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This One Was Hard to Watch

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Lotta bad, early shot clock threes. But at least we shot 40 of ‘em lol.

Really bad defense and not much effort or focus on cleaning the glass.

Looked like a team that had either partied in Vegas or was looking forward to it.

AD was great. Not much positive after that.

JJ Redick has Lakers finally prioritizing shooting more 3-pointers

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LeBron James waved off Rui Hachimura and subtly called for a screen from Anthony Davis.

As Davis made contact with James’ defender, Kevin Durant, on the right wing, Davis’ defender, Mason Plumlee, retreated in a deep drop. James drove around the screen and into Plumlee as Durant tracked him from behind. Davis, recognizing he had an opening, popped beyond the 3-point arc.

James fired a no-look pass to Davis, who swished in a 3-pointer without hesitation.

The sequence was emblematic of the Lakers’ offensive shift in approach under new head coach JJ Redick. He wants the Lakers to modernize their shot profile and, specifically, increase their 3-point volume.

“He’s been on me all summer about shooting 3s,” Davis said at media day on Sept. 30. “Even the Olympics when I make a 3, he’ll text me, ‘That’s what I wanna see,’ things like that. So for him, it’s definitely gonna be just shooting more 3s.”

The Lakers have been a low-volume 3-point team in the James-Davis era. They have ranked in the bottom 10 in 3-point attempts per game in four of their five seasons together, including just 28th last season.

Los Angeles has thrived offensively despite its archaic approach, ranking third in offensive rating over the final 42 games of last season. The Lakers excelled as one of the league’s best finishing (second in paint points) and free-throw-generating attacks (second in free throws attempted). That will always be their strength, but Redick and his coaching staff hope that better organization and structure in their new offensive system will optimize the group’s shot selection and make them even more dynamic.

Through three preseason games, the Lakers have averaged 38.7 3-point attempts per game, which ranks 17th in the league. The Lakers have attempted at least 32 3-pointers in all three preseason games — more than they averaged last season — and more than 40 in back-to-back games.

Redick even joked that he could envision the team eventually attempting 50 3-pointers in a game.

“I think 40 is a lot,” Redick said after Los Angeles’ second preseason game. “But if you’re generating good ones, that’s a great number.”