Austin Reaves’ defense was exposed again in Team USA loss to Canada

The FIBA World Cup has ended in total disappointment for Team USA, as it failed to earn a medal after losing the bronze medal contest on Sunday to Canada in overtime.

That made it the second straight World Cup in which the United States didn’t win a medal. It finished a dismal seventh in the last such tournament back in 2019.

On the other hand, it was a great showing for Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves. The undrafted stud was the team’s second-leading scorer, and he had 23 points on Sunday as he tried to give the Americans a chance to win.

His play in the World Cup could be a precursor to another big step forward this coming season in the NBA.

However, down the stretch of the tournament, opponents started to hunt Reaves on defense by forcing him to guard bigger, stronger wings. It was something that happened multiple times versus Canada.

Here, he was forced to switch on to Kelly Olynyk, who is 6-foot-10, and Olynyk scored easily inside while drawing a foul on Reaves.

On this play, Reaves was on his heels in transition as the New York Knicks’ RJ Barrett used his physicality to score easily near the rim.

At another point in the game, Dillon Brooks, a player Lakers fans love to hate, took Reaves off the dribble, hit a baseline jumper over him and then appeared to make the “too small” gesture.

Reaves isn’t a bad defender, but it appears he has issues guarding bigger, more physical players. It is something one must anticipate NBA teams will look to exploit this coming season.

His improvement on defense will likely be a work in progress. For one thing, he needs to continue to build upper-body bulk so that he can hold his own when he has to switch on to a bigger offensive player.

In addition, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham will need to find a counter to this strategy without compromising the rest of the team’s defense or leaving someone else wide open.

Reaves acknowledged that defense was the culprit for Team USA

After Team USA’s Sunday loss to Canada in which it gave up 111 points in regulation and 127 points overall, Reaves showed leadership by admitting that defense was the squad’s bugaboo.

The Americans lost three of their last four contests, and in each of those losses, they gave up at least 110 points.

Obviously, not a whole lot of the blame for their lackluster defense should be placed on Reaves. Overall, Team USA fielded a roster that lacked size and defensive muscle, and that is something that the program will need to rectify moving forward.

For Reaves himself, it is a safe bet that the disappointment of not earning a medal will give him extra motivation and incentive for the 2023-24 NBA season.

Story originally appeared on LeBron Wire