For last season's Lakers, hitting shots from the perimeter was a big struggle relative to the rest of the league, as they finished 29th out of 30 teams in percentage (34.5%), making the 20th most triples (10.0 per game).
However, the shooting got considerably better as the season wore on - we'll get to that in a moment - and L.A. then added the biggest offensive difference maker possible in free agency, LeBron James. One of his primary strengths is drawing the attention of the defense, exploiting any mistakes and finding teammates for open looks.
It's certainly true that LeBron's teams have benefited from putting elite, well-known shooters around him in the past, guys like Mike Miller, Ray Allen and Kyle Korver.