LeBron James has spent an entire season with the Los Angeles Lakers and the experience showed how not to build a team around Number 23. Bringing someone with the potential as much as Anthony Davis, the Lakers would hope to get it right this time around.
Last season, the Lakers were ranked 18th in three-point-attempt rate and second last in the league when it came to the efficiency from beyond the arc. They were below average in converting open and uncontested threes and with a hit percentage of just 34.8, a number that made them dead last in the league.
This season’s squad looks a lot better than the previous year’s. Taking inspiration from some of the most successful years James had had in the past with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat, Magic Johnson and Rob Palinka decided to surround the two superstars with good shooters.
But have they done enough?
The failed attempts of landing Kawhi Leonard and the time they wasted doing so did cause them to lose a lot of really good shooters who were available on the block.
Having said that, they seem to have managed to put up a decent lot of shooters around their court.
With the return of Rondo and McGee, the Lakers managed to get a great deal in Avery Bradley, former Warriors Quinn Cook and DeMarcus Cousins, Jared Dudley and of course, Danny Green.
They also brought back Alex Caruso, a 48 percent three-point shooter last season, having made an appearance in 25 games in the purple and gold.
With most of the new signings having a solid history of pulling up big threes in crunch time and making them, floor-spacing becomes relatively easier for the Lakers that would give a lot more space to James and Davis to get inside the paint and get some high quality shots.
Conversely, with either of James or Davis being present on the flood, it would be easier for these shooters to have some open shots as well.
However, things aren’t as rosy as they feel. Other than a couple of good seasons from beyond the arc, Bradley and Cousins have not been too efficient in their respective careers.
With time and age, Jared Dudley’s accuracy has dropped significantly and we all have seen how bad Caldwell-Pope can get once he gets cold.
With someone like Kyle Kuzma, who has a long-distance shot as unpredictable as Stephen Curry trying a dunk, his three-point percentage has also dropped by a massive 6.3 percent between his rookie and sophomore years.
Keeping all that into consideration, while it sure feels like the Lakers have done well enough to start out their season strong, but will they be able to end it in a desirable fashion, we can’t be too certain of that.
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