Lakers stumble out of the gate

The Los Angeles Lakers have gotten off to a slow start this season dropping their first three games amidst team shooting struggles.

Team Outlook

The Lakers are now three seasons removed since they won their 17th NBA Championship in 2020. Los Angeles put another banner in the rafters after a successful run in the NBA bubble during COVID. Since this run, the team hasn’t seen the same success.

In the 2020-2021 season, they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs as a seventh seed. This past year, they didn’t even make the playoffs, leading to the firing of Frank Vogel, the coach who brought them their latest title.

The roster was mainly constructed around three stars in Lebron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook. The team struggled with injuries, shooting and chemistry all season long.

The team hired Darvin Ham as the new head coach to turn things around. After making very little moves this offseason to shake things up, all three stars are back and the struggles have continued in their first three games.

Shooting Struggles

Westbrook is a slashing point guard known to drive to the basket and finish at the rim. Davis is a seven-foot center who has the capabilities to stretch the floor but mainly works within the three-point line. James is regarded as the best player of his generation and is at his best when driving, kicking the ball out to shooters.

The problem with the team last year and three games into this year has been its shooting. Through three games, the team is shooting 40.7% from the field and 21.2% on three-pointers.

The Lakers are shooting 21.2% on 3-pointers this season.
In NBA history, there have been over 6,100 instances of a team taking at least 100 3-pointers over a 3-game span. The Lakers 21.1% is the 2nd-worst among that group, trailing only the Hawks in 2018 (21.0%). @ESPNStatsInfo

— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) October 23, 2022

They are a team with great players and great talent, but it hasn’t translated on to the court. The teams three best players aren’t pure shooters and the supporting cast doesn’t play to their strengths. When this team was assembled, the organization bet that the talent would figure out a way to gel on the floor. Evidently, they have not yet.

Lakers v. Nuggets

Los Angeles looks to get its first win of the season tonight. They travel to Denver to take on the 2-2 Nuggets.

Facing the reigning two-time league MVP, Nikola Jokic, is a tough matchup for a team trying to figure things out. But, it is a long season and they have the star power to turn it around.

Tip off tonight is at 10 p.m. ET. Tune in to see if they can change their fortunes.