Austin Reaves Admits He Played 'S--tty' in Lakers' Loss to Wolves, 'I Wasn't Myself'

Austin Reaves took ownership after a rough performance in a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first game of the Los Angeles Lakers' first-round series on Saturday.

"I played s--tty," he told reporters Monday. "I wasn't myself. To what the reason was, I don't know. I just got to go out there and be myself, play my game and have fun doing it."

Reaves had 16 points, three assists and three boards in the 117-95 loss to the Wolves, shooting 38.5 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from deep.

The fourth-year player had the best regular season of his career, putting up 20.2 points, 5.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game, all of which were career highs. While he had an off night on Saturday, he should be able to bounce back strong and play more like himself on Tuesday.

But Reaves was far from the only problem for the Lakers on Saturday.

Aside from Luka Dončić, who had 37 points, it was a cold offensive night for everyone. LeBron James had 19 points and just three assists, shooting just 8-of-18 from the field and 1-of-5 from deep. The Lakers had just three players in double figures and shot 39.8 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from deep.

On the defensive side, Los Angeles allowed the Timberwolves anything they wanted. Jaden McDaniels led the way for Minnesota with 25, Naz Reid added 23 and Anthony Edwards posted 22. The Wolves shot a scorching hot 51.2 percent from the field and 50 percent from deep.

It's a bit unrealistic to expect Minnesota to shoot 50 or better from deep for four straight games, but the Lakers will need to make some adjustments to avoid going down 2-0 in the series on Tuesday.