The Los Angeles Lakers struggled mightily on offense during their Game 1 loss to the Phoenix Suns. Dennis Schroder — who was actually one of the most efficient players — went 5-for-7 from the field and 1-of-2 from three, but just 3-for-6 from the free-throw line. Even he was not immune to the poor shooting of the Lakers for the night.
His three missed free throws were a part of 11 lost points for the game. The Lakers shot 17-of-28 as a team, and in a nine-point loss, that can be pointed to as one of the major flaws. Schroder was very unhappy with the team’s offensive output after scoring just 90 in a playoff game.
The guard was brutally honest when discussing how things went for L.A. on offense. “87 points is not enough. I think the last three we don’t count, we shot I think five out of 20-something so that’s not going to help us. We need to score.
“I think on the defensive side of the ball it was, 99 points is not bad. But on the offensive end, we got to play a little faster, make a couple of shots. We had wide-open shots and we got to be ready to knock them down. That’s what it’s gonna come down to I think.”
Schroder went into some greater detail on specific things the team can do other than just making more shots. “Everybody’s just got to be ready to knock them down when you’re open. And we can still get fastbreak points, we had a couple of those where we passed to the corner or to the 45 to the open three.
“But if they’re not falling we have to still put pressure on the rim and try to score the easy layups, try to get a feel for it and then the threes are gonna fall. We know what we got to do, we missed 11 free throws as well, big key, myself, I missed three. And we lost by nine so we’re still gonna adjust, watch film and then just be ready to go and give everything we have on Tuesday.”
Schroder also ensured that he wasn’t making excuses when it came to building chemistry with his teammates. “Like I always say, these games, we’re using it for practice, still trying to create a chemistry with all of us on the floor. But at the end of the day, it’s go time. So we need to figure that out while we’re playing and try to still win games. Today wasn’t a good offensive night so I think 87, 90 points is not enough for us. So we’re gonna watch film and try to be better for sure.”
In Game 2, the Lakers will need to focus on converting open shots and getting out in the fastbreak. Hopefully, L.A. has a completely different energy on offense, or else they could be looking at a 2-0 series deficit heading back to Staples Center.
James explains bouncing back in Game 2
LeBron James has always been known for using Game 1’s as feel-out games, and Sunday was no exception. He spoke about why that method works for him. “It gives me more time to dissect a team, know what we did wrong in a previous game.
“Especially Game 1, it’s always been a feel-out game for me. So I’m looking forward to breaking down the film tonight and then as a team tomorrow and even get some more on the day of the game I believe Tuesday and get ready for that challenge again.”
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