Lakers News: Shooting Woes Continue For LeBron James
Beyond your Los Angeles Lakers' disappointing 2-6 record to start the 2022-23 NBA season, another bummer of an early-season trend has been the lackluster shooting of the team's best player. Which, come to think of it, could have something to do with the team's current standing near the bottom of the Western Conference.
Through eight games, 37-year-old LeBron James is averaging 24 points, 9.1 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks. Pretty solid numbers for a guy starting his 20th NBA season.
That said, I didn't realize the situation had gotten to the point where LeBron James's shooting numbers are actually poorer than those of teammate Russell Westbrook, never known to be a particularly strong shooter. This writer was shocked, shocked I tell you, to find the following comp from Micah Adams:
The big areas of concern, of course, are the field goal and three-point numbers. James has actually evolved into a fairly competent volume shooter from deep. For his career, he's averaging 34.5% on his 4.5 triple attempts overall. Last season, he shot 35.9% on 8.0 looks from distance. That he is converting just 20.7% of his high-volume 7.3 looks a night is troubling. This would, by far, represent his lowest three-point shooting percentage ever. If he's going to actually remain this bad, he'll need to tweak his shooting profile and curb his output from long range.
As for the overall shooting from the floor, James is a career 50.4% shooter. The 43.1% completion number is worse than all but one of his other seasons (his 2003-04 rookie year).
Here's the rub: James is struggling with a sore left foot. He is playing through it for now, to the tune of 36.4 minutes a game, but LBJ's lift just isn't there. It seems to be affecting at least his finishing in the paint, but who's to say it isn't impacting his jumpers too? James also was bedridden for much of the last week with a non-COVID-19 illness. These extenuating factors may be playing an outsized role in James's shooting. The fact that opposing defenses don't respect L.A.'s outside shooters and often clog driving lines with help coverage against James certainly can't help, either.
James himself seems to put the blame squarely on the illness, per Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. “I lost my rhythm when I kinda got this bug,” James said. “Not only the threes, but a couple of layups have been short around the rim. Just feel like my rhythm has been off. Haven’t had an opportunity to get on the practice floor because I’ve been kinda told – not just told to stay away but advised to stay away to save my energy for the games.”
