Those who doubt the Los Angeles Lakers as legitimate championship contenders consistently point out one potentially insurmountable flaw: shooting. Their historically poor offensive start to the season was based on their inability to score from distance. They shot 42-of-177 from deep in their miserable 0-5 start, and shooting by and large hasn’t been a strength. They ended the season ranked 26th in 3-point attempts, 25th in 3-point percentage and 24th in made 3-pointers.
That’s hardly the model for a successful LeBron James team. No shooting means no spacing. Without space, James needs to settle for jumpers himself. That’s been a problem this season. He shot just 32.1% on 3’s this season—his lowest mark in seven years—and wasn’t much better on mid-range looks at 36.4%. The Laker offense relies on James scoring at the rim. He needs space to do that. Space isn’t something opponents want to grant.
The raw numbers since the trade deadline have been better. With Russell Westbrook gone and D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Rui Hachimura in his place, the Lakers improved to 16th in 3-point percentage and 19th in 3-point attempts over the last two months of the season. The Memphis Grizzlies, it seems, were not impressed.
Their entire game-plan on Sunday revolved around over-helping at the basket in order to dare the Lakers to shoot jumpers. It worked for a good chunk of the game. The purple and gold were 5-of-20 from 3-point range midway through the third quarter. They proceeded to shoot 11-of-17 the rest of the way, and the Grizzlies did little to stop them. Case in point: the same schematic choice led to Rui Hachimura’s first four 3-pointers.
Shot No. 1 starts out as a fairly standard play. D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Davis run a high pick-and-roll. Dillon Brooks follows Russell over the screen, but Xavier Tillman doesn’t drop to cover Davis. He sticks with Russell as well knowing that Hachimura’s man, Santi Aldama, will move into help position at the rim. This leave Ja Morant all alone to cover both Hachimura and Dennis Schroder….
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