The Lakers are frightful to watch, with new coach Byron Scott putting an emphasis on avoiding three-pointers, they’re attempting even more mid-range jumpers than ever before — as inefficient a shot as there is in basketball. Plus, their defense is laughable. Last night they were blown out by the Jazz, who had the worst record in the West last season. Still, Carlos Boozer found time to preen even while down big.
Even if we think Kobe Bryant is going to be outstanding this year there is no shortage of problems with this year’s Lakers squad, currently at 1-3 in preseason play with an average margin of deficit at -21.
Here’s what’s happened to LA’s shot chart, by way of NBA.com’s John Schuhmann since Scott instituted his archaic insistence on fewer three-pointers:
95/8 mid-range/3PA ratio over the last 2 games. Not a single corner 3. Just amazing. pic.twitter.com/D7xD6ttS3R
— John Schuhmann (@johnschuhmann) October 17, 2014
SB Nation’s Tom Ziller went in-depth about how the LAkers are the worst team in the NBA, with the caveat that he’s not counting the Sixers as a true NBA team. Then again, as Ziller notes, the Lakers might have an even worse defense than Philly — who have Nerlens Noel back for rim protection. The Lakers just have Carlos Boozer, who decided to flex a bicep after getting a shot to fall, plus the foul late in last night’s contenst. The only problem with the posing? The Lakers were down by 21 at the time and went on to lose, 119-86.
We’re pretty sure when Lakers fans saw the preening flex, they made the same Halloween ghoul face as Jazz coach Quin Snyder:
Boozer was 7-of-15 for 15 points and just three rebounds in 27 minutes of action.
Despite the blowout loss, Boozer’s emphasis on bicep curls this summer is already paying off.
(GIF via the estimable @cjzero)
What do you think?
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