RealGM

I just wanted to discuss with you guys on what might actually be the Laker's weakness when season starts.

Most people (mostly none Laker fans) say its our 3pt shooting. I think the 29/30 in team 3pt% is misleading cuz the margin between each team was so small and cuz it doesn't normalize for 3pt attempted. Plus we've done a good job of weeding out our bad three point shooters and keeping our good ones. If you look our roster we actually have tons of shooters.

Last year 3P%
Josh hart -39.6% - 3 attempts per game
Ingram - 39% - 2 per game
KCP- 38.3% - 5.6 per game
Kuz - 36.6% -5.6 per game
Svi - 40% career (college)
Moe - 38.4% career (college)
Lebron 36.7%

That only leaves rondo, Zo, and mcgee (who obviously not gunna be shooting) as ur nonshooters. (I dont believe lance will see much of the floor tbh)

I don't think well blow anyone away in that category but well be much much better next year. I imagine (and hope) Lonzo won't be as back next year. Especially adding the fact that we now have a dominant player to draw doubles and kick it out to wide open shooters, which will give the whole team a boost in that category.

TBH I think everyones worrying about the wrong thing here, if you ask me the biggest issue is FT%, We were an awful 71% ranking DEAD LAST in the league. I'm not worried about lonzo's threes as much as I'm worried about lonzo's FT! how does a PG shoot 45%?? I hope everyone of those young guys work on their free throws, because thats the only part of the game Lebron doesn't improve your team in.
Who do we have right now that you'd trust down the stretch to hit FT. I think our best shooter right now is Pope who's only 79%, not good enough. It might be the best thing IT did for our team last year, was add clutch FT shooting.

I can easily picture us losing some unnecessary games due to FT shooting.

What are you're guys thoughts on Lakers biggest weakness?

We need to make a fast start to lessen the pressure of making the playoffs, everyone better come ready to the camp because the microscopic eye is going to be on the team all season.

The FT percentage is going to be bad. Is KCP the best one?

TylersLakers wrote:The FT percentage is going to be bad. Is KCP the best one?

Svi? WagMo?

LBJ, Rondo, McGee, Stephenson can be expected to have plateaued, but Kuzma, Ingram, Hart, Ball better all show improvement. I expect it from all four of them. Every FT is a must make freebie, damn it. Discgraceful to be last in the league in that category, let alone the disadvantage it means.

Will Ingram, Ball, Kuzma, Hart be ready to compete against NBA elites for the championship in '19-'20 season.

I think next season will be about the development of those four guys. Next offseason they bring in Kawhi, Klay or Butler. If they feel those youngsters arent ready, they get traded to add a 3rd star.

stan francisco wrote:

TylersLakers wrote:The FT percentage is going to be bad. Is KCP the best one?

Svi? WagMo?

LBJ, Rondo, McGee, Stephenson can be expected to have plateaued, but Kuzma, Ingram, Hart, Ball better all show improvement. I expect it from all four of them. Every FT is a must make freebie, damn it. Discgraceful to be last in the league in that category, let alone the disadvantage it means.

Although I like both those guys I doubt either of them on the floor in late game situations. Maybe Mo at the 5 if he shows he can protect the rim especially cuz Mcgee isn't ever a much better option (although I'm hoping we end games with our line-up of death: Lebron, hart, kuz, zo, and Ingram)

MelosSoreWrist wrote:Will Ingram, Ball, Kuzma, Hart be ready to compete against NBA elites for the championship in '19-'20 season.

I think next season will be about the development of those four guys. Next offseason they bring in Kawhi, Klay or Butler. If they feel those youngsters arent ready, they get traded to add a 3rd star.

I think Ingram should enter that tier of fringe all-star by next year, historically if you compare Ingram to other stars at his position he's on par or ahead of where most those guys were by this point in their careers. Especially if he's able to put on some more weight (atleast 10-15 lbs) coming into next season hell be rolling playing next to Lebron.

Dloading24 wrote:I just wanted to discuss with you guys on what might actually be the Laker's weakness when season starts.

Most people (mostly none Laker fans) say its our 3pt shooting. I think the 29/30 in team 3pt% is misleading cuz the margin between each team was so small and cuz it doesn't normalize for 3pt attempted. Plus we've done a good job of weeding out our bad three point shooters and keeping our good ones. If you look our roster we actually have tons of shooters.

Last year 3P%
Josh hart -39.6% - 3 attempts per game
Ingram - 39% - 2 per game
KCP- 38.3% - 5.6 per game
Kuz - 36.6% -5.6 per game
Svi - 40% career (college)
Moe - 38.4% career (college)
Lebron 36.7%

That only leaves rondo, Zo, and mcgee (who obviously not gunna be shooting) as ur nonshooters. (I dont believe lance will see much of the floor tbh)

I don't think well blow anyone away in that category but well be much much better next year. I imagine (and hope) Lonzo won't be as back next year. Especially adding the fact that we now have a dominant player to draw doubles and kick it out to wide open shooters, which will give the whole team a boost in that category.

TBH I think everyones worrying about the wrong thing here, if you ask me the biggest issue is FT%, We were an awful 71% ranking DEAD LAST in the league. I'm not worried about lonzo's threes as much as I'm worried about lonzo's FT! how does a PG shoot 45%?? I hope everyone of those young guys work on their free throws, because thats the only part of the game Lebron doesn't improve your team in.
Who do we have right now that you'd trust down the stretch to hit FT. I think our best shooter right now is Pope who's only 79%, not good enough. It might be the best thing IT did for our team last year, was add clutch FT shooting.

I can easily picture us losing some unnecessary games due to FT shooting.

What are you're guys thoughts on Lakers biggest weakness?

I think 3pt FG% (or even RFG%) is a question of shot creation and shot selection. These %'s can't be taken in a vacuum.
A quick analysis of last year's roster shows you that only Lonzo Ball, Ingram and Kuzma were decent play-makers. Randle improved a lot, but would still put himself in tough situations.
Through training and skills development, you can get players to improve their passing and offensive reads. With more / better ball-handlers on board (James, Rondo, Stephenson), this will improve this dynamic of the team. So whoever is taking the shots in the offense, if it's a good shot (think of the Spurs-model), %'s will improve by default, although variations are to be expected.

So if you think about the main thing the Lakers addressed this offseason, it's defense and tough-mindedness. So if you improve your defense by 1% - 3% per 100 possessions, you shave a bit from your opponents' scoring and improve your own offensive flow.
With more motion and opportunities to get easy buckets, if players are getting shots closer to the rim, that means more points and more synergy. Which also means that you rely LESS on half-court production.

In this "more pace + more defense" context, McGee, Stephenson and Beasley (for example) can give you positive contributions when they play.
Rondo is another player whose contributions will count if the situation is favorable. He likes to control the offense and needs to stay engaged in regular season games. With LeBron on the team, the Lakers will be competitive throughout all games (let's say 5 teams across the league are definitely better than them).

Also, improvement can be expected from L. Ball, Hart, Ingram, Kuzma from what we've seen from them so far. With better bodies, a bit more refined skills and better understanding of their roles, an improvement from within is almost guaranteed.

In conclusion, this is a work-in-progress. My expectations aren't extremely high; I mostly root for improvement throughout the season and finding good, effective rotations towards the end of the season.