Byron Scott says the Lakers will shoot more three-pointers this year, already are through preseason

The Los Angeles Lakers are trying to break the nasty funk they've been in after two franchise-worst seasons, and Byron Scott continues to show signs he's tweaking the on-court approach toward a more "modern" trend. Last preseason Scott infamously noted he'd prefer his team to shoot between 10-to-15 three-point attempts per game, but this season he's aiming for 18-25 attempts from deep per game, reports Bill Oram of the OC Register.

The Lakers averaged 18.9 three-point attempts last season, just out of the bottom-five in the NBA. Anywhere in the 18-25 range would put Los Angeles in the middle of the NBA, which is a definite step toward smoothing out the offense. Personnel additions like Lou Williams, who was a marksman from the corners last season, and D'Angelo Russell should help power a more potent perimeter presence.

Scott's previously spoken about the Lakers wanting to take open three-point attempts when they break down a defense, but not wanting to run-and-gun in a high-tempo offense like the Golden State Warriors. So far, that's very much been the case for the Lakers. The Lakers are running one of the slowest paced offenses in preseason, ranking ahead of only one international team, but they're averaging 25.5 three-point attempts per game. Nick Young has emerged as a threat from deep, putting up 5.5 attempts per game and connecting at a 40.9 percent clip. Kobe Bryant's also looked good in the small sample size thus far, putting up five threes per game while shooting a blister 45 percent.

Spreading the floor is key, and every sign points to the Scott and the Lakers making an effort to mold their offense in a way that can generate quality attempts from outside. Off-ball movement has been a big part of the Lakers' offense thus far, and positive things are coming from the sequences they're initiating. Preseason stats aside, the eye-test also checks out in this regard.