Last season under head coach Mike D’Antoni, the Los Angeles Lakers offense was all about the three-point shot. Armed with a number of excellent shooters such as Jodie Meeks, Jordan Farmar, and Nick Young, the team averaged nearly 25 three-point attempts per game.
Now with Byron Scott at the helm, the team’s offensive philosophy has changed, and according to the LA Times’ Eric Pincus, that will involve far less three pointers:
Our game plan is really to get to that basket. I like the fact that we only shot 10 threes. If we shoot between 10 and 15, I think that’s a good mixture of getting to that basket and shooting threes […] I don’t want us to be coming down, forcing up a bunch of threes. I really want us to attack the basket.
With the personnel that the Lakers have on their team, it makes sense that the team wouldn’t force a lot of three-pointers. The Lakes lost their top five three-point shooters percentage-wise from last season and the sixth best shooter, Nick Young, will miss the first month of the season.
Scott wants the team to attack the basket and they have players who are great at getting to the rim. Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Jeremy Lin are all excellent attackers, and other key contributors such as Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson and Ed Davis are more effective at the rim or mid-range.
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Scott’s calling card is defense. Turning things around on that end is what the Lakers are most focused on. But you have to be able to put the ball in the basket as well, and the Lakers will have to do that in a much different way then they did last season.
[divide]Lakers Post-Game: Byron Scott Talks Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson Debut