Austin Reaves thinks Troy Brown Jr. is better than fans believe, and stats shows

It is not easy to play where the Lakers superstar LeBron James would've been playing if healthy, but Troy Brown Jr. has been doing a great job with the team.

Still, the fandom has been hard on the purple and gold forward, and now the SG Austin Reaves has come out to defend his teammate, as he thinks that Troy is better than what the stats show.

While he might not have gaudy stats in the box score every night, Brown has been about as solid of a contributor as one could hope for, and Austin Reaves believes he deserves more recognition.

"I don't think he gets the credit that he deserves, honestly," Reaves said. "You know, because you look at stats and the stats don't jump out at you. … Always usually chasing around the team's best player. Rebounds the ball well and then the confidence shooting the ball. He's a very, very capable shooter and shoots it well. We've seen that since the summer when we were playing pickup. So it's not new for any of us. We want him to shoot it with as much confidence as he can, because we know he can make it. But like I said, I don't think he gets the credit that he deserves."

Austin Reaves should become a starter in D'Angelo Russell's absence

If Russell doesn't return, Reaves should be taking his place, and Dennis Schroder should be the Lakers 6th man like before the injuries made coach Ham adjust his starting five lineup.