3 Surprising reasons why the Lakers can still make the playoffs

Lakers’ shooting woes

A well-documented issue for the Lakers has been their lack of floor spacers. They have the fourth-worst shooting in the league at only 33.6% from beyond the arc. The team’s obvious Achilles heel in recent seasons

Peeking at the numbers, the Lakers’ best shooter (efficient paired with decent volume) has been Lonnie Walker IV, as he is shooting 37.5% with 5.1 attempts per game. Another player who showed some promise is rookie Max Christie. Though the sample size is relatively small, he is at 42.6% in the rainbow country after only 1.8 attempts, but the promise is there for sure.

Right now, the Lakers have focused their offense on attacking the interior, having the third most shot attempts in the restricted area at 31.6 per game and ranking eighth in percentage at 68.6%. That should make sense when you have LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Speaking of these two players, they both thrive when scoring inside the paint or near the basket. Davis is one of the NBA’s best pick-and-roll players, averaging 1.34 points per possession and ranking in the 82.7 percentile. Meanwhile, James generates 1.46 points per possession from cuts that result in drives, which is extremely efficient.