On Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers lost veteran point guard Rajon Rondo for at least a couple of weeks after the 32-year-old broke his hand during the team's victory against the Portland Trail Blazers. The next man up is sophomore guard Lonzo Ball, who will step into Rondo's recently-vacated starting spot.
After the game, Ball had nothing but good things to say about his injured teammate.
Lonzo Ball on Rajon Rondo: "He's a true leader. Coach on the floor. Knows all the plays. Knows where everybody's supposed to be, so it's going to be tough having him out. I wish him a speedy recovery and can't wait to have him back." #Lakers
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) November 15, 2018
This may prove to be a blessing in disguise for Ball as he will have at least a couple of weeks to showcase his talent. Ball was the team's starting point guard last term, but the arrival of the more experienced Rondo pushed back the youngster to a back-up role in his second season.
Nonetheless, Ball has been relatively impressive off the bench for the Lakers. He is currently averaging 8.7 points, 1.7 3-pointers, 4.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.2 steals in 26.1 minutes per contest. While his numbers have taken a hit compared to his rookie campaign, it is worth noting that the 21-year-old has become a more efficient player on the court.
Ball is currently shooting 40.9 percent from the floor (vs. 36.0 percent last season) and 38.1 percent from deep (30.5 percent last term). His shooting volume may have gone down, but he is definitely taking more quality looks this season, thus far. His turnovers are also notably down to 1.6 per contest as compared to his 2.6 turnovers per game last season.
Ball is still the Lakers' point guard of the future, and one of the reasons the front office brought on Rondo was for the latter to take the former under his wing. The move appears to have paid dividends so far, with Ball already hoping to emulate Rondo's leadership.
https://twitter.com/RyanWardLA/status/1062969887000162304
Nobody ever wants injuries to happen, and we hope all the best for Rondo. However, this is a great chance for Ball and he must be eager to take advantage of the opportunity that has fallen on his lap.
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