Los Angeles Lakers: Recapping the early seasons of the rookies
Lonzo Ball
The second overall pick in any draft bears a great deal of pressure to change a franchise’s fortunes, and Lonzo Ball is no exception to this thinking thanks to increased expectations given his family and the fanbase of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Ball is averaging 10.0 points per game along with a team-high 6.9 rebounds and 7.1 assists. The latter two numbers are great, but there are real concerns about his offensive game in the half-court and terribly low shooting percentages. However, there’s no denying his passing and basketball IQ has an impact on every game.
Los Angeles Lakers
Beginning with the bad, he came into the season with a heavily criticized jump shot. His 34.9 field goal percentage, 29.7 percent shooting from 3 and 48.0 free throw percentage are each among the worst in the NBA. He isn’t the most advanced pick-and-roll runner, and struggles creating separation to get his shot off. Add all this together, and it’s not a surprise Lonzo has been a mess from an efficiency standpoint this season.
Despite the poor shooting numbers, the Los Angeles Lakers are a much better team when Lonzo is aggressive and takes more shots. His aggressiveness can open passing lanes for teammates if he starts making his shots at a higher clip, something that’s happening as the season progresses.
He has worked on tweaking his mechanics, and is shooting better in recent weeks as a result. He’s always gotten open looks from the 3-point line, and is getting more air on his shots, which is finding success.
Lonzo is a projected mess defensively, like most rookies, but it’s not for a lack of effort. He plays passing lanes better than expected, rebounds well for his position and is a lurking shot-blocker from the guard position. Lonzo may never become an on-ball stopper, but he offers more than I initially thought heading into the season.
All in all, Lonzo Ball has fallen below people’s expectations so far, but he’s still operating a step ahead of most of his teammates. He’s often left throwing his hands up after teammates miss him for easy backdoor cuts or don’t see him ahead on the break, but these things should clean up with more team chemistry. There’s a lot to love in Lonzo’s early showings that haven’t caused my expectations to waver.