LOS ANGELES — The Lakers can’t hit outside shots. That much is clear after LA shot 9-for-45 from 3 in Thursday night’s 103-97 loss to the Clippers. That total somehow managed to be even worse than the Lakers’ 10-for-40 clip from their opening night loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Yet while LeBron James bluntly complained about his team’s lack of “lasers” on the roster after the Warriors game, he didn’t add to that refrain Thursday, even after the Lakers went 0-for-9 on 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
“I’m definitely not going to sit here and sing that we can’t do it every game,” James said when asked about his team’s mounting losses. “That’s not a leader. What do I know we can do? We can protect our ass. We did that tonight, which gave us an opportunity to win and we just couldn’t get it done. But, I’m in okay with that..”
The Lakers held the Clippers — one of the odds-on favorites to win the NBA title — to just 103 points and 80 total shots, with the Lakers’ pressure on the ball helping the Clippers to 22 turnovers.
James assured reporters that LA’s shooting will improve, but added that it won’t be the winning formula the team relies on.
“If we rely on [sufficient outside shooting] every game, then we’re in trouble,” James said. “So I’m not worried about it or thinking about it. It’s how hard we play, how aggressive we play, how determined we are to come out and compete every night. And we must protect ourselves. When we defend, we’ll give ourselves a good chance to win.”
There was a team-wide acknowledgment that the Lakers shot themselves in the foot by being so out, but they can’t avoid the open looks.
“Don’t let the missed shots knock your confidence,” said Anthony Davis, who was 2-for-4 from 3 while the rest of LA’s starters were 5-for-29. “Keep shooting, be sure of your shot. And they will fall. There’s nothing you can do but keep shooting.”
Coach Darwin Ham said the Lakers’ analytics department determined the team had more quality shot attempts by their metric than any of the other three teams that played on opening night, adding to his confidence that those are the shots the team his supposed to do.
Ham was asked after the game if shots might be open because opposing defenses are crowding the lane to cut off driving opportunities and encourage the Lakers to shoot.
“I guess you could say that,” Ham said. “But, I mean, we just have to take care of our business. That’s the way we want to play. If they want to give us those shots, then we’ll take it wholeheartedly. I mean, that it’s the way we want it We want to play fast, physical and free.
“And, again, we see these guys make shots in practice and shoot. They have to do it on the field. It’s as simple as that.”
Lakers guard Russell Westbrook had a particularly rough shooting night Thursday, going 0-for-11 overall (including 0-for-6 from 3), but his night was also capped by James.
“Just throw it in the toilet and get ready for Sunday,” James said, when asked if he had any advice for Westbrook. “He’s a veteran. We’ve all had bad shooting nights. I’ve had bad shooting nights. Everybody in this league has had bad shooting nights. Who cares? I thought he played a great game. Defensively he was in tune. He was locked in. He pushed the tempo. He just didn’t make any shots and that’s OK.”
Westbrook, who finished with five steals, four assists and just one turnover in addition to the missed shots, also looked ahead to the next game against the Portland Trail Blazers when asked to evaluate his performance.
“Solid,” he said of his night. “Too much played. All you could ask for. On to the next one.”
