Steve Blake tweaking his shot before next season

Steve Blake never seemed comfortable in the Lakers triangle offense last season.

Coming from more traditional point guard systems, he never seemed to be able to find his spaces in the offense. He saw his assist rate fall way off career averages (the point guard is more a catch-and-shoot guy in Phil Jackson’s triangle) while his turnover percentage went up from those career numbers.

It also showed on his three point shooting — he shot 37.8 percent, which is not bad but well below the 39.5 percent he hit two seasons ago. The two seasons before that he knocked down better than 40 percent of his threes. It wasn’t just there, on long twos (more than 16 feet out) he shot 35 percent last season, down from 46 percent with the Clippers the season before.

This summer Blake is reworked his shot a little, he told the Los Angeles Times.

“I’m trying to get more arch on my shot,” Blake said Thursday in a phone interview. “That’s what I’ve been working on this summer. I’m trying to shoot the ball a little higher and see if that will improve my jump shot. I didn’t shoot the ball horribly this year, but I didn’t shoot it as well as I wanted to.”

With Mike Brown, the Lakers point guard will play a more traditional role. That suits Blake in the half court where he has had success in that role before, although when asked to push the tempo with the Clippers a couple seasons ago — something the PG will be asked to do more with the Lakers next season — he was a turnover machine.

Blake is optimistic about the change.

“This year it’ll be a more traditional point guard role,” Blake said. “This past year, we had a two-guard front where a lot of times I wouldn’t even bring the ball up. Now it’s more of a typical point guard role I’ll probably be able to excel in more. I’ll be more comfortable in being able to just react and not have to think as much. You’re always thinking. But the triangle is different. You have to learn it a lot more. This will be easier for me to acclimate to this new offense. I think I’ll be more successful that way.”

Blake is going to get his chance, but the Lakers need to bring in someone younger and better suited to the position at both ends of the floor if they are to remain title contenders. Right now Derek Fisher and Blake are the PGs on the roster, and that will mean trouble for the Lakers (especially on defense). But Blake will get a chance to prove he’s better than he looked last year.