Lakers fans tempered their expectations for Luke Kennard after he arrived in Hollywood via the trade deadline, but they still thought he'd, you know, take three-pointers, since that's what he's built his reputation on in the NBA. Instead, Los Angeles is learning what the Detroit Pistons already knew — that the guard doesn't take enough shots.
In Kennard's first game as a Laker, he shot 2-of-4 from three for 10 points in a six-point win over the Warriors. Fans let their hopes rise a little about what he'd provide during the last couple of months of the season for their team in need of outside shooting, but they've already changed their tune because of the guard's production, or the lack thereof.
In Los Angeles' narrow 110-109 loss to Orlando on Tuesday, Kennard finished with nine points in 15 minutes (the fewest minutes he's played since the trade), but he didn't take a three-point shot at all. He hasn't taken four threes in a single game since his Lakers debut.
He's shooting 43.8% from deep, but he's averaging just 2.3 attempts per game. Overall, this season, Kennard is shooting 49.1% from three, which puts him at the top of the league. That looks great, until you realize part of the reason for that is that he doesn't shoot the ball nearly enough.
Former Pistons guard Luke Kennard hasn't been the shooter the Lakers need
After he was traded to LA, Kennard made it sound like he was going to emphasize getting more shots up (subscription required).
“I feel like I know the game of basketball very well, and I will shoot it. I will be aggressive. I know that’s what they want me to do.
So much for that.
The most three-pointers per game Kennard has averaged in a single season occurred during his last year in Detroit, when he shot 39.9% from deep on 6.5 attempts per game, but there's a catch, as he played only 28 games.
He's averaged at least six three-point attempts per game in a season on two other occasions: in 2021-22, when he averaged six per contest in 70 games, and in 2023-24, when he averaged 6.1 per contest in 39 games.
To put it as simply as possible, Luke Kennard needs to shoot the ball more. A lot more, actually. Pistons fans were yelling it from the top of their lungs when he was in Detroit during the early days of his career. Now, Lakers fans are doing the same.
Kennard is more than just a shooter, but that's his specialty. He may be focused too much on making the right read, rather than catching the ball and shooting it. We don't want to oversimplify it, but it really is that easy.
You can bet that JJ Redick, who was a sharpshooter back in the day (okay, it wasn't that long ago), will remind Kennard that a single game shouldn't pass without him not taking a shot from beyond the arc. Let it fly.