Despite Anthony Davis and LeBron James missing clutch free throws, Austin Reaves made it clear that they are still the players you want taking those shots for the Lakers.
The end of Lakers vs. Magic was a frustrating one for L.A. fans.
It was a close contest throughout the second half, but the Lakers were in the driver's seat, up by two, with possession and 39 seconds to go.
From that point, the Lakers missed four of the six free throws they took, losing the game by the slimmest of margins, 119-118.
The two best players on the team, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, were the culprits of the missed free throws.
It was a shock that they couldn't convert and it was frustrating to watch the joys of victory deteriorate into the agony of defeat due to uncontested shots at the basket by your best players.
After the loss, Lakers guard Austin Reaves was in a rare position where he had to stick up for the two stars and he did just that.
"I think, no matter what, we would want AD and [LeBron] at the line," Reaves said. "We trust those guys to knock down those shots no matter what. Next game, we're going to give them the ball every single time. They got the confidence to go hit those."
Now in his fourth season, Reaves has had his fair share of ups and downs in his career. Unsurprisingly, he's going to defend the best players and he knows better than most what they can do on a nightly basis.
Basketball is just like any other job. You have good days and bad days.
Was it weird that both LeBron and AD stunk it up from the charity stripe? Absolutely.
However, with so many games in a season, some rare nights like this will happen. I will venture to guess we will never have another game this season where this pair goes 2-6 from the foul line, costing the Lakers the game.
Though many focus on the final possessions, LeBron also spoke postgame about how a poor third-quarter stretch was just as impactful to the result as any of the late-game events.
Ultimately, this frustrating game reminds the Lakers that while they've gotten off to a nice 10-5 start, there is still work to do to reach their main goal.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.
