NBA Rumors: LaVine suitor out, AD calls out Lakers, Anthony Edwards to NFL?
- Anthony Edwards has his sights set on NFL stardom next
- Anthony Davis calls out Lakers' poor early-game shooting
- Heat bow out of Zach LaVine trade pursuit
NBA Rumors: Anthony Davis calls out Lakers' poor shooting early in games
The Los Angeles Lakers haven't won a first quarter against an above-.500 team all season. While finishing games is generally more important than starting games, it's never ideal to dig a hole in every. single. game.
Anthony Davis addressed the Lakers' early-game struggles following their 104-101 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. The Lakers outscored the Mavs 30-13 in the fourth quarter and still didn't win, the perfect summation of their season to date.
Here's a simple summation of Davis' comments: the Lakers have to hit open shots, and they can't let misses impact their effort in other areas of the game.
Anthony Davis was about as respectful as can be in calling out what is hurting the Lakers early on in games: Guys need to start making open shots pic.twitter.com/iTSZ7kOnxx
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 23, 2023
Davis stresses the open shots Los Angeles is missing. The Lakers as a team are shooting 37.3 percent on wide-open 3s (defender 6+ feet away), which ranks 21st in the NBA. On open 3s (4-6 feet), the Lakers are shooting 32.3 percent, which lands 24th in the association. That about sums it up. The Lakers are a poor 3-point shooting team (34.3 percent, 26th in the NBA), which tends to really muck up the offense. That's especially true early in games, before a rhythm has been established.
The Lakers are 9-7, in large part due to the heroic, MVP-adjacent efforts of LeBron James and the elite defense of Anthony Davis. Still, it's hard to feel great about the Lakers as a top-tier title contender with their current shooting woes and the concerns tied to their flimsy supporting cast.