Quentin Grimes can't buy a jumper at the moment. He's shooting 46.7 percent from the field, but is converting at a clip of just 26.1 percent from beyond the arc—and 71.4 percent at the free throw line. At the same time, the Los Angeles Lakers have been dreadful on defense despite Walker Kessler thriving as an interior anchor.
In order to fix their perimeter woes, the Lakers must embrace the unknown and empower Grimes to play more minutes, fix his jump shot on the fly, and excel as a defender.
Los Angeles signed Grimes to a four-year, $60 million contract earlier this year. The intention was clearly to utilize Grimes as a catch-and-shoot specialist and defensive ace given his sustained success in those very areas of the game.
Unfortunately, Grimes has struggled to shoot, played a surprisingly low 26.3 minutes per game, and come off the bench in all but one of his appearances.
To make matters worse, Grimes has attempted at least five field goal attempts in just one of his past five games played. The exception saw him post 23 points, five assists, and four steals on 7-of-15 shooting from the field and a 9-of-11 mark at the free throw line.
Unfortunately, he's attempted 11 combined shots in the three games since while averaging 25.0 minutes per game. To fix his jumper and the Lakers' defense alike, something needs to change.
Lakers should give Quentin Grimes more minutes despite shooting woes
The path to rectifying this issue is simple: Trust Grimes to play his way through his shooting slump. He's been efficient when he actually gets shots up, going 4-of-7, 3-of-6, and 7-of-15 from the field in his only three games with at least five field goal attempts.
For what it's worth: Those were also the three games during which Grimes played his most minutes this season. It's hard to ignore that bit of context.
Moving forward, Grimes clearly needs to be more assertive and make the most of the shots he's attempting. In saying that, the Lakers must also be willing to remain patient with him and trust that he can shoot his way out of his current predicament.
Keep in mind: Grimes has buried at least 38.8 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes in three of the past five seasons, with his numbers never dipping below 35.1 percent.
Unfortunately, the standard for him earlier in the season has been playing as a virtual non-factor on offense despite his clear and proven ability to make a positive impact. It doesn't seem to be helping that he's playing a limited role with fairly low minutes.
At just 5.6 field goal attempts and 2.9 three-point field goal attempts per game, Grimes simply isn't getting enough attention from the playmakers and playcallers.
Quentin Grimes is too valuable to be an offensive non-factor
By giving Grimes a chance to play and shoot more often, the Lakers could resolve their glaring issues on the defensive end of the floor. That begins and ends with the fact that their interior defense has been borderline elite, but their perimeter efforts have been atrocious.
For instance: Los Angeles ranks No. 9 in points allowed in the paint and No. 10 in defensive field goal percentage within six feet of the rim, yet is No. 21 in defensive rating.
One of the Lakers' biggest issues on defense is the fact that they rank No. 24 in opponent three-point field goal percentage. Los Angeles is also No. 22 in points allowed via guards. Grimes, meanwhile, spent 61.15 percent of his possessions during the 2025-26 season defending guards.
During that time, Grimes accumulated rankings in the 87th percentile in perimeter isolation defense, the 97th percentile in ball screen navigation, and the 93rd percentile in off-ball chaser defense, per Basketball Index.
Giving Grimes a chance to contain opposing teams' guards while optimizing his offensive impact can transform the Lakers' entire rotation. It can take scoring and playmaking pressure off of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, put pressure on opposing offensive stars, and ultimately help one of the most important players on the roster right the ship as a shooter.
It's hard to trust a player who's struggling to shoot, but Grimes needs the Lakers' backing to be more assertive and thus make the mark he's so clearly capable of making.
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