2. Shooting
Last offseason Rob Pelinka and Magic Johnson got creative with their roster construction.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat figured out years ago the equation known as “The LeBron James Offensive Conundrum.” It’s simple; surround LBJ with above average 3-point shooters, so that he has space to attack the rim.
“Maginka” didn’t care though. They thought they were smarter than all of the other front office folks across the league. They believed they could create something new and better, so they brought in non-shooters; Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Beasley, and JaVale McGee.
In the end, the 2018-2019 rendition of the Lakers finished 29th in the league in 3-point shooting at 33 percent and they also finished 29th in the association in free throw shooting at a miserable 69 percent.
Magic and Pelinka’s strategy went down in flames. However, Pelinka learned from his mistakes last summer and over the last couple of weeks, he’s inked a plethora of players who can shoot from distance.
The Lakers now have four of the top-65 high volume 3-point shooters in the league from last year:
- Alex Caruso: 48 3P% (1st in the NBA minimum two 3-point attempts per game)
- Danny Green: 45.5 3P% (4th in the NBA minimum two 3-point attempts per game)
- Quinn Cook: 40.5 3P% (28th in the NBA minimum two 3-point attempts per game)
- Troy Daniels: 38.1 3P% (65th in the NBA minimum two 3-point attempts per game)
The Lakers also have two more very good career 3-point shooters:
- Avery Bradley: .364 career three-point percentage
- Jared Dudley: .392 career three-point percentage
Even Anthony Davis is a stand-still threat from deep. Last season he averaged 38% on his spot-up attempts from beyond the arc.
Now the Lakers cupboards are stocked full of professional shooters, so we can expect the Purple and Gold to finish top-five in three-point shooting and free-throw shooting next season.