Chicago Bulls: Ranking the 5 projected starters for 2021-22

3. Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball

A former second overall pick, Lonzo Ball may never reach the superstar heights that a lot of people thought he would when he entered the league, but he has carved out a nice niche for himself as a 3-and-D secondary playmaker.

His 1.5 O-EPM (88th percentile) and 0.7 D-EPM (77th percentile) show that Ball’s reputation isn’t just the conjecture of an “eye-test” disciple. The former UCLA Bruin is an alert rotational defender, and his length and quickness give plenty of players a difficult time when they draw his attention. He also has a knack for generating takeaways:

As a perimeter player, Ball’s effect on team defense is often at the whims of who he’s on the court with. In New Orleans, sharing the floor with Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram — though Williamson’s defense improved last year — likely contributed to the Pelicans’ defensive rating improving by 1.5 points per 100 with him off the floor.

That situation won’t improve in Chicago with LaVine, DeRozan, and Nikola Vučević expected to join Ball in the starting lineup, but it will depend on how the Bulls use Ball (don’t be surprised if he gets paired with Alex Caruso in some lineups).

Offensively, Ball’s positives and negatives are easier to pin down. He’s vastly improved as a shooter since fine-tuning his mechanics a couple of seasons back, though he still struggles from the midrange (38th percentile) and at the rim (34th percentile). The latter impacts his scarce attempts from the charity stripe (.091 FTr), neither has affected his offensive magnetism (82nd percentile in scoring gravity, per BBall Index, 92nd percentile in Box Creation).

Of course, we all know what Ball is best at on the offensive end:

Assuming he stays healthy, Ball will be an invaluable piece to this Bulls team.