One of the biggest concerns for the Los Angeles Lakers coming into the season was the lack of outside shooting on the roster. With LeBron James and Anthony Davis leading the way, the need for knockdown shooters to space the floor and give them room to attack the paint makes the most sense.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, the concern has become a reality as the team struggled from the outside all preseason and it was again a major issue in the Opening Night loss to the Golden State Warriors. The Lakers shot just 10-of-40 from 3-point range in the contest as they failed to keep up once the Warriors got hot from deep.
While media and fans have long talked about the lack of shooting, the concern has rarely been discussed by those on the team. But following the loss, James admitted that the Lakers don’t have knockdown shooters on the roster, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“I mean, I don’t know. I think we’re getting great looks and I think there also could be teams giving us great looks. I mean, to be completely honest, were’ not a team that’s constructed of great shooting and that’s just what the truth of the matter is. It’s not like we’re sitting here with a lot of lasers on our team, but that doesn’t deter us from still trying to get great shots and when you get those opportunities you take them. But we’re not sitting here with a bunch of 40-plus [percent] career three-point shooting guys.”
The Warriors made it a point to pack the paint against the Lakers and that is a strategy most teams are likely to follow until they prove they can consistently hit outside shots. But even with a lack of shooting, LeBron says the Lakers must continue to do the other things and trust that they put the work in to knock down those shots:
“You continue to defend. You continue to trust the shot. You put in the work. And if you put the workout on the floor when the cameras aren’t watching then you trust it. You trust it. And I don’t see myself missing the open looks I had tonight. I mean, I had four or five damn good looks from the three-point line. I put the work in here so I live with those results and if everybody is putting the work in, you live with those results. That’s all you can do. You continue to defend, you continue to push the ball, you continue to share the ball, you continue to play for one another. But I mean, let’s keep it a buck, it would be like a football team, if you had a football analogy, and you had a bunch of guys that were underneath route runners and wondering why the quarterback isn’t throwing 20-yards down the field. That’s how the team is constructed. That don’t mean you can’t win. [Tom] Brady did it.”
It was just one contest, and one against the defending champions who could very well be the best team in the league again. But in this day and ag,e shooting is a must and the Lakers don’t have it right now and if they don’t figure something out, the Opening Night results will become a regular occurrence.
James says Lakers can’t waste any days coming together as a team
In addition to the shooting, another advantage the Warriors have over the Lakers is chemistry. The team has been together for some time and are familiar with each other whereas the Lakers have a number of new players still working on getting to know each other.
This plays into what James said prior to the start of the season about the Lakers still needing to grow together. LeBron noted that many of the top teams in the league have been together for some years and while he remains optimistic, knows the Lakers can’t afford to waste any days in getting better.
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