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LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers were looking forward to spoiling the Golden State Warriors' ring night last night. However, due to their horrible play, things went south early on, and ESPN's Brian Windhorst is concerned about the team.
The Lakers started their 2022-23 NBA season against the Golden State Warriors last night. Fans were looking forward to seeing how the team would fare against the defending champions during their special night. However, due to their lack of shooters, the team failed to make the game competitive. During the match, the entire squad shot 25% from the three-point area and missed shot after shot.
The team displayed an embarrassing shooting performance, even as James himself shot 3-10 from downtown. Analyst Brian Windhorst noted that the 18-time All-Star pulled off the "truth shake" during the game. He explained why it's concerning for the team and questioned their approach last night.
"Now, I usually see the 'Truth Shake' in like January or February, about seven to ten days out from the trade deadline when he evaluates where his team is. And he's usually right, by the way," Windhorst said.
"You can go back and look. When that comes, it's never good to have the 'Truth Shake' in October. You don't want it in October."
"Why are the Lakers shooting forty 3-pointers a game? They were 26th in the preseason in three-point shooting. They were terrible last night."
The Lakers will have their home opener against the Los Angeles Clippers tomorrow night. It's a wonder as to how the team will perform against another division rival. Given how the team is built, they'll have to use a different approach in some of their matches moving forward.
What are the Lakers opting for 3-point shooting?
Looking at the team's roster, it looks like it's built differently from the other teams in the league. The team lacks a ton of shooting, but they appear to be forcing their way into becoming a team that relies heavily on three-point shooting. Last season, the Lakers had Malik Monk, their most reliable shooter from downtown.
In 76 games, Monk shot 39% of his outside shots. However, he moved on from them and decided to join the Sacramento Kings over the summer. After him, Carmelo Anthony was one of the team's outside threats. Melo shot over 37% from the three-point area. But it looks like Los Angeles don't want him back as he's still a free agent so far.
The Lakers are lacking depth on their roster
Los Angeles looked confident as they entered the 77th NBA season full of hope. However, given how the team is assembled, it just might be a repeat of last season. The team doesn't have a decent bench unit, something that most teams have addressed over the summer.
Their division and conference rivals all took time to work on their second unit. Los Angeles, on the other hand, focused too much on trading away Russell Westbrook over the summer. Becasue of this, they missed out on acquiring decent players to help LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Los Angeles started their 2022-23 campaign with more problems than solutions. They have a long way to go to be considered a contender in the league.
