2. Shooting ability
In recent seasons, shooting has been a problem for the Lakers. In 2016-17, the Lakers ranked 22nd in 3-point shooting and 21st in free throw percentage. This past season, the Lakers ranked 29th in 3-point shooting and last in free throw percentage.
Those are two numbers that need to improve for the Lakers to take a step forward this season. While most of the free agent signings made this offseason won’t improve the Lakers’ shooting numbers, Crawford would.
Crawford is a career 34.9 percent shooter. That is a bit streaky, but he can space the floor. In catch-and-shoot situations, Crawford shoots 37.6 percent from behind the 3-point line. When he dribbles zero times, he shoots 37.4 percent. With one dribble, he shoots 43.3 percent. With so many other ball handlers on the team, Crawford would get plenty of spot-up opportunities, which he excels at.
From the foul line, Crawford is basically automatic. He is a career 86.2 percent shooter from the charity stripe, making at least 90 percent of his free throws four times in his career. During the 2011-12 season, Crawford led the NBA with a 92.7 free throw percentage. He has been over 90 percent in four of the past seven seasons and three of the past four. He has eclipsed 80 percent every season in his career except the first two.
That kind of shooting can help the Lakers at the end of games. There were a number of games last season that they lost because they were unable to convert their freebies at the line. Los Angeles was 8th in the NBA in free throws per game last season, but 16th in made free throws per game. Getting into the top-10 of both would help turn some of those losses into wins.