LeBron James thinks the Lakers have a 3-point problem, but how bad are they?
From historically bad shooting, to the obvious assessment that they have a problem, the Lakers are not looking good at the moment.
If Lakers fans were hoping, for a better start to the season than the one they witnessed last year, then they’ll have to keep waiting as there are growing reasons for concern.
LeBron James thinks the Lakers have a 3-point problem and they really do
On opening night, the Lakers fell to the Golden State Warriors, which in itself was not entirely a surprise. On the other hand, what was shocking was the fact that the Lakers missed 30 of their 40 3-point attempts, something that franchise star LeBron James pointed out with a diplomatically obvious statement post game. “To be completely honest, we’re not a team constructed of great shooting. It’s not like we’re sitting here with a lot of lasers on our team.”
Whether that was a veiled jab at the front obvious for not constructing a balanced roster to work with, or simply the veteran calling it as he saw it is up for debate, but the truth is, it doesn’t matter. What’s more, is that it’s probably the understatement of the year. In their first three games - all of which have been losses - the Lakers have shot 25 for 118 from beyond that arc. That’s 21.2% and according to ESPN’s tweet above, the second-worst 3-point percentage of any team in history that has attempted a minimum of 100 3-pointers over any three-game stretch. Worst still, is the fact that if you look at those numbers again, you will quickly realize that out of 6,100, there have been 6,099 instances that were better than the Lakers. Like we said, ‘understatement of the year.’
Are things really that bad with the Lakers shooting?
Let’s break it down for you. At the moment, there is not one single player on the Lakers roster who has attempted more than six 3-pointers and come out with a better than 30% completion rate. Among the players who have attempted 10 or more, LeBron James is the best of them - if we can use that word - with 25.9% which equates to 7 for 27. Following James, we’ve got Kendrick Nunn on 23%, Patrick Beverley on 21%, Athony Davis - who would’ve thought - on 20%, Lonnie Walker sitting on 17% and finally Russell Westbrook, with a just short of awful 8.3%, which if you’re wondering works out to 1 for 12. Words fail us at this point.
Is Rob Pelinka the problem?
When general manager Rob Pelinka was offered a contract extension following the Russell Westbrook trade, alarm bells should probably have started ringing. Not only has Westbrook failed to add any sort of value on offense, but he’s also created even greater spacing problems for a team that already struggled with secondary shooting. The craziest part of all of this, is that it somehow seems to have come as a surprise to the Lakers and their front office. If there is a silver lining here, it’s that we’re only three games in. That’s to say, that despite the fact that the Lakers are writing their name in history’s pages for absolutely the wrong reasons, there is still a great deal of time to turn this around. On the other hand, unless something gives soon - like tomorrow - the Lakers and their fans could be in for another nightmare campaign.