Dorian Finney-Smith and Gabe Vincent have been on fire from beyond the arc for the Los Angeles Lakers lately, but the two did have one bad shooting game in this stretch against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday. Finney-Smith was asked why that was the case after the 126-99 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, and he had an idea.
“Make or miss,” Finney-Smith said. “But running around with Stephen [Curry] don’t help.”
Well, it would be harder to make threes if you’ve been running all over the court on defense to try to keep up with Stephen Curry. There aren’t too many players in the NBA who move around as much as Curry does off the ball. His incredible stamina ensures he can do that all game without much fuss, but all the running can take a toll on you as a defender.
Finney-Smith ended up going 0-5 from beyond the arc against the Warriors while Vincent was 1-5. In the two games before and after that clash, Finney-Smith went 17-32 (53.1%) from three and Vincent 15-29 (51.7%). Talk about an odd one out.
Finney-Smith and Vincent’s shooting struggles contributed to the Lakers losing 123-116 to the Warriors. That’s their only loss in the last five games.
Interestingly, Finney-Smith and Vincent’s production from beyond the arc has quite an impact on the outcome of games for the Lakers. When they both make at least three three-pointers, the Lakers are 6-0. When Vincent alone makes three of them, the Lakers are 14-2, and they’re 8-3 when Finney-Smith does it.
In short, the Lakers are incredibly difficult to beat when Finney-Smith and Vincent are hitting threes. You know what you’re going to get from the likes of LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves. If the key role players produce along with them, then it’s pretty much game over for the opposition.
The Lakers have now improved to 48-30 this season and have surpassed their win tally from 2023-24. They have also strengthened their grip on the third spot in the West and should end up there come the end of the season, barring a shocking collapse.
Dorian Finney-Smith Might Not Be Willing To Take A Pay Cut This Offseason
Finney-Smith can become a free agent this offseason by opting out of his $15.4 million player option for 2025-26. The 31-year-old is expected to do just that, and it looks like the Lakers should not expect that he’ll take a pay cut to stay with them.
“You see what just happened with Luka (Doncic)? So, you’ve got to make sure you take care of yourself first,” Finney-Smith said. “We need to finish the season strong. If we win, everybody eats (smiles).”
The Lakers certainly would have considered this possibility when they acquired Finney-Smith from the Brooklyn Nets in December 2024. They surely didn’t intend for this to be a rental, so you’d expect him to get a sizeable deal. His play certainly merits one too, as he has helped elevate the Lakers defensively.
As for the here and now, Finney-Smith will be hoping to help the Lakers pull off another win against the Thunder, as the teams will face off again on Tuesday at 8 PM ET.
