OKLAHOMA CITY — It’s no secret that the Lakers’ 3-point volume has dipped significantly since Luka Doncic has been sidelined with a left hamstring strain.
But if the Lakers are going to have any chance of beating the Thunder in their best-of-seven second-round playoff series, they’re going to have to reverse the trend regardless of Doncic’s status.
The Lakers were a low-volume 3-point shooting team even before Doncic and Austin Reaves (left oblique) suffered their regular-season-ending injuries April 2 against the Thunder.
Just 36% of their shot attempts came from beyond the arc through April 2, according to Cleaning The Glass, which ranked 22nd among NBA teams.
But Doncic, through his perimeter shooting and playmaking, helped the Lakers become a more threatening team from deep.
The Lakers’ 3-point frequency increased by 5.7% when Doncic was on the floor compared to on the bench, by far the highest mark on the team.
But then the shift came.
The Lakers’ 3-point frequency dropped to 30% (28th) in the final five regular-season games without Doncic and Reaves.
And through their first seven playoff games, their 3-point frequency has stayed at 30%, the lowest among all playoff teams.
Even with Reaves’ return during Game 5 of the first-round series against the Rockets, the Lakers’ 3-point frequency jumped to 31.3% over the last three games entering Thursday, ranking 13th among the 14 playoff teams that played a game since Reaves came back.
The Lakers were one of the league’s most efficient scoring teams during the regular season because of their free-throw shooting and dominance on scoring inside of the paint — areas in which Doncic played a significant role.
That hasn’t been the case during the playoffs, with their true shooting percentage of 56.6 a strong mark but still fifth among playoff teams compared with ranking second (60.9%) during the regular season.
Their 2-point shooting dropped from 59.5% during the regular season to 50.8% in their seven playoff games entering Thursday, including 45.5% in their Game 1 loss to the Thunder. They also only took 13 free throws in Game 1 after averaging 26.3 attempts during the series against the Rockets.
The Lakers should shoot better on 2s.
But getting more free throws will be challenging against a physical Thunder team that has the league’s best defense and doesn’t foul frequently.
The Thunder don’t allow a lot of shots at the rim and are elite at protecting it once opponents get there.
But the areas they allow a frequent number of shots are from midrange and beyond the 3-point arc.
“They give up the most spray 3s in the NBA, and they have heavy shifts, and they always make [Chet] Holmgren [the] low [man], so you’re likely going to be able to shoot more 3s against them,” coach JJ Redick said before the series started. “But, again, you have to base that on what the coverages are. And are they helping off, are they not helping off?”
Redick added: “It’s based on the coverage. If they’re not willing to give up 3s, you can’t force up the 3s. We gotta be ready to launch.”
With the Thunder primarily playing drop against the Lakers, being ready to launch off the dribble will be an important factor for LA.
They took just eight pull-up 3s in Game 1.
Reaves and Luke Kennard should be the primary players taking pull-up 3s if the Thunder continue to prioritize protecting the paint like they do best.
The Lakers can’t be expected to be a high-volume 3-point shooting team without Doncic, but they can be a higher-volume 3-point shooting team.
And they need to be to have any shot of beating the Thunder in this series.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
