“It doesn’t matter what people pay attention to” - LeBron James highlights LA Lakers’ strength following poor shooting game against Timberwolves

LeBron James and the LA Lakers aren't paying attention to their naysayers ahead of the new season. The Lakers had a poor shooting night in their 118-113 preseason loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, James was happy with how the team managed to create open looks. He said (via Spectrum SportsNet):

"I don't think any of the 3's out of the 38 that we took were like forced 3's. They were all of drive and kick, off penetration, out of the pocket, finding guys weak side and it just didn't go which is fine."

When asked if the Lakers' ball movement and shot creation is something people should be looking at from the outside over shooting percentages, LeBron James said:

"At the end of the day it doesn't matter what people pay attention to. We know what we want to accomplish on a game-to-game basis. You're gonna have games where you make it, you're gonna have games when you don't make."

(From 3:03 to 3:51)

The LA Lakers only made 10 out of 39 shots from deep against the Timberwolves. In their previous outing against the Warriors, the Lakers made 17 shots from deep from 39 attempts.

So far under new coach Darvin Ham, the Lakers are creating much better looks with their ball movement. However, they cannot be as inefficient as they were against the Timberwolves. LeBron James and Co. will need to make the most out of open looks if they want to compete in the West.

LA Lakers lose to Timberwolves despite LeBron James and Anthony Davis bagging double-doubles

The LA Lakers starters had a rough night against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday in preseason. The Lakers found themselves trailing 87-80 after three quarters against a Timberwolves team without Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns.

LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Lonnie Walker IV were the only difference-makers for the Lakers. James bagged 25 points and 11 rebounds in 24 minutes. He shot an efficient 9 of 12 from the floor, including 2 of 4 from 3-point range.

Davis produced another stellar outing on both ends of the floor. He scored 19 points, grabbed 13 rebounds along with two steals and two blocks. He, too, had a good shooting night as he made seven of 11 shots from the floor.

Walker was the surprise package of the night for LA. He got them going when the team fell behind during the first half. The former Spurs guard had 12 points on 5 of 11 shooting in 18 minutes before leaving the floor with a sprained ankle.

The LA Lakers played small ball, often deploying a 3-guard or 4-guard lineup. They struggled defensively on some possessions and the lack of 3-point shooting was one of the reasons they lost this game.