Coming into the season, the Los Angeles Lakers weren’t expected to be an elite 3-point shooting team, but they likely didn’t expect to be one of the worst either. The Lakers currently rank 26th in the NBA in 3-point percentage and dead last in 3-pointers made.
The Lakers have been able to overcome that by being one of the best teams in terms of scoring in the paint and at the free throw line, but there is no denying that they must improve from deep to reach their offensive potential. However, LeBron James isn’t worried about their shooting struggles.
Following the Lakers’ 108-106 victory over the Utah Jazz in which they shot just 26% from 3-point range, James spoke about his belief that these issues won’t last, feeling that they have too many good shooters for those numbers to eventually average out, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“It won’t last. I’m not worried about it. We got too many good shooters, it won’t last […] We’re getting great looks. I mean, if we were shooting bad shots and missing then we could be worrying about how can we create better looks. We’re getting great looks. All of us. So I’m not worried about that, the numbers will average out.”
As it currently stands, the Lakers’ only above-average shooter has been Rui Hachimura who is knocking down an impressive 48.3% from deep. But LeBron remains encouraged by the open looks they are creating in addition to their ability to win games, while not shooting well:
“We’re not worried about that. Like I said, if we were out there not creating great looks or we were playing selfish basketball, that’s not our m.o. You look at over half of the threes we missed tonight, a lot of em were wide open, but a lot of em was just finding the right player. The ball has so much energy in it that we’re not worried about that. When we’re not making shots we gotta defend. And this team right here is a team that can put up 140, can put up 130, can score with the best of em. You gotta be able to get stops and it took us all the way to the last possession to get the stop that we needed to win the ballgame. So that’s the encouraging part, knowing that even when we’re not shooting the ball well we can still win ballgames.”
Even though the Lakers have gotten off to a strong 12-4 start, they realize that there is plenty of room for improvement in many areas. Austin Reaves, Jake LaRavia, Luka Doncic and even LeBron himself have shot much better in recent seasons and a return to form should be expected as long as the Lakers continue to play their unselfish brand of basketball.
Kevin Love doesn’t believe Lakers’ LeBron James will retire after this season
Another question that LeBron James will have to answer all year long is whether this season with the Lakers will be his final one in the NBA. One of his good friends and former teammates Kevin Love doesn’t believe that will be the case, however, predicting he will play one more season.
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