Throughout LeBron James and Anthony Davis’ tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers, shooting issues have been prominent regardless of the the various iterations of the roster. This summer, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka made it a priority to acquire shooters to further boost the team’s chances of winning a championship.
L.A. now has capable and willing shooters in D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Taurean Prince, Gabe Vincent, Rui Haciumura, Christian Wood and Max Christie. While this team may not be the best 3-point shooting team in the league, it definitely has more of a chance to compete with teams who are, like the defending champion Denver Nuggets.
Recent No. 17 overall draft pick Jalen Hood-Schifino enters the fold as another project that the Lakers coaching staff is going to develop. The 6’5″ guard shot 33.3% from 3 on 3.5 attempts in college so the volume is there, but he just simply needs to be league average or slightly above to flourish in today’s NBA. In his first offseason with the team, Hood-Schifino has been putting in the work to improve his 3-point shot, via Jovan Buha of The Athletic:
“I feel like I’ve made a lot of progress. Being in the gym every day, getting up a lot of reps, working on my footwork, my form, mechanics and everything. Getting everything sharp. That’s definitely been a strong point and something that I’ve been really attacking every day.”
The former Indiana Hoosier is a shot-creator who likes to get downhill, working in the mid-range and getting to the basket. But, the mechanics are there for Hood-Schifino to be a respectable shooter from behind the arc, so hopefully through continued reps and the percentage will tick up.
There is certainly no pressure on the guard to perform in his rookie campaign, which may help him in the long run. Allowing him to develop and learn from the veterans and coaching staff in hopes of easing him into a bigger role could be huge for his career.
A recent example is Christie, who saw limited action last season but showcased his potential and is expected to see a spot in the rotation this year. The same might be in store for Hood-Schifino, but he’ll have a chance to make a case for himself with training camp soon and preseason kicking off on Oct. 7. Improving his outside shooting would go a long way in seeing the floor early in his career.
Hood-Schifino discusses positives of plant-based diet
Being born in Pittsburgh, going to college in Indiana and now playing in L.A., it has been a lot of change for the guard in the past couple of months. However, another change Hood-Schifino has made since high school was switching to a plant-based diet. Now officially in the NBA, the guard is making sure he is the best version of himself moving forward.
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