Darvin Ham, the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, is strongly advocating for Anthony Davis to become a more prominent 3-point shooter in the upcoming season.
Darvin Ham expressed his desire for Davis to attempt six 3-pointers per game, though he acknowledged that it might be a challenging goal to achieve. He explained that he has asked for at least three 3-point attempts per half, emphasizing his belief in Davis’ capability.
In the first two preseason games, Anthony Davis has shown promise in meeting his coach’s request by making three out of six attempted 3-pointers while playing limited minutes against the Golden State Warriors and Brooklyn Nets. This would represent a significant increase in Davis’ 3-point attempts compared to his average of 1.3 per game last season. The most he ever attempted in a season was 3.5 in 2019-20, his debut season with the Lakers.
To put this in context, notable guards like Darius Garland and Devin Booker attempted an average of 6.0 3-pointers per game last season. Among power forwards and centers who consistently played and attempted as many 3s, only Julius Randle (8.3) and Lauri Markkanen (7.7) did so.
During the offseason, Davis worked on improving his outside shooting with Lakers assistant coach Chris Jent. This effort comes after he had a 25.7% 3-point shooting accuracy during the 2022-23 regular season and 33.3% in the playoffs.
Davis expressed the importance of becoming a threat at all three levels on the court and acknowledged the need to prove himself during practices and games, emphasizing the difference between shooting in practice and in high-pressure game situations.
For Anthony Davis, consistent success with jump shots, particularly from beyond the arc, would be a significant improvement. His performance from long range has been inconsistent since the Lakers’ championship run in 2020. In that championship-winning postseason, he had an effective field goal percentage of 53 on 162 jump shots, surpassing the league average.
However, in the following regular seasons and playoffs, Davis’ effective field goal percentage on jump shots dropped to 38, placing him at the bottom among 245 players with at least 500 jump shot attempts in the last three seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The Lakers’ performance as a team in 3-point shooting also reflected this, ranking in the lower half of the league in 3-point percentage in recent seasons.
In the current preseason, the Lakers have demonstrated improved 3-point shooting as a team, making 37.6% of their attempts.
Anthony Davis and the Lakers are focusing on increasing their 3-point attempts while maintaining confidence and shooting in rhythm. Coach Darvin Ham plans to continue encouraging Davis to shoot from beyond the arc when the regular season commences on October 24 against the defending champions, the Denver Nuggets.
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