With the season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves just one day away, the Los Angeles Lakers are preparing for what promises to be a challenging 2024-2025 NBA campaign. In recent years, the Lakers have struggled to perform consistently in the regular season. Now, one Le Bron James‘ teammate outlined what the team needs to do differently to improve this year.

Austin Reaveswho has been with the Lakers since the 2021-2022 season, is all too familiar with the team’s problems. The Lakers finished 7th in the Western Conference twice during his term of office and missed the playoffs completely in one season. Ahead of the new season, Reaves is confident about what the team needs to focus on to climb higher in the standings.

“Yes, I feel like we’ve been catching up in recent years. We haven’t had strong first parts of the year. I think that’s a big part of a good year: doing well and continuing that. Coming out on a high levelReaves countered The Athletics‘s Jovan Buha.

Reaves also emphasized the importance of getting the first three wins in the Crypto.com Arena: “We have three games at home. Try to win them all. And then I think we take a road trip every day. The first of the year. I think hard to catch up in the NBA because it’s so tiring. Not only on your body, but also mentally. So I think an early good star would be good for us. “

Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers fields the ball against Ryan Dunn #0 of the Phoenix Suns during the first half of the NBA preseason game at Footprint Center on October 17, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona.

The Lakers open their season with three home games at Crypto.com Arena: Tuesday, Oct. 22 against the TimberwolvesFriday, Oct. 25 against the Phoenix Sunsand Saturday, Oct. 26 against the Sacramento Kings. Securing wins in these games would be a crucial first step for LeBron and the team.

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Austin Reaves’ 2024-2025 preseason with the Lakers

Reaves has become an important player for the head coach JJ Redickas far as ESPN insider Brian Windhorst reported that he was considered “untouchable” in trade negotiations. “And when the Lakers entered into trade negotiations this summer, Reaves’ name was off limits. The front desk wouldn’t even entertain it,” wrote Windhorst.

Reaves appeared in four preseason games for the Lakersfifth in minutes per game (23) and average 14 points, 5.5 reboundsAnd 4.5 assists. While he had some pain in his ankle before the first preseason game against the Golden State Warriors, it is not considered a concern. Reaves was rested for the second game, but He is expected to be a regular starter for Redick this season.