When Luke Kennard arrived in Hollywood after the NBA trade deadline, there was a lot of excitement over what the veteran sharpshooter could add to the Los Angeles Lakers. Kennard's 3-point shooting has been elite his entire career. There was only one problem, though. He wasn't shooting enough.
In the first half of this season, Kennard was popping in a ridiculous 49.7 percent from beyond the arc during his time with the Atlanta Hawks. However, that mark was coming on just 3.2 attempts per game. With the Lakers scorer only growing in importance after the injuries to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, JJ Redick wanted to ensure that changed in the NBA Playoffs.
Redick said: "We have constant conversations about that. I think one of the things, just messaging wise, was you shooting six or seven 3s a game at 38 percent for the series is better than you shooting three a game at 45 percent. We need you to shoot."
Redick's message was heard in Game 1 against the Houston Rockets. Kennard went 5-of-5 on the deep ball, scoring a career playoff high of 27 points. The Lakers will welcome plenty more of that aggression from their growingly important scorer.
Luke Kennard should have a Stephen Curry-like green light for the Lakers
In the regular season with the Lakers, Kennard stagnated in terms of his volume from beyond the arc. The Lakers sniper averaged 3.0 attempts from triple during his 32 games in purple and gold. To Redick's point, that leaves something to be desired.
The Lakers need regular and consistent offense right now behind LeBron James. Redick immediately identified Kennard as someone who can give that to Los Angeles. The pair of Duke alumni have been trying to figure out how to get the best out of the situation ever since.
Kennard's surprising playmaking chops have been a huge part of his ascent in the Lakers offense. The veteran scorer uses the threat of his shooting masterfully to open up opportunities to set up his teammates nightly.
Ultimately, that threat cannot be an empty one. The Lakers should want to see him back it up more than anything else.
Game 1 against Houston featured a balanced scoring effort for Los Angeles. Each of the starters got into double digits and LeBron did a masterful job spreading the ball around, getting everyone involved. Life will not always be that smooth.
There will be times of the Lakers offense just struggling to fully click throughout this series. When those come, and Kennard is on the floor, giving his team the extra edge of finding himself a good 3-point look will be a welcomed sight.
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