THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS are in deep trouble.
Their 0-3 start to the season has exposed a fatal flaw in the team's current architecture: This team can't shoot. In the midst of a 3-point shooting revolution that has reformed basketball forever, the design of the current Lakers roster defies the basic fact that shooting is the oxygen that modern NBA offenses need to breathe.
It's hard to overstate how bad it has been early. The Lakers have made just 21.2% of their 118 3-point shots so far this season. They're shooting 23% on all jump shots and 40.7% overall. No team has shot under 41% for a full season since the 2014-15 Philadelphia 76ers, a team intentionally constructed to lose as many games as possible in an attempt to get the No. 1 overall pick.
The Lakers weren't built to tank (they don't control their first-round pick, so it's not an option this year), but it's not clear what they were built for because it sure isn't making shots. The Lakers' inability to do the one thing that is at the core of the sport -- put the ball in the basket -- isn't the fault of any individual player or coach, but rather it's the result of a series of head-scratching personnel decisions that have left the most glamorous franchise in the NBA devoid of any elite shooting talent.
So blame Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis or even LeBron James all you want. The real reason this team has no shot goes far deeper.
