Lakers put BOLO out searching for missing offense

Austin Reaves returned for the Lakers, but even the star guard’s presence didn’t stop the team’s offensive struggles.

Their scoring woes continued during Wednesday’s Game 5 home loss to the Rockets, dropping back-to-back games, after taking a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven first-round playoff series.

And their offensive production and efficiency have regressed in each game, with the Lakers continuing to search for answers on how to turn things around entering a pivotal Game 6 on Friday in Houston.

“I mean, it helps when shots go in,” said Reaves, who scored 22 points in the 99-93 loss Wednesday. “I know [LeBron James] had probably three or four [shots] in the first half that went in and out. I missed two easy layups, I missed two or three good looks from 3, one little midrange. You make shots, you miss shots.”

There’s a lot of truth to what Reaves said.

The Lakers started the series on a heater, making a combined 46.1% of their 3-pointers (35 of 76) in Games 1-3 compared with the Rockets’ 28.7% shooting on 3s (29 of 101).

But the Lakers have cooled off significantly.

They shot a combined 24.5% from beyond the arc (12 of 49) in their losses in Games 4-5, including 25.9% (7 of 27) in Game 5, while the Rockets shot a combined 37.1% on 3s (26 of 70) in those games.

The Lakers went from making wide-open 3s at a better rate than floaters to struggling to knock down even the easy looks.

A fact that encapsulates the Lakers’ current shooting struggles: Rockets wing Amen Thompson, who’s shot 21.9% on 3s for his career in the regular season, made just as many 3s (two) in Game 5 as Reaves, James and Luke Kennard combined in Game 5.

Reaves shot 2 of 8 on 3s, while James went 0 of 6 and Kennard missed both of his 3-point attempts.

Kennard, in particular, has struggled.

After scoring a combined 64 points on 55.3% shooting (52.9% on 3s) in the first three games, he’s scored just eight points (25% shooting, 0 of 5 on 3s) in the last two, including one point in Game 5. 

“We had some opportunities to make some shots we didn’t make,” James said. “Obviously, they were generating good shots. As much as we got to defend, you also got to score in this game, too. I don’t think we did that at a good rate, especially in the second and the third.”

Even though the Lakers’ 15 turnovers in Game 5 tied for a series low, they’re still struggling with their ball security.

They have the worst turnover rate among teams in the playoffs (20.1%) entering Thursday, which is part of the reason they’re averaging 73.4 field-goal attempts and 25 3-point attempts through five games — both of which are the lowest marks among playoff teams. 

“Take care of basketball — we’ve been through this,” the Lakers’ Marcus Smart said. “We understand this team and how they play, and they’re very aggressive, and we got to take care of the basketball. Myself, I had six turnovers, and that’s unacceptable for me, especially with only two assists. Especially against this team. So we definitely got to take care of the ball. We got to do a better job, all of us, and collectively, and that’ll help us for sure.” 

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Whether the Lakers have found the solution to their struggles isn’t clear.

They scored 38 points in the second half of Game 3, needing a miraculous comeback to pull off the overtime victory, before totaling 96 points in Game 4 and a series-low 93 points in Game 5.

Their offensive rating and shooting efficiency have dipped in each game.

They continue to have a pattern of strong offensive starts before fading in each quarter. 

“We know what it is: We just got to make shots,” Smart said. “We got guys doing things, and we’re not giving ourselves a chance by turning the ball over, which we can’t get a shot up on the rim because of that. And that hurts anybody, no matter how good you are offensively, if you can’t get a shot up on the rim, that’s always going to hurt.”

Smart added: “We know what it takes. We got good plays. The game plan is right. The coaching staff [is] doing a good job of putting us into positions. We got to go out there and capitalize on the plays that we are [running] and make the best of them.”

The Lakers better hope that Smart is right, and that the shotmaking turns around in Game 6.

Because if not, they’ll return to Los Angeles for a Game 7 on Sunday, looking to avoid being a part of NBA history for the wrong reason.

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