The Los Angeles Lakers started their schedule of seeding games with a tough weekend, first facing off against their L.A. rivals in a thrilling game against the Clippers and then a less thrilling performance on Saturday night against the defending champion Toronto Raptors. But one of the few consistencies for the Lakers in both games was that as a team, basically everyone outside Kyle Kuzma, has struggled with their 3-point shot.
Through the first two games of the restart, the Lakers are 21 for 76 (27%) from the 3-point line. Kuzma is shooting 50% from the 3-point line but the Lakers as a whole have struggled. In particular, the starting wings alongside LeBron James have struggled the most. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who shot well over 40% in the regular season coming into the bubble, he has gone 1 for 7 from the 3-point line while Danny Green has gone just 2 for 13 from deep, including a brutal 0 for 6 last night against the Raptors.
LeBron James told reporters that he’s not worried about the Lakers’ ability to make shots long term, according to SB Nation’s Harrison Faigen.
“We’ve been out for a while, and I think the game legs will continue to come as this AAU tournament continues to go on,” James said. “I’m not too worried about that. Our shooters shoot. We’ve got some great guys that can make some shots from the perimeter, and we’ll make them.”
The Lakers are 1-1 despite not being able to shoot the ball from the outside as a team, but they have to hope that trend doesn’t last much longer if they are going to have the playoff run they want for themselves.
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