Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves has been a steady contributor for USA off the bench and Sunday was another case of that. When Reaves initially committed to Team USA, there was some disgruntled NBA fans believing that he was not worthy of the spot, but that has not been the case five games in.

USA trailed by 16 points against Germany in the third quarter and desperately needed a spark, thus Reaves and Tyrese Haliburton were inserted by head coach Steve Kerr and the game completely turned around.

The Arkansas native played the whole fourth quarter and finished with 16 points on 66% from the field and 2-for-2 from 3. It has been made clear that isn’t a fluke and Reaves is a quality NBA player. It seems that people involved with the USA program were not expecting this kind of impact, via ESPN’s Brian Windhorst:

“A player that I had several people say has really impressed them and been, like, much better than they were expecting has been Austin Reaves.”

It has been eye-opening how Reaves has been able to fit in with this USA roster with so many young and talented scorers who are used to be the No. 1 option. The second-year guard has received high praise from Kerr and described as a ‘connector’ for this USA team, and it has shown. When the starting five gets stagnant, Reaves and or Haliburton lead the charge and make the offense more fluid and free-flowing.

Reaves seems to have been able to form positive relationships with Anthony Edwards, Mikal Bridges and Brandon Ingram as they’ve had said their positive comments about the Lakers guard. Chemistry is a key factor when bringing in egos and the top guys of the league, in this case bringing in the up-and-coming talents. Kerr has to be able to figure it out on the fly and it seems that the players are fond of one another.

With the draft, free agency and Summer League out of the picture, fans now anxiously wait for preseason. But, seeing Reaves thrive in his first year with Team USA has filled that void. While this roster is still very young, they have been able to figure it out while picking up five straight wins heading into the World Cup.

LeBron James praises Edwards during 34-point performance for Team USA

While Reaves and Haliburton did play a key role in turning Sunday’s game around, it was Edwards who was on fire, dropping 34 points while hitting timely shots in the fourth quarter to close it out. Lakers star LeBron James was watching and showed some praise towards Edwards after USA got the win.

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As per usual, there are numerous marquee games slated as well as the addition of the new In-Season Tournament. More games gives fans a chance to see their favorite teams in action as well as something else to spice up the regular season.

The Lakers are coming off a successful season that ended in a Western Conference Finals appearance, but have their sights aimed higher after revamping their roster in the offseason. With a healthy LeBron James and Anthony Davis in tow, the Lakers look like a legitimate contender that teams should be wary of.

Since the league switched to Nike as their jersey and apparel maker, they have rolled out a new City Edition uniform every year. Although no news on jerseys has officially been announced, it appears that designs for Los Angeles’ new City Edition threads have been leaked, via Chadear NBA Time:

VAZOU (2X)

Aqui está a imagem completa da nova camisa City Edition do LOS ANGELES LAKERS.

Vocês gostaram?

via @chadearnbatime pic.twitter.com/UKnuDJ8qiH

— Camisas da NBA (@camisasdanba) August 19, 2023

The most prominent feature on the rumored jersey is the font design for “Los Angeles” above the number that’s front and center, which appears to be a tribute to the 1960s teams that used that logo. The purple trim around the top as well as the gold on the team name and Nike logo pop against the black base.

If these are indeed what the new City Editions will look like, they will be in stark contrast to the 2022-23 version that featured a white base color with purple lettering and accents. Black is an easy color to design around and makes for a great alternative to the Lakers’ normal purple and gold jersey, although these could possibly just end up being mock ups.

Regardless of what the actual City Edition uniforms will look like, fans will be more interested in how the team builds off of last season. They’ve got as good a chance as any to win next year, so hopefully they’re able to get the job done.

Top-10 Lakers games for 2023-24 season

Los Angeles is no stranger to being in the limelight and the 2023-24 season is no different as nearly half their games will be nationally televised. The NBA spared no expense pitting them against the best of the best, but there are several games of note that Lakers fans will be waiting eagerly for.

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While the team looks set on paper, they do have a need for at least one more big man for depth behind Anthony Davis. So far, the Lakers have been linked to Christian Wood and reportedly have maintained interest in him during free agency.

Wood is an interesting potential add but the sense is that he prefers the Miami Heat as a landing spot, as Jovan Buha of The Athletic told Lakers Nation’s Trevor Lane:

“That’s my sense. Because again, if it was the Lakers he should be here right now, right? So I think the potential to play in the East and play a big role, I think with Miami they’ve liked two-big lineups and he fits kind of a better version of a Kevin Love where not the greatest defender but a solid rebounder. Stretch big, pick-and-pop guy, can also score inside.

