At times in their season opener on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers looked fairly competitive against the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
They showed stretches of solid defense, which led to a strong transition game that yielded 27 points.
What held L.A. back was its lack of 3-point shooting. It went 10-of-40 from beyond the arc, while the Warriors were 16-of-45 from that distance.
If the Lakers are to do anything more than sneak into the playoffs this season, they must find a way to shoot a respectable percentage from deep.
But LeBron James sounded the alarm after the game that perhaps they don’t have the personnel to do so.
Sooo Lebron has some thoughts: "We're not a team constructed of great shooting. It's not like we're sitting here with a lot of lasers on our team…like if you had a bunch of underneath route runners, the quarterback's not throwing 20+ yard passes downfield." pic.twitter.com/n4yJGdbVqS
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) October 19, 2022
If L.A. is to add some “lasers,” as James put it, it will not happen for a while. The team reportedly will take its time before looking to see what may be available on the trade market.
The Lakers appear to have a significantly better roster than last season, but, obviously, they’re at least one or two pieces short of a full puzzle.
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