The Los Angeles Lakers enter the 2021 All-Star break sitting in third place in the vaunted Western Conference with a record of 24-13. As solid as that record may appear, the Lakers have plenty of room to improve in the second half of the season.
One crucial department the Lakers will focus on revamping is the 3-point shot. Through 37 games, they possess some of the worst 3-point rankings in the entire NBA: Los Angeles is attempting 30.8 threes a game, 25th in the league, while converting on 35.1% of them, placing 24th.
The Lakers began the season torching teams from deep, but as they’ve been mired in inconsistency with lineups and rotations, the last eight games have brought further troubles; L.A. is converting on just 31.7% of their 3-pointers while the attempts have partially amplified to 33.5.
Lakers forward Markieff Morris is one of the players struggling from beyond the arc, as he’s hitting just 32.2% percent of his 3-point attempts, his worst clip since the 2015-16 season. Morris said the team will improve after the All-Star break when the unit is able to develop a newfound sense of rhythm and consistency, crucial components they’ve lacked in recent weeks.
“We will get better,” Morris said. “We got a lot of games under our belts. We’ve been messing with the rotation a lot, having guys in and out, but we’ll get better at it. We are going to demand it.
“Second half of the season we’ll definitely be a lot better.”
However, Morris is entering the All-Star break on a positive note with his own shot; in the last three games, he is 7-14 (50%) from long range. In the absence of Anthony Davis and Marc Gasol, Morris has stepped up to supply a reliable scoring punch when needed, so if he can maintain a similar level of efficiency when the big men return, L.A. will have to feel confident about their depth moving forward.
The Lakers need to rediscover their form from the beginning of the season, or at least something close to it, because the second-half schedule is charged with resilient opponents from both conferences.
But the fact that the Lakers haven’t played at their best this season could be a factor that benefits them down the road when fully healthy.
Lakers interested in Houston’s P.J. Tucker
Los Angeles is conducting their due diligence with potential ways to upgrade their squad as they hope to defend their recent championship victory in the Orlando bubble.
One possible player could be P.J. Tucker of the Houston Rockets, who the Lakers have expressed interest in.
Tucker could help the Lakers with 3-point shooting as he’s been a solid off-ball shooter throughout his career, but the Rockets are commanding a young player in return.
If the Lakers hope to obtain Tucker’s two-way talents, doing so would require them to part ways with one of their few young players, most notable being Kyle Kuzma or Talen Horton-Tucker.
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