LA Lakers: As many basketball pundits had predicted, LeBron James and the LA Lakers had a difficult time making three-pointers against the Golden State Warriors. The Lakers had a pitiful 10-40 per cent (a meagre 25% clip) from beyond the arc.
The biggest and most obvious requirement for his squad was acknowledged by “King James” during the postgame interview:
Although it can also mean that teams are giving us fantastic looks, I believe we are getting great looks. To be totally honest, our squad isn’t built around outstanding shooting.
“It’s not like we have a lot of lasers on our team as we sit here, but it doesn’t stop us from trying to get good shots. You seize such chances when we present them to you. There aren’t many men sitting here with career three-point shooting percentages of 40% or higher.
The LA Lakers shot a dismal 26.7% from three-point range in six preseason games. For comparison, the OKC Thunder, who had the worst three-point shooting percentage last season, averaged 32.3%. The Tinseltown team may finish last this season if the pattern holds if they remain as now.
Almost the whole first quarter of the Lakers’ season opening against the reigning champions was spent without a field goal by Darvin Ham’s starting lineup. Only Russell Westbrook hit a triple, and they were 1-10 from the rainbow.
Only 3 of the team’s 21 long-pointers from the first half were made by LeBron James and company. They were lucky because the Golden State Warriors were also clanking theirs. The fact that Golden State was just 5-20 off from their regular range greatly contributed to the Lakers’ ability to keep up with the Warriors.
Cold-shooting by the Bay Area team, however, didn’t seem to be a major issue. Their shots were sure to hit their target eventually.
The LA Lakers’ team from the previous year made 34.7% of their arc shots. If they can at least duplicate that figure, it will make their lives much simpler. Anything less than that will only make their season more challenging.
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