The Los Angeles Lakers have lost the first three games of the 2022-23 NBA regular season, succumbing to teams that have a lot of what they so desperately need: 3-point shooting. The Purple and Gold were unable to beat the defending champions Golden State Warriors, crosstown rivals Los Angeles Clippers, and the up-and-coming Portland Trail Blazers, being one of the winless teams the league has right now.
The duality of the Lakers shows that they are a terrific team on the defensive end of the ball, but their offense is really bad. They have players who can attack and finish at the rim, but when it comes to shooters, they don’t have a reliable player from deep. Not even Kendrick Nunn, who was known for his shooting in Miami, has been able to make an impact from distance.
Added to the bad shot selection of their stars, this team has a lot of issues to fix, and at the end of the day, it all comes down to their shooting struggles. Perhaps, with better shooters, they could have won one or two games and have fans happy, but that hasn’t been the case for the Lakers.
A Deeper Look At Los Angeles Lakers 3-Point Shots
During their first three games of the young campaign, the Lakers have shot 25 for 118 from beyond the arc, enough for a terrible 21.2%. This is simply unacceptable for a team that wants to compete with the top dogs in the Western Conference. If you take a look at each player’s stats, it’s easy to see why the Lakers have struggled so much with this.
LeBron James has shot 7-27 from 3, while Anthony Davis has made only 2 of his 10 attempts during the season. Lonnie Walker IV has made 3 triples so far in 17 attempts, while Patrick Beverley has gone 3-for-14. Russell Westbrook has made only 1 3-pointer in 12 attempts, shooting for 8.3%.
Austin Reaves has gone 2-for-7, while Juan Toscano-Anderson has shot 1 for 8 from long distance. Kendrick Nunn has made 3 three-pointers in 13 attempts, Matt Ryan has only attempted 5 3-pointers so far, making 2 of them. Troy Brown is yet to make a 3-pointer in only 2 attempts; Damian Jones only attempted one without any luck. Max Christie only took one triple, which he made, and Cole Swider attempted another one, but missed it.
This is not a good look for the Lakers. They have a big problem and need to address it as soon as possible, or they’ll keep having the same issues all season long. ESPN’s Kirk Goldsberry shared a chart that shows the Lakers are making 21.2% of 39.3 3PA per game, which is worse than the Chicago Bulls, who made almost 10% more 3-pointers than the Lakers.
This is anything but a good situation. The Lakers know they are in a troubling position and need to get out of there very soon. Trade talks regarding Russell Westbrook have started again, and fans are waiting to see what’s next for the 17-time NBA champions. We have to wait to see what’s next for the Lakers, but right now, the situation doesn’t look that promising.
**Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference**
