> Q: “Do you have any idea where Austin Reaves fits into all of this?”
Kerr: “He fits in wherever we put him; that’s the beauty of Austin. He’s a connector, he’s a hell of a basketball player, he’s physical, shoots, and passes it. Just so poised out there all the time. He’s a guy who enhances any lineup that he plays with.”
> Q: “Are there different things that you’re seeing from him in this setting that you didn’t as an opposing coach?”
Kerr: “Mainly, it’s just better to have him on your team than to have him on the other team. That’s what I would say about Austin. One of the fun things with this endeavor is that you really get to know guys whom you’ve competed against and admired, but then you really get to know their games. Austin is one of them, [along with] Mikal Bridges and Jalen.”
> Q: “You talked about [Austin] being a connector. What enables a player to have that sort of strength?”
Kerr: “Just feel, vision, awareness, and understanding of the game. The ball just goes to the right spot, the right cut is made, you know. Austin made a play yesterday where he made a drive and kick; he was kind of behind the defense, and he worked completely behind the defense, flashed kind of in the middle of the paint, caught it, and swung it through. He had a feel; you have to have awareness to play like that. So connectors are guys who make those types of plays, and the game just makes sense, and you end up getting open shots.”
Source: [Steve Kerr Reacts To Team USA Scrimmage Loss To Select Team. HoopJab NBA
](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEeuqXBYp8k)
by MacroOW
3 Comments
Austin “the connector” Reaves
Saw the whole scrimmage today and yeah…they might want to use Reeves more or at least as a starter. It got rough out there with not a lot of ball movement, guys jacking shots, or just super basic drive and kick offense going nowhere (looking at you, Brunson). On defense, guys were out of position or in mismatches a lot, few rotations. Austin and a few other guys were active on D though. I think Jalen Brunson’s lack of size and poor defense is going to really hurt.
I counted 3 shots for Austin. A semi transition attack and spin floater/push shot over Pritchard. An open corner three off a kick out he swished. A missed three from the wing that was lightly contested and might have been rushed, couldn’t see the clock. He almost got a steal off Cunningham. Mostly stayed ahead of his man on D. Got burned with his head turned on cuts and off offensive rebounds (didn’t box out) a few times.
All that being said, this was the 2nd day of a scrimmage, most guys were out of rhythm and/or conditioning, and it was basically glorified pickup ball so not a whole lot to draw from at this point.
Each question got increasingly better