The return of Landry Shamet’s three-point shot
It’s always risky to take too much away from preseason games, especially if a player’s history suggests the opposite of whatever ongoing issue is true.
That said, I’d be lying if I sat here and wrote that what I saw from Landry Shamet during the LA Clippers’ five preseason games didn’t leave me feeling at least a little bit concerned.
In those five performances, Shamet connected on just 5-of-30 three-point field-goals. That’s an astonishingly low number, especially for someone who made over 42.0 percent of his looks from deep during his rookie season.
However, I wouldn’t expect that to carry over into the regular season. Preseason games are mostly meaningless, and it’s possible that Shamet was just working the kinks out. After all, he had similar struggles during his first preseason with the Philadelphia 76ers last year.
Assuming Shamet gets the start against the Lakers tonight, he should get plenty of open looks from three-point range. Kawhi Leonard’s gravity should be enough to keep defenders from giving Shamet their undivided attention, and considering how quick the 22-year-old guard is, he should have no issue creating enough space to get a shot off.
Shamet will play an important role for LA this season, so it’s crucial that he brings the same kind of shooting to the table this season that he did during his stretch with the Clippers in 2019.
The LA Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers will take the floor tonight at 7:30 p.m. PDT at STAPLES Center. This one is technically a home game for the Clippers, so if you’re heading downtown soon, be sure to rep your team!