The struggling Los Angeles Lakers, reason No. 2: Lack of shooting
With the acquisition of Russell Westbrook, many media outlets and journalists alike immediately questioned the move, as the former MVP thrives in environments with extensive spacing. This Lakers team would not be that, as he would be playing alongside both LeBron and Anthony Davis, both average shooters at best for their position.
To make up for this, Los Angeles attempted to sign veteran free agent shooters such as Avery Bradley, Malik Monk, and Wayne Ellington, to provide a three-point element to their offense.
Although Bradley is shooting 40% from downtown on the year, the team is sitting at a 34.7% clip on all three-point attempts, good enough for 19th in the league. This places them between the likes of Houston and Toronto, two teams who don’t look to be contending for a championship anytime soon.
Through 32 games, the Lakers’ most common lineup is Westbrook, Bradley, Horton-Tucker, Carmelo, and Anthony Davis. That lineup is shooting 34.1% from three through 114 possessions. They have sustained a respectable offense through an unreasonable 62.1% on midrange shots, but their three-point percentage is much more believable.
With essentially non-shooters in Westbrook and THT, and Davis, who’s having one of the worst statistical shooting seasons of all time, it’s difficult for the Lakers to put together a positive shooting lineup. It becomes even worse when LA runs a traditional center at the five such as DeAndre Jordan or Dwight Howard, clogging the spacing up even more.
Ultimately, this lack of shooting gives the Los Angeles Lakers’ ball-handlers little to no room to operate, leading to an offense relying on inefficient mid-range jumpers for points. This comes down to simple roster construction, as the three most important players who will garner the most minutes on a nightly basis are all below-average shooters and floor spacers.