{"id":56404,"date":"2023-10-10T09:59:52","date_gmt":"2023-10-10T13:59:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=56404"},"modified":"2023-10-10T09:59:52","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T13:59:52","slug":"lakers-burn-bridges-and-nets-with-three-point-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/10\/10\/lakers-burn-bridges-and-nets-with-three-point-shooting\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers Burn Bridges and Nets with Three-Point Shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following a <\/span>125-108 loss to the Golden State Warriors<\/span><\/a>, the Los Angeles Lakers got back on track against the Brooklyn Nets thanks to scintillating perimeter performances. Despite building up a large lead in the second quarter\u2014and relinquishing it in the second half\u2014the Lakers edged past the Nets 129-126, displaying key improvements along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lakers Burn Bridges and Nets with Three-Point Shooting<\/b><\/h2>\n

Perimeter Masterclass<\/b><\/h3>\n

One of the biggest takeaways from the Lakers\u2019 offseason was their improved three-point shooting, and it definitely showed last night. LA drained 20 triples out of 55 attempts (36.4%) en route to their win over the Nets. The starting backcourt of <\/span>Austin Reaves<\/b><\/a> and <\/span>D\u2019Angelo Russell<\/b><\/a> combined for eight of them. Newcomer <\/span>Taurean Prince<\/b><\/a> shot 3\/5 from distance, finishing with 13 points on 5\/7 shooting.<\/span><\/p>\n

The team\u2019s success from three was an encouraging sign for fans. Over the past six years, the Lakers have consistently finished in the bottom third when it comes to both three-point makes and percentage. Their highest marks came after the 2021-22 season, when they finished 18th in makes (12 per game) and 22nd in percentage (34.7%). The last time they were this red hot in a game came on Feb. 7, 2019. LA drained a <\/span>franchise record 22 triples<\/span><\/a> against the Boston Celtics.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the league\u2019s landscape changing over the summer, the Lakers will have to find ways to succeed on the offensive side of the ball, and signing perimeter reinforcements was the best way to go about it. New players like Prince and <\/span>Gabe Vincent<\/b><\/a>\u00a0will be key three-point threats going forward. The team\u2019s returners have also shown a commitment towards improving their shooting, and it\u2019s paid off so far.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear that the Lakers are motivated to change previous perceptions about their perimeter game, and it begins with standout performances like these.<\/span><\/p>\n

A True Team Effort<\/b><\/h3>\n

Though Brooklyn had several key contributors last night, they were <\/span>spearheaded<\/span><\/a> by young guard <\/span>Cam Thomas<\/b><\/a>, who recorded 26 points in 22 minutes. <\/span>Mikal Bridges<\/b><\/a>, a cornerstone for the Nets, was kept at bay with eight points on 2\/7 shooting from the field. The Lakers, on the other hand, had eight of their rotational players in double figures.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rui Hachimura<\/b><\/a> led the way with 19 points while going 8\/14 from the field. Reaves and Russell\u2019s marksmanship allowed them to finish with 18 and 14 points, respectively. <\/span>LeBron James<\/b><\/a> and <\/span>Anthony Davis<\/b><\/a> played well in the first half. James recorded 10 points (3\/8 FG, 1\/4 3PT), three rebounds and five assists in his preseason debut. Davis had 13 points (4\/6 FG, 1\/3 3PT), seven rebounds and three blocks.<\/span><\/p>\n

The team\u2019s backup bigs also made major contributions. <\/span>Christian Wood<\/b><\/a> recorded 10 points, (4\/10 FG), six rebounds and two steals. <\/span>Jaxson Hayes<\/b><\/a> finished with eight points on perfect 4\/4 shooting.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, the Lakers\u2019 rookies came up clutch in the game\u2019s final moments. With Brooklyn leading 126-125 at the 1:20 mark, <\/span>D\u2019Moi Hodge<\/b><\/a> blocked <\/span>Jalen Wilson<\/b><\/a>\u2019s layup attempt. <\/span>Jalen Hood-Schifino<\/b><\/a> then found <\/span>Maxwell Lewis<\/b><\/a> on the break, and he finished with a slam dunk to put LA back in front. After Hodge missed a top-of-the-key three, <\/span>Colin Castleton<\/b><\/a> made a putback layup with 50 seconds left. He then secured the defensive rebound to end the game\u00a0after <\/span>Armoni Brooks<\/b><\/a> missed the game-tying triple. It may be preseason, but the young Lakers showed they can thrive under pressure, a skill that will serve them well when the regular season rolls around.<\/span><\/p>\n

Team Stats Comparison<\/b><\/h3>\n

The Nets matched the Lakers\u2019 efficiency all around, shooting 49% from the field to LA\u2019s 48%. The Lakers, however, won the battles in terms of rebounding (48 to 44) and playmaking (25 assists vs. 19). Ultimately, both teams displayed remarkable offense, but the Lakers came out on top with their defense (eight steals and six blocks) and late-game composure.<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking Forward<\/b><\/h3>\n

The Lakers have begun to knock the rust off, evidenced by strong performances from every player regardless of experience level. They\u2019ll look to keep things rolling against the Sacramento Kings tomorrow at 7pm PST.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following a 125-108 loss to the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Lakers got back on track against the Brooklyn Nets thanks to scintillating perimeter performances. Despite building up a large lead in the second quarter\u2014and relinquishing it in the second half\u2014the Lakers edged past the Nets 129-126, displaying key improvements along the way. Lakers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":56407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,6,26,62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nets","category-lakers","category-nba"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}