No 3-point shooting
One of the major issues for the Lakers in this game was their inability to score from beyond the arc. As the roster is currently built, there aren’t too many threats from 3-point range on the Lakers.
While the Lakers likely won’t be one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the NBA this season, they really struggled against the Raptors. In the loss, the Lakers shot just 3-for-23 from beyond the arc. In the NBA now, it is going to be nearly impossible to win games only hitting three 3-pointers.
What was a bit surprising to see for the Lakers was that arguably their best 3-point shooter in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope only took one attempt from beyond the arc. Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, and Jordan Clarkson combined to go 3-for-15 from beyond the arc, and that is certainly one of the reasons why they lost.
On Saturday, the Lakers will have to be able to stretch the floor against the Utah Jazz, as they are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. Also, Rudy Gobert is arguably the best rim protector that the Lakers will see this season. Even though they aren’t a great 3-point shooting team, the Lakers should be better than what we saw on Friday.