The Los Angeles Lakers have done a number of things right while jumping out to a 6-1 start heading into Friday’s matchup with the Miami Heat. But one box they haven’t quite checked is their ability to beat teams from behind the 3-point line. The Lakers currently rank 26th in the NBA in 3-point field goal efficiency at 31.7% and that number will need to improve moving forward.
Following practice on Thursday, Kyle Kuzma discussed the 3-point field goal attempts that LeBron James is able to create for his teammates. He acknowledged that there is an adjustment that goes along with getting used to those wide-open looks when you haven’t played with LeBron before.
“I think it does,” Kuzma said when asked if there is an element of guys getting used to the way LeBron opens up 3-point shots for his teammates. “Playing with LeBron, he’s the center of attention at all times. On the court, everybody’s looking at him. A lot of times when guys come here, they’re not used to having wide-open shots.
“That’s something that he supplies for us. It might be a challenge for some guys, or an adjustment–not so much a challenge. For the most part when we needed timely ones we’ve hit them. But we need to be more consistent.”
While Kuzma went through the experience of learning how to play alongside LeBron last season, veteran perimeter players like Danny Green, Avery Bradley, Quinn Cook and Troy Daniels are going through that right now. Among those four newly acquired Lakers, Green is the only one shooting the ball well from distance (47.2%).
Daniels, meanwhile–a career 39.7% shooter from 3-point range–has only connected on 26.7% of his triples through seven games. Bradley and Cook are also below their career averages from deep. Those are three of the guys who are going to have to become more consistent from behind the arc the more familiar they become with the opportunities that LeBron creates. If they don’t, the Lakers could have trouble stretching the floor at times offensively as the season progresses.
