Jake LaRavia has struggled for the Los Angeles Lakers, despite their four straight wins. His three-point shooting took a nose dive as he is currently 1-for-14 from distance in March.
LaRavia does not have a reputation of a knockdown shooter, but he remains capable of knocking down shots at a league-average rate. He is a 35.1% career three-point shooter and he resides at 31.6% for Los Angeles.
Remaining confident through a shooting slump can be tough, but LaRavia needs to find a way to trust the process. Head coach JJ Redick spoke to his struggles and remaining confident in the 24-year-old’s ability to find a way out of it.
“Starting coming back from All-Star break, he’s really just been one of those guys that has been exemplary in his role,” Redick said. “Meaning the things we’re asking him to do, he’s done at a really high level. I think it was the Denver game and whatever game was before that, which seems so long ago, I told him he was awful. He played terrible in both games on both ends. And he has responded, like he always does throughout the season. He’s played great. He’s a guy that we have a lot of confidence when he gets open catch-and-shoot 3s and we have a lot of confidence when he plays in transition and plays off closeouts. When he gets to double digits, which he’s done a number of times with us, it’s such an added bonus and lift. He’s been great with his physicality, his rebounding, his crashing, his disruption on defense. As the season has progressed, his on-ball defense has been getting better. He’s been great for us.”
As Redick mentioned, there are other ways to be impactful outside of scoring, and LaRavia remains invested on defense. In addition to crashing the glass, forcing turnovers and giving L.A. extra possessions.
Although the starters shoulder a considerable amount of the team’s offense, having at least two bench players chip in points would be helpful. Luke Kennard remains a bright spot and hopefully the fourth-year forward can join the party.
Jake LaRavia remaining confident in shot despite struggles
Seemingly nothing seems to be working for Jake LaRavia offensively, as his finishing and shooting have not been reliable. Despite these struggles, he remains confident in his ability to shoot and appreciates the coaching staff for instilling belief to get him out of this shooting slump.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
