After a season in which they struggled mightily to score from downtown, the Los Angeles Lakers possess a roster full of solid, dependable three-point shooters.
Over the years, the Los Angeles Lakers have had a reputation as a franchise that has won championships with a combination of a dynamic, shot-creating guard and a dominant big man. Along the way, they have had their way with opponents when it came to scoring points in the paint, whether that combo was West and Wilt, Magic and Kareem, Kobe and Shaq or Kobe and Pau.
But they have never really been known as a feared three-point shooting team, as they have seldom ranked in the top 10 in three-point shooting percentage. In recent years, they have hit a nadir in that department, as they have ranked 29th in the category in each of the last two seasons, and dead last in the 2015-16 season.
It looks like that is all about to change.
Earlier this month, general manager Rob Pelinka filled out the roster with an army of players who are at least solid outside shooters: Danny Green, Jared Dudley, Quinn Cook, Avery Bradley, Troy Daniels and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Three of them – Green, Cook and Daniels – are considered more than just solid outside shooters, as they have reputations as great three-point shooters.
Even Rajon Rondo, who still has a reputation among some as a bad three-point shooter, has greatly improved. This past season he hit 35.9 percent of his treys, compared to a lifetime average of just 31.5 percent.
After a season in which management didn’t address this skillset, the Lakers look like they are sufficiently stocked with snipers. I don’t know if they’ll be top five in three-point shooting efficiency, but they can surely be in the top 10.
There’s two situations where this will especially be helpful. The first one is in early offense. When the Lakers don’t have an immediate fast break, they can space the floor and either run an early screen-roll with either Anthony Davis or JaVale McGee as the screener, and if the other team shuts down a lob pass to either one, the ball handler can penetrate and make the defense pick their poison: a shot attempt in the paint or an open three.
It can also be helpful when the Lakers are forced into their set offense and they find themselves stuck with less than 10 seconds on the shot clock. This past season, LeBron would often resort to settling for long outside shots in those situations. He would sometimes make them, but it’s never been a strength of his.
This time around, when the shot clock is running down, he (or whoever has the ball) can look to penetrate, get the ball inside to Davis (or DeMarcus Cousins) or run some other type of sequence with the intention of springing loose one of the aforementioned three-point shooters.
Despite their reputation as one of the best fast-breaking teams in the league in 2018-19, the Lakers were just 24th in offensive efficiency. It’s almost a sure bet that they will improve that in 2019-20, simply by virtue of possessing guys who can actually knock down triples consistently.