Healthy Players Will Change the Laker Offense

A lot of attention has been brought to the Laker team.  It’s not the good kind.  It’s bad enough when injuries hit a young Laker team.  It isn’t just Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant we’re worried about, but the younger players too.  Jeremy Lin, Jordan Clarkson, Ryan Kelly, Xavier Henry, and Nick Young have youth on their side, and they’re the ones sitting on the bench.

The Twitter universe just can’t say enough about the lack of Lakers three-point field goals.

Mark Medina brings up an excellent point.

The Lakers’ best three-point shooting talent is injured.  Jeremy Lin worked on his three-point shooting over the summer.  Nick Young shot 37.9% behind the arc last season.  Ryan Kelly shot 33.3%, which is solid for a rookie power forward. Jordan Clarkson is more than willing to take, and make, open three-point shots.  During his first game, he hit a couple off of direct passes from Jeremy Lin.

It’s easy for opponents to defend the Lakers during the preseason.  Ronnie Price isn’t a reputable three-point shooter.  Julius Randle, Jordan Hill, Robert Sacre, Kobe Bryant, and Ed Davis all play inside of 20′.  That leaves Wayne Ellington and Wesley Johnson as the reputable three-point shooters.

Defenses can just pack into the painted area.  As long as one defender runs out to the shooter in a fundamental position, no three-point shot goes up.

The Lakers also lost key three-point shooters from last season.  Mike D’Antoni’s offense allowed a rhythm behind the arc.  Jordan Farmar, Jodie Meeks, and Kendall Marshall all shot over 40% behind the arc last season.  Both Meeks and Farmar had the green light, and shot 40% and 44% behind the arc respectively.

The emphasis on two-point field goals isn’t predicated simply on offensive structure.  It’s predicated on the offensive talent too.  It’s bad shot selection if the current, healthy Laker players opt for a three-point shot.  Frankly, it’s a poor percentage shot.

The lone upside of avoiding the three-point shot is preventing transition opportunities for the opponent.  Long shots equal long rebounds.  Mid-range shots and points in the paint buy the Lakers time to recover on defense.  Unfortunately, transition defense is still an issue, even with the two-point field goal shooting.

When the Lakers are healthy, better three-point shot creation and field goal makes will occur.  They’ll finally have their best shooting talent on the floor.

It just won’t guarantee wins.

What do you think?  Should the Lakers try to look specifically for a few more three-point shots a game?  Should they stick to paint play?  Should the team wait until the players are healthy to expand the offensive spacing?

Please leave comments below.