Austin Reaves was tired Monday, the Lakers having just wrapped up a really hard practice.
In the first minutes of Game 1 Saturday evening, he was tired too.
As Reaves walked off the court for the first time, his chest heaved as he grabbed for air and he slumped to grab his shorts, telltale signs that he’d given a lot of effort in his first shift.
But giving effort and playing hard, at least internally in the Lakers’ dictionary, have two different definitions. And in what became a theme in the Lakers’ series-opening loss to the Timberwolves, the Lakers figured out ways to do the one and not enough of the other.