to me. I don't play that."
The comment had the Inside crew in stitches as they questioned whether the big man always got dapped up when he presented the offer. In a typical, confident manner, O'Neal simply stood up and got his dap on demand from Ernie Johnson.
Shaquille O'Neal's comments aren't even remotely reflective of the state of the Lakers or the relationship between Reaves and Doncic. The hilarious mishap appears to be a recurring one as Smith noted that the Slovenian has often missed out on, or been late on, dapping someone up.
However, this is far from being a concern for the Lakers as their guard duo finally settled into an offensive groove for the team in Game 2 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Game 1 saw a tremendous offensive performance by Doncic, as he ended the game with 37 points to his name. However, Austin Reaves looked uncharacteristically tentative on the night. The lack of confidence displayed by Reaves had major implications for the Lakers' framework.
The major changes for the 26-year-old in Game 2 came not in the form of superior conversion rates but simple intent to score. Reaves attacked the basket a lot more after coming up dry from beyond the arc. Although he went 0-6 from three-point territory, he still ended the night with 16 points on 7-14 shooting from the field.
Reaves' sustained aggression while attacking the basket opened up a lot of avenues for the Lakers. Although they scored about the same number of points as Game 1, the team looked like a more cohesive unit with more effective offensive production.
Luka Doncic also had himself a solid game. He led the Lakers in scoring with 31 points and had a near triple-double performance with 12 rebounds and nine assists to go with it.
Los Angeles effectively won the game on the defensive side of the ball. With a more aggressive and physical approach to the game, the Lakers showed an intent to win, as strategized by head coach JJ Redick.
With a key 94-85 win at home, the Lakers made a crucial breakthrough in the series, which now stands tied up at 1-1.
The Lakers will hope to build upon this momentum, but the upcoming sets of games are far from easy. With Game 3 set to take place in Minnesota, the Lakers will look to their stars yet again to deliver them a win on Friday at 9:30 pm ET.
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