Lakers’ long-range plans aren’t working out

The state of the Lakers these days: Jeremy Lin went from one sprained ankle to two sprained ankles while doing individual workouts Thursday.

He is no longer a lock to play in the Lakers’ next exhibition game Sunday. They could use him. They need anybody who can hit a three-pointer.

A short time ago, the Lakers lived and died by long-distance shooting. Mike D’Antoni hated that characterization, but it was mainly true.

Now the Lakers simply ignore the three-point shot.

They’ve gone nearly three full games since hitting one, a staggering time for any team in any season (pre-, regular or post-). They’ve been empty from afar since Lin hit one with 7 minutes 43 seconds left in the first quarter of the Lakers’ second exhibition game.

They missed their next nine three-point attempts in that game, all three in the following game and all five of their attempts Thursday against Utah.

This certainly isn’t last season, when the Lakers tied Golden State for sixth in the NBA with an average of 24.8 three-point attempts per game.

The problem starts with the Lakers’ lack of penetration. Nobody is getting into the lane, drawing defenders and kicking the ball out to a shooter above the arc.

“We would love to get some open threes but it kind of depends on guys being able to get to the bank too,” said Lakers Coach Byron Scott, who made 775 three-pointers in his 13-year NBA career.

Then there are problems with the shooters. As in, the Lakers don’t have many. Nick Young is out, and so is Ryan Kelly; both have decent range. Lin, another shooter, is hoping to come back soon but his status is up in the air.

“Me and this ‘stim’ machine are, like, best friends now,” Lin said as he spoke to reporters Friday with a muscle stimulator attached to one of his ankles.

Scott, for the record, isn’t a fan of teams that are propped up by three-point success. “I don’t believe it wins championships,” Scott said. “It gets you to the playoffs.”

Bryant relates to Randle

Rookie Julius Randle had a seat on the bench for the second half of Thursday’s loss. Sure, he had blisters on his feet, but Scott just wanted him to watch the game. Maybe learn from it.

Just like Kobe Bryant did while sidelined for 15 games to start 1999-2000, the Lakers’ first championship season under Phil Jackson. He learned a lot while recovering from a broken wrist.

“I think that’s all part of the process,” Bryant said. “I remember the big year for me was when I got hurt in Phil’s first year and I had a chance to watch and observe and sit next to Tex [Winter]. I really studied the game from that perspective. There are myriad ways to learn. It doesn’t just have to be on the court.”

Winter, a longtime confidant of Jackson’s, was considered the architect of the modern-day triangle offense.

Randle said he hasn’t felt lost so far in the exhibition season and said pro basketball was “not that different” from college.

“Since I’m playing with so many skilled players, it slows the game down in a sense,” he said. “But at college, especially at Kentucky, we got up and down. That was our game. We kind of sped up the game.”

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

Twitter: @Mike_Bresnahan