“If you look at the two guys that Miami brought back in Love and and signed in (Thomas) Bryant, stretch bigs who can play theoretically alongside Bam Adebayo. They’ve always liked that archetype with Kelly Olynyk, Meyers Leonard so Christian Wood fits that as a big who can shoot the ball. I think my read is that his role would likely be bigger in Miami if he went there and that to him is a potential opportunity to get a bigger contract next summer.”

Rob Pelinka expressed interest in returning to a two-big lineup in order to replicate the success the 2020 Lakers championship team had, but the initial feeling is that Davis will still end up playing most of his minutes at center. If that’s the case, then Wood would certainly have a bigger role with the Heat who could use his size and shooting next to Adebayo.

It remains to be seen what will happen with Wood’s free agency, but a decision isn’t expected to be made for a while as the rest of the league waits on happens with Damian Lillard and James Harden.

Lakers have internal optimism about Christian Wood’s fit

Wood has changed teams every season for seven years now, a troubling trend that’s affected his value in the market. However, despite any concerns there’s reportedly internal optimism in L.A. that they could make it work with the talented big man.

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The Clippers have dominated the head-to-head matchups, winning 11 straight over the Lakers since Ty Lue took over as head coach. The Lakers have a championship in 2020, however, something the Clippers have yet to achieve in their history.

Going into the 2023-24 season, both teams again have championship aspirations in a loaded Western Conference. That should make for more interesting head-to-head matchups with the first one coming on Nov. 1, per Shams Charania of The Athletic:

Two more key games on NBA season schedule:

Season opener: 76ers @ Bucks on Oct. 26

So that’s 76ers-Bucks and Suns-Lakers on first TNT Thursday.

First Lakers-Clippers matchup: Nov. 1 https://t.co/ID3A2AZVEk

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 11, 2023

The Lakers will be facing a gauntlet to begin their season as according to various reports, they will take on the defending champion Denver Nuggets on Opening Night in a Western Conference Finals rematch.

L.A. will then return home and host the Phoenix Suns in their first game at Crypto.com Arena, which will be a star-studded matchup as well with Phoenix adding Bradley Beal to its core of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton.

With that game taking place on Oct. 26, there likely will be one in between that and the Lakers’ first matchup with the Clippers on Nov. 1. If the Lakers don’t come out ready then they risk getting off to a slow start just like last season when they began 2-10 and had to dig themselves out of a hole all season.

There’s no doubt that everyone in the organization would like to avoid that so hopefully they take the preseason seriously to be ready to go from the jump in the regular season.

Lakers to host Celtics on Christmas Day

One of the Lakers’ other games that has been revealed is Christmas Day when they will be hosting the Boston Celtics.

Other Christmas Day matchups include the Milwaukee Bucks against the New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers against the Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks against the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors against the Nuggets.

The Lakers are the middle game so it will likely tip off around 2:30 p.m. PT at Crypto.com Arena.

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As is usually the case, the Lakers will be playing on the league’s two biggest nights in the first half of the regular season. They will travel to take on the defending champion Denver Nuggets on Opening Night on Oct. 24, watching the team that beat them in the Western Conference Finals get their championship rings.

The Lakers will then be at home on Christmas Day, hosting the rival Boston Celtics in what is a star-studded day for the NBA as a whole. Other Christmas Day matchups include the Milwaukee Bucks against the New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers against the Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks against the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors against the Nuggets.

Now, it is being reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic that the Lakers’ home opener will come on Oct. 26 against Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and the Suns:

Three more notable games on NBA’s 2023-24 season schedule – including the date Lakers‘ LeBron James and Suns‘ Kevin Durant face off for first time since 2018: pic.twitter.com/hcJ42DUFFc

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 11, 2023

The last time that LeBron James and Durant have shared the floor together was on Christmas Day in 2018, James’ first season with the Lakers. Either one or both players have been injured in every matchup since then, so the league will be hoping that scheduling this matchup so early in the season in just the second game will allow for both James and Durant, two of the league’s biggest stars, to compete against each other for the first time in half a decade.

Both the Lakers and Suns play in the Pacific Division though, so if it doesn’t happen on Oct. 26 then there will be three other opportunities throughout the course of the regular season.

Vogel will be coaching Suns

All four matchups between the Lakers and Suns will be highly-anticipated due to the star power on both sides. Additionally, former Lakers head coach Frank Vogel is now leading the Suns, which should add even more intrigue.

All five of the Pacific Division teams have championship aspirations in 2023-24, so the head-to-head matchups will be ultra important for deciding playoff seeding starting on Oct. 26.

Vogel is obviously very familiar with the games of James and Anthony Davis so it will be interesting to see how he fares coaching against his former duo for the first time.

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