Has there ever been a rookie more heavily scrutinized on and off the court then Lonzo Ball?
It’s quite possible the answer is no. Despite all the distractions, Ball is navigating his way through an impressive, somehow under the radar, rookie season.
The Los Angeles Lakers have struggled through a tough first half of the season to sit 13th in the Western Conference with a 15-29 record. Possessing one of the league’s youngest rosters, the Lakers are grooming Ball, Kyle Kuzma, and Brandon Ingram, whilst keeping an eye on a potentially franchise altering summer ahead. With LeBron James and Paul George the prime targets, the Lakers are hoping to combine some elite talent with Lonzo and company moving forward.
Ball came into the league fresh off a brilliant college year with UCLA, leading the team with averages of 14.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 7.6 assists. Standing 6’7″, Ball took college basketball by storm, his dazzling passing ability, unconventional but effective shooting stroke and appetite to hit the glass standing out as he remained a top 3 prospect in the NBA Draft. The Lakers eventually took Ball with the second pick and the hype machine grew even larger.
During Summer League, Lonzo delivered as advertised and won the MVP award in Las Vegas, despite sitting out the championship game. The same championship game that fellow rookie Kyle Kuzma exploded for 30 points and 10 rebounds. The Lakers had regained their buzz, Magic Johnson was smiling, and Ball was ready for the big league. Or was he?
Opening night for the Lakers was broadcast on National TV. The whole basketball world tuned in to see Ball’s NBA debut. The night ended with a 92-108 loss and a paltry 3 points and 4 assists for Lonzo. Patrick Beverly harassed, hounded and berated Ball all night, the rookie understandably struggled, and the basketball world unfairly rejoiced.
Not because of his failure, but because of his father.
Ever since that first outing, his game has been analysed and critiqued relentlessly. Rarely can you go a day without his name popping up on daily sports shows. Despite this, Lonzo is slowly but surely piecing together a nice rookie season in LA. When you take the time to delve deeper into the numbers, you see a kid beginning to make his mark.
In all the major traditional statistical categories, Ball sits near the top of this years rookie class. When discussing rookie of the year contenders, Donovan Mitchell, Ben Simmons and Jayson Tatum are the leading candidates, but Ball actually shouldn’t be too far off those top three. Lonzo ranks in the top ten amongst rookies in points (9th), rebounds (3rd), assists (2nd), steals (2nd), and blocks (4th). For comparison, Kuzma only ranks in the top ten for points and rebounds, his point average being the only mark he tops Ball in.
Overall the Lakers net rating with Ball on the floor is +5.5 better than when he is off the court. The biggest hit in this regard is on the defensive end, somewhat surprising given Lonzo’s perceived lack of defensive ability. Holding a defensive rating of 102.1 with Ball, this drops to 108.1 when he is off the floor.
As you can see in the video above, Ball is more then capable of staying in front of his man. Stuck with the nightmare job of defending Harden one on one, Ball is able to move right and stay in front of Harden, not allowing an easy path to the rim. The next part is possibly the most impressive aspect of the play. Harden is absolutely elite at drawing contact and getting to the free throw line. Harden rises up, looking to take a short jumper but Ball, an excellent shot blocker as a guard, is able to swat the ball away without fouling. Impressive stuff!
A simply astonishing stat in the season’s first half is how the Lakers have fared without their rookie point guard. In the 36 games Ball has played, the Lakers are 15-21, allowing 105.3 points per game. In a typically tough Western Conference this is a more then respectable mark for such a young squad. BUT, when Lonzo doesn’t play, the Lakers are 0-8, giving up a ridiculous 122.9 points per game. Say what you want about him, facts are the Lakers are a different team with number 2 suited up.
Undoubtedly the biggest disappointment with his play so far has been his shooting. His field goal percentage is a supremely subpar 36, his three point percentage is less than ideal at 30, and his free throws have been horrific, shooting 48% from the line. His long range ball has been the biggest concern so far. Attempting 5.4 triples a game, 30 percent is simply unacceptable.
Ball’s shooting form is unorthodox to say the least. Starting with the ball on the left side of his body and bringing it all the way across before releasing is an awfully long movement, and one that requires him to be in plenty of space. As you can see from the video above, Ball is more then capable of knocking down shots from beyond the arc but he needs plenty of room to do so. The first one in particular is a good illustration of this. Steph Curry is actually behind the free throw line when Lonzo recieves the pass. The shot goes up without hesitation, and despite having this much space, Curry still gets a decent contest on the shot. Finding the range in December, Ball knocked down 37 percent of his triples, potentially a sign that the game is starting to slow down for him and confidence is on the rise.
Free throws however, is much more difficult to explain. Yes the form is still different, but 47 percent is all kinds of awful. Given his reasonable free throw percentage at UCLA, it seems hard to fathom that this number won’t eventually rise with experience.
One thing that has translated beautifully to the pro’s is his passing ability. Forget rookie ranks, Ball currently sits 9th in the entire league for assists per game with 7.1. With elite vision and touch, highlight reel passes have been a nightly occurrence as his Laker teammates reap the benefits. When you think full court passes in the NBA, I think most would automatically nominate Kevin Love as the king of this skill. He may just have a rival in this category as Ball routinely drops perfect length of the court passes in transition.
This play is simply amazing. Recovering the defensive rebound, Ball barely takes a step as he launches a full court pass to Brandon Ingram. With two Cleveland players hot on his heels, Ingram receives the pass without breaking stride and lays it in. A special play indeed.
Unfortunately for the 20 year old, the scrutiny and criticism likely won’t go away. He is destined to always be in the limelight; his detractors quick to highlight every mistake, every bad night. But despite the spotlight being directed firmly on him, his rookie season is somehow sliding under the radar. I’m not ready to pronounce Ball a legitimate rookie of the year contender just yet, though I find myself wondering if he would be with a different surname. However, whilst Kuzma will no doubt finish higher in the voting for the award at seasons end, it’s without doubt Ball that is more important to this team right now, and moving forward.
If you can find a way to ignore the other, obvious distraction in the picture, you’ll see a special talent. No, he’s not rookie year LeBron, but he’s a very good player, one the Lakers will be hoping stays around for a very, very long time.
Follow Kane Pitman on twitter: @mkebucksaus
