In this era of NBA basketball, the 3-point shot has become greatly emphasized which made the Los Angeles Lakers’ struggles last season that much more obvious. Not only were the Lakers one of the worst teams in terms of 3-point percentage, but Darvin Ham’s squad also ranked near the bottom of the league in 3-point attempts.
Obviously a team led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis is going to focus primarily in the paint and attacking the rim. But improving the Lakers’ perimeter shooting will help to open up the paint for their stars and Ham understands the importance of that.
The Lakers have attempted 93 3-pointers in their first two preseason games and this is something that is an emphasis for the Lakers. Ham says that one of the goals for the team is to increase their 3-point attempts, while maintaining their overall identity of attacking the paint, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“That’s one of our goals, we wanna get our attempts up. We don’t wanna go crazy, we still wanna be a team that loves and lives in the paint. And I think now with our newly constructed roster along with obviously the core guys that we brought back, we feel like just having that 1-2 punch, Bron is gonna collapse the defense, AD is gonna collapse the defense, Rui and those guys being willing passers and knowing how to read the defense.
“Gabe in the fold now, Taurean Prince, all of these guys, your normal AR, Bron has worked feverishly on his jumper, his jumper just continues to progress, AD being a willing shooter from that distance and not hesitating. We feel like it’s a good mixture of guys where we can have a really strong 1-2 punch starting in the paint, but obviously being able to throw em up from long distance. And make em.”
There is a thin line as it can be easy for a team to fall in love with the 3-pointer and begin settling. Ham knows that the Lakers’ best option remains attacking the rim with their two superstars, not to mention players like Reaves and Hachimura, who are great at getting in the paint as well.
But if players like Russell, Prince and Vincent are around the 3-point line and consistently knocking down dhots at a high rate, it only makes things that much easier for the Lakers as a whole.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham wants a set starting lineup in regular season
One of the biggest questions for the Lakers remains who will complete the team’s starting lineup. Either Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt or Taurean Prince are expected to be the fifth next to LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell. Whoever it is, Ham plans for that to stick throughout the season.
“I mean, outside of the playoffs where you have to make adjustments with your rotation at times and your starting lineup, for the regular season, I want to settle in on one group,” Ham said. “It’s kind of hard to do [make changes] because guys have routines, they have pregame regimens, different eating habits, sleeping habits understanding when they’re gonna go into the game and to disrupt that really can affect performance. So we’re gonna try to settle in on one group and ride that group.”
The Lakers have options within the roster and will surely make rotation adjustments, but, barring injury, having that lineup set is the way to go.
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