A lot has been made of the Los Angeles Lakers straying away from shooting three-pointers in the preseason. Last season, the Lakers lived and died from beyond the arc under Mike D’Antoni, but new head coach Byron Scott believes that’s not the way to go moving forward.
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After practice on Friday, Coach Scott talked to the media about the lack of production from the three-point line. Scott said the following, according to Bill Oram of the OC Register:
Scott says teams tend to be built to live and die by 3-pointers. "I don't believe it wins championships. Gets you to the playoffs."
— Bill Oram (@bill_oram) October 17, 2014
The Lakers have only attempted eight three-pointers in the last two preseason games, missing all eight.
Fortunately, the Lakers aren’t jacking up a lot of shots from outside like last year, but being a force from deep was been highly beneficial the two best teams in the league last season. Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck points this out to Oram:
@bill_oram Memo to Byron: Heat averaged 22 3-pt FGA per game in 2012-13. Spurs averaged 21.4 per game last season.
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck) October 17, 2014
With arguably the best shooters on the team currently on the shelf with injuries, the Lakers really can’t be much of a force from deep right now anyway. Steve Nash, Nick Young, Jeremy Lin and Ryan Kelly are all dealing with injuries at the moment.
Fortunately for the Lakers, it is only the preseason. A lot can change between now and the start of the season. Although Scott seems intent on not living and dying by the three, he believes the team will get some production in that department once the team is healthy, according to Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Also on 3-pointers, Byron Scott estimates that once the team is fully healthy, their 3-point attempts will be in the 12-15 range.
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) October 17, 2014
Only time will tell if the Lakers will evolve into a team that can be a force offensively from outside. Scott appears adamant about limiting attempts, but that could change if the offense continues to struggle.
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