If the Los Angeles Lakers knock down 3 pointers at this rate, the NBA Finals will be over in nine days!
Weren’t the Los Angeles Lakers the team that was known to throw up bricks from the 3-point line? The Miami Heat had all of the shooters right? Well, coming into Game 1 of the Finals, it made sense.
The Lakers were ranked next to last out of the 22 teams that spent time in the bubble from 3-point range. They shot only 33.6% overall. To put this in perspective, they were the only team in the playoffs to have two games shooting less than 25% on 3 point shots.
Well, the percentages are going to go up a little after this game. The Lakers exploded from behind the arc. While LeBron and AD carved up the paint, the shooters went on an 9-for-11 streak on 3 pointers in the final 16 minutes of the first half.
Overall the Lakers shot 39.5% (15-38) from distance.
The leader in 3 point makes? (Checking the notes in shock!) Danny Green!
Danny Green shot 3-8 from distance finishing with 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 3 blocks and an assist. He finished the game a plus/minus of +21, the second-highest plus-minus of the night behind Anthony Davis (+23).
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 1, 2020
Green was one of five Lakers to finish the game in double figures. (To McKinley Webb…never say I didn’t give this dude credit.)
There’s not much analysis you can break down in a blowout.
- The Lakers outshot the Heat from the field (45%-43%), 3 point line (39%-31%) and the free-throw line. Lakers: (25-27=92%) Heat: (11-14=78%).
- When the Lakers missed, they got the ball back. They outrebounded the Heat 54-36.
All of this means they’re now three wins away from a title.