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After an ugly start to the new season, LeBron James was candid when he spoke to the media on Tuesday.
The Lakers began their schedule against the Warriors and lost 123-109. They trailed by as many as 27 points against the reigning champions, and it was never a game that felt like it was within reach. Afterward, LeBron provided context about why Golden State was so easily able to cruise to victory.
He noted that although his team was able to take a ton of uncontested 3-pointers, that was likely not an accident by the Warriors. This was a feature, he noticed, and not a bug.
The Lakers were just 10-for-40 (25%) on 3-pointers against Golden State, and LeBron did not mince his words when he reflected on what happened:
“We’re getting great looks, but it could also be teams giving us great looks. To be completely honest, 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 … But we’re not sitting here with a bunch of 40-plus career 3-point shooting guys.”
Those words may sound harsh, but it’s true. This roster doesn’t have great shooting, and it’s going to be a problem for nearly any lineup combination.
Golden State only had two possessions in which they had a defender within four feet of the 3-point shooter, per NBA.com. Meanwhile, they allowed 16 attempts defined as wide open (where the nearest defender was farther than six feet).
The idea is that if defenders sag off the Lakers and leave them open, they’ll be tempted by the open space. But because they don’t have a ton of shooting talent, the shots won’t go in, and the best defense is simply nothing at all.
Unfortunately for LeBron, this strategy worked like a charm. According to Synergy, Los Angeles was 1-for-9 (11.1%) on uncontested catch-and-shoot attempts against Golden State.
That is simply not a recipe for winning basketball, and it’s not sustainable.
