When the Los Angeles Lakers signed Taurean Prince last summer, it was looked at as an ideal addition. The veteran forward is an excellent two-way player who could provide consistent 3-point shooting and solid defense on opposing wings.
Prior to the season starting, Prince set a goal for himself for his 3-point shooting. The veteran had only reached the 40% mark once in his career during the 2021 season and that was split between two teams as he was traded during the year and only played in 41 games total.
As such, Prince hoped to knock down at least 40% from deep with the Lakers this season, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“I’ve been trying to shoot that, [40% from three], trust me, for the past three-four years. The 38 [percent], I’m landing on 38 right now, but I’m striving for 40-plus, for sure.”
Unfortunately for Prince, he came up just short in his season goal, knocking down 39.6% from 3-point range on more than four attempts per game. It was mainly a rough month of November that set Prince back as he shot below 30% from deep in 14 games, but the veteran has turned it on as of late.
In the final 20 games of the season in March and April, Prince has shot an exceptional 44.3% from deep, really giving the Lakers a reliable shooting boost off the bench which is sorely needed. The Lakers reserves have been a bit up-and-down, but if the Lakers can get consistency from the veterans they have in Prince, Spencer Dinwiddie and Gabe Vincent it will go a long way towards helping the team make a postseason run.
Even though Prince did not reach the goal he set for himself, he has still been a more than solid addition to this Lakers team. And for the Lakers, it’s all about the playoffs so improving that percentage in the postseason will win a whole lot of people over who won’t even care about him just missing that 40% mark during the season.
Anthony Davis reflects on ‘up-and-down’ regular season for Lakers
Much like Prince individually, the Lakers as a whole had a season full of highs and lows. Ultimately, they wound up finishing 12 games over .500, but that wasn’t good enough to get them out of the Play-In Tournament.
Anthony Davis recently reflected on the regular season for the Lakers, admitting that it was an ‘up-and-down’ year for the team overall, but still felt it was fun. The superstar big man added that obviously the Lakers would prefer not to have been in the Play-In Tournament, but will make the best of it.
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