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Los Angeles Lakers: 3 New Year’s resolutions for 2021

By Orestis Rantis

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - NOVEMBER 27: Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers talk during the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center on November 27, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. 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 Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - NOVEMBER 27: Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers talk during the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center on November 27, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. 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 Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /
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Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers Photo by Harry How/Getty Images /

After a successful 2020, the defending NBA Champions Los Angeles Lakers have tipped off a campaign in which they hope to go back-to-back.

The year 2020, as disastrous as it was, brought its fair share of joy to the Los Angeles Lakers and their loyal fanbase. They marched their way towards their 17th Larry O’Brien trophy in franchise history while facing very little competition in the Orlando bubble.

Following that, they were also able to pull the trigger on a series of moves that will either make-or-break their defending season in 2020-21. These transactions, despite looking great on paper, still have to withstand the test of time.

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When you boil it all down, they replaced about half of their championship rotation with some valuable pieces. Rajon Rondo, JaVale McGee, Dwight Howard, Danny Green and Avery Bradley left LA as champions, with Dennis Schroder, Montrezl Harrell, Marc Gasol and Wesley Matthews joining this win-now squad.

Rob Pelinka also inked down Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma to some multi-year contract extensions as they all proved to be valuable members of last year’s team.

All in all, being a Lakers fan, you couldn’t ask for anything more from the way this franchise acted both inside and outside of the basketball courts. Nevertheless, this does not mean that there isn’t any room for improvement.

In a much more competitive title run, compared to last season’s fairly easy one, these Los Angeles Lakers need to work on their Achilles heel, before their opponents figure out a way to beat them.

Los Angeles Lakers Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images
Los Angeles Lakers Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images /

3. Maintain this elite 3-point shooting level

The championship-winning squad we’ve had the joy of watching on a daily basis was immensely strong in many areas. Rebounds, blocks, field goal percentage and points in the paint were some of the many areas of expertise in the squad that ultimately won it all.

However, they had one glaring weakness. Their 3-point shooting was incredibly close to being bottom in the league. In an era of ceaseless 3-point shooting, you’d be surprised to see the champions sitting just outside of the league’s top 20 in 3-point percentage.

During the most recent offseason, the Lakers addressed this weakness by adding a selection of players that would one-up their “ancestors”. Even though the sample is pretty small, the plan seems to be working perfectly as of now.

Jumping from 34.9 percent all the way to an eye-catching 41.8 percent is just the start that these Los Angeles Lakers needed.

However, it seems like even these Lakers haven’t wrapped their heads around just how accurate they’ve been as of late. Despite their success, they are taking the 8th-least 3-point attempts in the NBA, which is in fact 0.1 fewer per outing when compared to last season.

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