The Los Angeles Lakers had a tough 2021-22 season, missing the play-in tournament and finishing with a 33-49 record. They struggled with injuries and consistency throughout the season, and their roster construction was certainly not the best, as they lacked elite defenders around the roster.
The front office has clearly taken a different approach this offseason, acquiring defensive-minded players such as Patrick Beverley and Dennis Schroder. However, they still have one problem with their roster, and that is the lack of 3PT shooting.
Brian Windhorst Thinks The Lakers Organization Doesn’t Actually Believe In Their Guards
NBA insider Brian Windhorst has recently suggested that the “basketball people” within the Los Angeles Lakers organization do not believe in the team’s current group of guards, noting that none of them are elite 3PT shooters besides Kendrick Nunn.
You look at all these guys who don’t shoot the ball well… The last 16 years in this league, everything that LeBron James has is shooting, shooting, shooting… Their best shooter is Kendrick Nunn who hasn’t played in a year.
I just don’t believe. And this can be used as receipts later. You can use this against me, I guess, Lakers. I don’t believe the basketball people in this organization believe this is a group that’s actually gonna work.
While the Los Angeles Lakers might not have a lot of shooting, they do have good defensive-minded players that fit Darvin Ham’s coaching philosophy. In fact, he has notably challenged guard Russell Westbrook to start “guarding at a championship level”.
“We talked in our conversations and the biggest word we used was ‘sacrifice and everything else is gonna flow from there… I want him to set a tone defensively for our team. Just get back to guarding, guarding, guarding… I want him to get back to guarding at a championship level.”
Perhaps the Los Angeles Lakers will still be able to find some 3PT shooting via free agency. There are still free agents like Carmelo Anthony that could help them fill that hole on their roster.
There is definitely a good chance that the Los Angeles Lakers will still be able to improve as a team and make the playoffs next year. Hopefully, we see them become a cohesive team, and with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, they’ll always have a chance of making a deep run and getting to the Finals.
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