Lonzo Ball was not surprised by what transpired in the winding seconds of the Los Angeles Lakers 112-103 win over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, as the rookie point guard was intentionally fouled in hopes to give Denver an extra possession.
Ball entered the game shooting a ghastly 48.2 percent from the charity stripe — a percentage unheard of for a point guard.
In a tactic most in La La Land have grown accustomed to during Shaquille O'Neal's years with the team, Denver went to the Hack-A-Lonzo, which paid dividends as he went 0-for-2 from the line.
“I am not surprised at all,” Ball said of the tactic, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “When I am on the court, teams are probably going to do that. I just got to knock down free throws. Yeah, [it was the] first time [it's happened ever]. I just got to go to the line and hit my two.”
Ball is a very poor free-throw shooter, and he's shown his reluctance to draw contact and get to the free-throw line this season, attempting a max of seven free throws in two games this season.
He's 1-of-6 from the line this month and has repeatedly avoided the charity stripe, despite going 2-of-11 from the field in both of his last two games.
Ball has the talent for stardom, but the woes with his shot are visible in any part of the floor. He's a streaky 3-point shooter in his best day, and a very poor one for the season, shooting a mere 32.2 percent from deep.
It will be up to him to fix these mistakes over the offseason if he hopes to garner some respect from opposing teams over time.
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