The Los Angeles Lakers improved to 12-4 on Sunday with a 108–106 victory over the Utah Jazz. Despite the hot start, Lakers head coach JJ Redick is gravely concerned about his team’s inability to shoot at an efficient clip.
Redick revealed he reminded the team of their shooting issues after Sunday’s win.
“I told the guys this after the game: We’re literally one of the worst shooting teams in the NBA right now,” Redick said after Sunday’s win. “I don’t think that’s who we are. We’ve gotta make shots, and we’ve gotta shoot ’em with confidence.
“To me, if we’re guarding at that level of physicality and passing so well — we had 23 assists but could have had 30 if we made shots. We’ve got to shoot the ball better, but there’s gotta be a belief in each other to knock down shots.”
Redick felt the Lakers’ physical defense and grit won them Sunday’s game, helping them overcome another cold shooting night. The Lakers shot 10-of-38 (26%) from three, but escaped the Delta Center in Salt Lake City with a win.
Lakers Rank No. 26 in 3P%
Further to Redick’s point, the Lakers have shot 33.3% from three through 16 games, which ranks 26th in the league. The four teams below the Lakers—the Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trail Blazers, Dallas Mavericks, and Indiana Pacers—all have losing records. And the three teams above the Lakers—the Utah Jazz, New Orleans Pelicans, and Brooklyn Nets—are also projected to be lottery-bound by the end of the season.
As such, the Lakers find themselves in dangerous territory in being clubbed with mediocre teams, perhaps a red flag for a team with championship aspirations.
Lakers Starters Can’t Shoot
It’s worth noting that Rui Hachimura is the only Lakers starter shooting north of 40% from three, doing so on a career-high 3.9 attempts. In comparison, Luka Doncic (31.1%), Austin Reaves (31.1%), LeBron James (28.6%) and Marcus Smart (24.2%) are all struggling to connect from the outside.
The Athletic’s Dan Woike believes the Lakers’ ability to score in the interior and ability to draw fouls — courtesy of Reaves and Doncic — has been key to their 12-4 start.
Reaves cited a lack of chemistry for the shooting woes.
“I think it’s just chemistry. Care factor’s high,” he said. “You wanna go out there and do whatever you can do to help one another succeed. And I think that that goes a long way. There’s no selfishness; everybody wants to see everybody succeed.”
While Doncic agreed with Redick, imploring his teammates to improve their shooting, LeBron James brushed off the concerns.
“We’re not worried about it. We got too many good shooters. It won’t last,” James said of the team’s shooting struggles.
The Lakers (12-4) will next host the LA Clippers (5-12) on Tuesday night.
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