Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Lessons from loss to Minnesota Timberwolves
By Ronald Agers
Okay…I’ll concede to the fact that this team needs shooting
I’m going to throw out a couple of stats here…
The Lakers are shooting 38 percent on mid-range shots. That ranks 26th in the NBA.
The Lakers are shooting 33 percent from the land of the extra point. That ranks 28th in the NBA.
The Lakers are shooting 68 percent from the free throw line. That ranks 29th in the NBA. It used to be 30th but the outstanding shooting from the OKC and Houston games brought them up from being dead last.
The Lakers front office was criticized for not having enough shooters on the team to surround LeBron James.
However, Lakers do not have enough shooters period. Luke Walton made changes in the lineup because the team had a stretch of falling behind early. His concerns were valid because as long as the Lakers shoot this poorly, they can’t make strong comebacks.
The Lakers shot 8-for-28 from the 3-point line for a measly 28 percent. Take out Rondo’s respectable 3-for-5 from distance and the team shot 5-for-23. This is not going to win games plain and simple.
The starters, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope combined to shoot 1-for-10. Get the picture?
The free throw shooting is just getting to be unacceptable. The Lakers shot 9-for-14 for 64 percent. This is just not good. LeBron James can come back, but shooting like this will not make any difference at this point.
It’s that horrid.
Other news…
Kyle Kuzma is battling a nagging hip injury that he had treatment on for the last couple of days. He looked stiff at times after he was knocked down hitting a lay up early in the game. This is something that will be watched and Lake Show Life will keep you posted.
The Los Angeles Lakers are now past the halfway point in their long journey through the NBA season. Lake Show Life will be there every step of the way. Continue to check in for Lakers news, previews and reviews.