LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 20: LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on October 20, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Lakers’ horrible start means they are wasting another year of LeBron James’ career. Here are five things they can do to improve immediately.
Fans in Los Angeles are understandably panicking over the team’s winless start. Intense changes are needed if the Lakers are going to go from Western Conference bottom-dwellers to a legitimate playoff team.
Lakers fans who believe this roster can be transformed into a strong title contender need to disabuse themselves of that notion. Success for this team should be defined as finding a way to make it into the postseason. The combined greatness of James and Anthony Davis will not be enough to carry this misshaped roster to the promised land of an NBA title.
That doesn’t mean the Lakers’ brass should sit back and watch things continue to get worse. Here are five things the organization/coaching staff can do to improve the team’s performance.
5. Make LeBron James stop shooting so many 3s
An ideal roster built around James would feature quality 3-point shooters at each position. Instead, the Lakers have assembled a group where James is arguably the best long-distance marksman. That’s one of the reasons he’s taken a career-high 8.8 attempts per game in the team’s first four contests.
He’s a strong bet to improve on his current shooting percentage of 25.7 percent behind the arc, but the Lakers’ offense can still function best when James is a distributor. Turning a couple of James’ 3-point hoists to passes to players on the move each night can give this offense a meaningful jolt.
James doesn’t need to become a non-shooter, he just needs to dial his aggressiveness behind the arc down a little. Some moderate discretion here can empower his teammates to get more involved in the game. That’s vital for this group’s long-term viability.