With the result of this season now a foregone conclusion for the struggling Los Angeles Lakers, veteran point guard Rajon Rondo has recently shared his thoughts on his team's inability to meet pre-season expectations. According to the 32-year-old, their problems connecting from distance played a pivotal part in the team's downfall.
LAL has shot 34.8% on wide open 3s (defender 6 or more feet away) this season, worst in the NBA (per Second Spectrum). Was LAL's lack of shooting a concern coming into the year? Rondo: ""Obviously the game has changed. So it was obviously a concern, but that’s not in my control"
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 15, 2019
ESPN's Dave McMenamin presents a glaring statistical anomaly here for L.A. Generally, we all had an idea that three-point shooting was one of the team's biggest weaknesses this season, but this takes it to a whole new level.
To make matters worse, historically, LeBron James is best utilized when he is surrounded by three-point shooters. Unfortunately, the Lakers were not able to capitalize on this during the season, and despite the mid-season addition of three-point specialist Reggie Bullock, it proved to be too little too late.
Rondo himself has never been known to excel from beyond the arc. He is a 31.3-percent shooter from distance and throughout his career, he averages only 0.4 makes from rainbow territory per ballgame.
However, with the Lakers this season, he is averaging 1.0 makes from three on a career-high 2.8 attempts per game.
Rondo has filled in admirably as the team's starting point guard ever since sophomore stud Lonzo Ball sustained a season-ending ankle injury in January. In 34 appearances for L.A. this year, the four-time All-Star guard is putting up 9.1 points (on 42.4 percent shooting), 5.2 rebounds, 7.8 assists, and 1.0 steals in 28.7 minutes of action.
Rondo is currently on a one-year deal with the Lakers and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer.
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