Los Angeles Lakers crash and burn vs. Cleveland…4 Lessons!
By Ronald Agers
The Los Angeles Lakers need shooters, badly
The Los Angeles Lakers were criticized for not having enough shooters around LeBron James to be successful this year. Let me rephrase that.
The Lakers just don’t have enough shooters…Period!
The team basically left enough bricks to build a practice facility next to the Staples Center. Hopefully, they’ll use it to practice their shooting. It may seem like I’m being tough so I will give you some numbers.
The Lakers shot less than 40 percent from the field (36-91).
They shot 20 percent from the three-point line (7-34).
Finally, from the free throw line, the Lakers shot a putrid 59 percent from the free throw line (16-27). Here’s the rub on the free throw shooting…
In the fourth quarter, the Lakers missed nine free throws (8-17). The Lakers are at this point languishing as the worst free throw shooting team in the NBA. It’s unacceptable to the point of being sad. For a team that complains about non-calls, they sure miss a ton when they get to the line.
There is talk that LeBron James will win the MVP based on the fact that the Lakers are struggling without him. I say please stop the madness. There’s no way he is going to win.
However, LeBron James right now is the most important player in the NBA. No question. The Lakers cannot function consistently without him. The New York and Cleveland games have shown the world all it needs to see to make that point perfectly clear.
Here’s what announcers and analysts mean when they talk about LeBron James making things easier for his teammates.
Now that he is out, the floor is shrinking and the shooters do not have as much time to shoot the ball like they would if James was present. He commands so much attention that everyone is afforded about another half second to a second to shoot. Now opponents can stick to the shooters.
Remember the struggles of the Warriors without Stephen Curry? Triple that for the Lakers.
It’s that serious.
As for the free throws? No explanation.