LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 1: LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during the game against the New Orleans Pelicans on April 1, 2022 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. Copyright 2022 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Lakers’ shooting woes have carried over into the 2022-23 season.
After missing the playoffs last season, the Lakers opened the new campaign by making 19 of 85 three-point attempts in consecutive losses to the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers. They missed all nine tries behind the arc in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s 103-97 loss to their Staples Centers co-inhabitants.
Following their first setback, LeBron James admitted that the team isn’t “constructed of great shooting.” However, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, he didn’t want to keep fixating on the issue.
“I’m definitely not going to sit here and harp on what we can’t do every single game,” James said Thursday night when asked about the Lakers’ shooting. “That’s not a leader. What I know we can do? We can defend our ass off. We did that tonight, which gave us an opportunity to win and we just couldn’t make it happen. But, I’m OK with that.”
The Lakers held the Clippers to 18 points in the final period and limited them to nine makes on 29 three-point tries. Yet their perimeter shooting remains a persistent problem.
Never a sharpshooter himself, James has drained five of his 18 shots from downtown. No other Lakers player has made more than three three-pointers through two games.
They haven’t received much scoring of any kind from their ancillary pieces. James, Anthony Davis, and Lonnie Walker each offered at least 20 points against the Clippers, but nobody else reached double digits.
Kendrick Nunn provided 13 of their 24 bench points against the Warriors before going scoreless Thursday night. Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook followed an encouraging season debut by going 0-for-11 in the second game.
LeBron may not want to discuss their shooting after every shortcoming, but the front office should seek some assistance if the Lakers have any hope of competing in the Western Conference.
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