Jake LaRavia on his big scoring performance versus Grizzlies

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There was some optimism about the Los Angeles Lakers' signing of forward Jake LaRavia last summer. As a young, up-and-coming player who showed real signs of improvement last season, it was thought that perhaps they had found a bit of a diamond in the rough who would continue to be on an upward trajectory.

But overall, LaRavia has been something of a disappointment so far this season. His 3-point shooting accuracy is down to 32% after being at 42.3% last season, and his overall shooting efficiency has been very inconsistent.

In Friday's 128-121 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, LaRavia had one of his best games of this season. He shot 8-of-12 from the field and 3-of-6 from 3-point range to score 21 points, with 18 of those points coming in the first half. He also grabbed nine rebounds and added two assists, two steals and one block.

Afterward, he talked about continuing to stay aggressive and having faith in his outside shot.

Via Lakers Nation:

“To be honest, I feel like I go into every game with that mentality. Some games it happens, some games it doesn’t, it really just depends. Tonight, I got going pretty early and the ball was finding me, especially in that first half, and I was just able to get going and stay aggressive and finally knock down some shots,” LaRavia said.

“So, that felt good, and just got to continue to trust my shot and I tell all the guys just to continue to trust in me and my offensive game.”

LeBron James, who had 31 points on 12-of-18 shooting, said after Friday's game that LaRavia is "sneaky athletic." LaRavia seemed to like that description.

“‘Sneaky athletic’ is a good word just 'cause I don't jump a lot, but when I do jump, I think I can. I'm a fan of ‘sneaky’ athletic.”

Friday's game was the first time since Nov. 18 and the second time since Nov. 2 that LaRavia scored more than 15 points in a contest. With Austin Reaves out for at least the next four weeks or so, and with starting forward Rui Hachimura continuing to deal with calf soreness, L.A. will need the 24-year-old to be more consistent as far as producing points.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Jake LaRavia on his big scoring performance versus Grizzlies

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