Austin Reaves speaks out on Lakers’ ‘one-sided offense’ last season where finding rhythm was tough

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves recently claimed that the team didn’t have enough variance to its offensive attack last season.

“The way our offense runs…you don’t see a lot of times where you drive-kick, drive-kick, drive-kick to a shot,” said Reaves. “We’re kind of a one-sided offense. Or we were last year, and rhythm in those situations are tough.”

Granted, Reaves seemingly wasn’t hindered by the Lakers’ “one-sided” offense, as he is fresh off the best season of his pro career from a statistical standpoint.

He didn’t miss a single one of Los Angeles’ 82 regular-season contests and posted career-highs in points (15.9) as well as assists (5.5) per contest in his third NBA season. Reaves also scored the ball at an efficient rate, considering he shot 48.6 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from 3-point range.

However, from a collective standpoint, there’s an argument to be made that the Lakers were not one of the NBA’s most lethal offenses during the 2023-24 regular season.

The 3-point shot has become central to the effectiveness of many NBA offenses, but Los Angeles didn’t shoot the ball from deep at a high volume. The team averaged a mere 31.4 3s attempted per game, which was the 28th-most of any team in the league ahead of only the Orlando Magic and Denver Nuggets.

What makes the fact that the Lakers didn’t attempt a whole lot of 3s compared to most squads in the league especially interesting is that when the team did decide to shoot the ball from deep, it knocked down 3-point shots at a high clip.

As a team, Los Angeles knocked down 37.7 percent of its 3-point looks on the season, which was the eighth-best 3-point percentage in the league. Plus, LeBron James, who attempted 5.1 treys per game in the regular season, shot a career-high 41.0 percent from deep.

But perhaps the Lakers will let it fly from deep with greater regularity in the 2024-25 campaign now that the team has a new head coach in J.J. Redick. Ironically, Redick made a name for himself during his playing days for his ability to score the ball from deep, as he shot 41.5 percent from 3-point range for his NBA career.