While guard Luka Doncic has been lighting up headlines lately for the Los Angeles Lakers with his historic scoring run, some other narratives have arisen about some of his teammates, including his backcourt partner guard Austin Reaves.

Last season, Reaves exploded into the kind of player that the Lakers were always hoping he could be, showing off when either Doncic or LeBron James were out, putting up massive numbers time and time again.

Now that James is gone, Reaves is the undisputed second option on the Lakers behind Doncic and with that position comes an additional level of responsibility and expectations. 

But that responsibility and those expectations are somewhat of a double-edged sword because as talented as Reaves has shown he can be, he's also opened himself up to an additional level of scrutiny.

During a recent episode of the "Gil's Arena" podcast, former NBA players Danny Green and DeMarcus Cousins criticized Reaves' 23.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game stat line so far this season, calling it "decent, but not good enough for this team."

It is true that the Lakers are gong to be more dependent on Reaves going forward now that James is no longer on the team, but that doesn't mean that what Reaves is doing, which looks to be the performance of a high-level role player at worst and the stats of a solid second-option at best, should be looked at as a negative.

Even against the Detroit Pistons on November 8, a game which the Lakers won 121-116, Reaves was carrying the torch alone as Doncic was out and he did just fine.

Reaves led the game with 43 points, shooting 14-27 from the field with five rebounds and four assists to lead the Lakers to victory as the first option. There's clearly no reason to worry about Reaves is capable of and the only reason his numbers may look middling, which itself is a stretch, it because Doncic is getting all of the touches on the court.

When Doncic is putting up the production of two superstars at once, it's natural that everyone else's numbers or total volume may take a hit, Reaves included, but Reaves is simply doing what he needs to do to prop up the Lakers' biggest star and he's doing that by understanding his role.

But there shouldn't be any doubt that when Reaves is called upon, he knows how to deliver. The Lakers have a massive star in Doncic, but Reaves is right behind him doing exactly what he needs to do.