Adou Thiero credits guarding Austin Reaves for his dramatic Lakers development this summer

Thiero broke down exactly what makes Reaves so difficult to contain, and the list is long. "Shooting into the rim, you know, floaters, little pull-ups," he said, per fadeawayworld.net.

Then there is the other layer of Reaves' game — the one that draws a laugh. Thiero mentioned Reaves' "little foul-baiting" as part of the challenge, but he did not sound frustrated by it. He laughed it off and added, "He doesn't even try to score sometimes. He's just trying to get the foul call."

Thiero's comments came from an interview reported by fadeawayworld.net, with no specific game or drill cited. But the picture he painted is of a defender forced to account for every trick a crafty scorer owns — the floater, the pull-up, the drawn contact.

The foul-baiting, in particular, seemed to leave an impression. Thiero described getting used to it in late-game moments, when Reaves shifts from scorer to salesman. "It's like, 'Damn. Alright,'" Thiero said, summing up the resignation every defender eventually feels.

That daily schooling is exactly what the Lakers hope pays off. Reaves' arsenal is not just hard to stop — it is hard to prepare for, because he changes what he is trying to do possession to possession.

THE BACKCOURT BENEFIT

The Lakers’ backcourt duo of Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic makes for one of the most electrifying backcourt pairings in the NBA, per fadeawayworld.net. Their offensive production gets the headlines, but the source notes that the Lakers’ defensive rotation “stands to benefit greatly” from guarding them on a daily basis.

That benefit is not hypothetical. Thiero’s summer assignment against Reaves is the kind of daily exposure that sharpens a defender’s instincts in ways film sessions cannot. Reaves’ craftiness forces a defender to stay honest on every possession, and Thiero’s two-way upside and remarkable athletic ability were exactly why many held the Arkansas product in high regard despite being a second-round pick.