Los Angeles Lakers: 3 takeaways the Pacers loss magnified

2. Lonzo Ball is terribly missed

Despite having great passers and high-IQ players on the roster, the Los Angeles Lakers are not a ball moving, pass-happy system. Their creators, Brandon Ingram, LeBron James and Rajon Rondo all need the ball for heavy doses to maximize their effectiveness. In fact, the Lakers are 28th in passes made per game with 280.3.

Lonzo Ball is the one player who flies the ball around the perimeter or in transition consistently. Without him, it’s a three-way rotation just an isolation or high pick-roll and kick it to a non-shooter in the corner or dump it to one of the big men. Does it work? Yes. Does Lonzo enhance the offense instead of iso after iso after iso? Yes.

It’s not just offensively. Lonzo is constant energy on the defensive end of the floor. He is a great anticipator of passes, can guard multiple positions, rebounds well for his position and pushes the ball up floor. He still isn’t the best shooter on a team in need of shooting, but he does everything else that makes Los Angeles successful when he’s at his best.

His energy can be contagious defensively and the Lakers have lacked any type of jolt for large stretches in recent games. Ball is a player that can run an offense efficiently as well, somewhere the Lakers are thin. Lonzo’s future with the team is uncertain because of trade rumors, but the Lakers are missing his game while relying on three iso players with none near their primes.