In a back-to-back situation against the Portland Trail Blazers and Brooklyn Nets, there have been debates about Lonzo Ball's balance as a scorer and facilitator for the Los Angeles Lakers. Following the loss to the Blazers, Ball only attempted two shots and in the win over the Nets, he attempted 15 shots.
From being too passive to forcing some shots, Ball is still trying to find the right balance to begin the 2017-18 NBA season. Head coach Luke Walton assessed his rookie's play in the back-to-back situation following the team's win.
“I don't think he could ever be too aggressive, honestly,” Walton said. “I think there's a couple that he shot that probably his passes were available for him, but I think that's great for him. Get into that paint, learn what it's like at this level to take on that contact and then finish and make those reads going downhill. Again, he had our highest plus/minus, he was aggressive getting downhill all game long, and he had zero turnovers. I love that and I hope that he does that next game too. Whether he makes or misses shots, right now I don't care. He will figure that out. He's that good of a player. That's kind of how we envision him playing, with that type of tempo and putting that type of pressure on teams' defense.”
While there will continue to be debates about how Ball should approach the game, he is only nine games into his rookie season. Although the rookie will need to be more efficient, he is averaging 8.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 6.7 assists in 32.8 minutes.
After the 124-112 win over the Nets, the Lakers will face the Memphis Grizzlies. As the Grizzlies have been a pleasant surprise to begin the new season, it will be interesting to see if the Lakers can start a winning streak to establish confidence in one of the youngest rosters in the league.
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