The Lakers Can’t Make a 3-Pointer Too Far Behind the 3-Point Line, or There’s No Point to the 3-pointer
3. The Laker’s “Backup” Strategy
The Lakers are currently the 15th best 3-point shooting team in the league behind the Warriors, Kings, Heat, Suns, Thunder, and the Thunder. The Lakers have not even been able to outshoot the Warriors, Kings, and Sun’s in a given night. And yet, the Lakers aren’t just a bad shooting team. According to Synergy Sports Technology, the Lakers have the 3rd best rebounding percentage behind the Thunder and Nuggets (and last, so far, Memphis). The Lakers’ 3-point shooting is more about efficiency than high quality attempts, whereas the Lakers’ rebounding is a more pure product of good players. The Lakers have a lot of quality players that all need each other to perform, and all can’t be relied upon as “backup” options. The Lakers are the perfect team to get a 3-pointer off from behind the 3-point line.
The Lakers currently have three excellent players that could make an NBA 3-point specialist: Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr., and D’Angelo Russell. If the Lakers have Jordan Clarkson then it means everything is going well and that he’s the player that is the most efficient in the world. If he isn’t the player that has been the most efficient in the world, then Larry Nance Jr. or D’Angelo Russell may be the answer. That’s an area of the game that the Lakers don’t have to worry about. Clarkson, Nance and Russell can all make 3-pointers no problem, so they don’t have to rely on Kobe Bryant to be an all-around scorer. The Lakers can rely on their depth to have three options at the 3-point line when necessary.
If the Lakers can get three quality options at the 3-point line, then the Lakers need to try to get one of those players the most efficient player on the court. They need to get the best 3-point shooter