The Los Angeles Lakers have seen their opponents rain down threes on them all season, and Anthony Davis has an interesting explanation for it. When asked about the Lakers’ game plan of allowing open looks to players who don’t shoot well from three, Davis said he has realized the numbers don’t tell the truth, as everyone shoots well against them.
“Realizing that everybody, no matter what their numbers are, shoot well against us. If a guy is shooting 10%, he’s gonna shoot 40 against us,” Davis said. “Just knowing that. There hasn’t been a time where the numbers have told the truth to us when we’ve played guys.”
Davis pointed to Bradley Beal going 8-10 from three as a classic example of that, as he had struggled shooting the ball coming into the game. The 30-year-old says they’re going to have to now defend everybody like they’re Stephen Curry.
“Brad’s been struggling,” Davis continued. “So we gotta play everybody like they’re Steph when they play us because these guys — not just this team — but everybody has shot the ball well against us.”
(starts at 1:45 mark):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULr3V569tz0
In seven games prior to this one against the Lakers, Beal had shot 18.2% from three for the Phoenix Suns. The star guard had also not hit more than three three-pointers in a game all season and connected on eight here as the Suns beat the Lakers 127-109. It just confirms to Davis, who had 13 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 2 blocks on the night, that the numbers don’t apply when it comes to them.
The Lakers’ opponents are shooting 37.6% from three this season, which is the fifth-highest percentage in the league. L.A. has also seen their opponents hit 14.4 threes per game, which is the most in the NBA this season.
Add to that the fact that the Lakers are averaging 10.9 threes made per game, which ranks 29th in the league, and you get a team that has a 19-20 record this season. You are simply not going to win too many games when opponents have a significant edge from beyond the arc every night.
Some changes to the defensive game plan might be needed and also, the Lakers have to bring in some shooters. Their best three-point shooter this season (among players who have played more than one game) as of right now is Taurean Prince, who has shot 39.2% from beyond the arc, and that’s not good enough.
Anthony Davis Said Self-Inflicted Wounds Were The Reason For The Lakers’ Struggles
While Davis lamented everyone turning into Curry against them, he does acknowledge that’s not the only issue. After the Lakers beat the Toronto Raptors earlier this week, Davis blamed the Lakers’ recent woes on self-inflicted wounds.
“Everything is self-inflicted. Our turnovers, poor execution, our lack of attention to detail, is what got us in the situation of losing four straight,” said Davis. “We were able to flip the script and get all those categories back up and we were able to get two wins. We’ve proven that we can do it throughout the course of the season but it’s hard to live with the result when it’s a lot of self-inflicted wounds. When we make a team beat us and not beat ourselves, then you got to live with the result.”
The Lakers have shot themselves in the foot a fair few times this season, and that has to change if they are to go all the way and win the title. Will they be able to do it? That is the big question.
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