Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton was highly complimentary of point guard Lonzo Ball, his young and hopefully upcoming star. Per the Los Angeles Times‘ Tania Ganguli, Walton said Ball “has great instincts and deflections … we knew early on he was going to be able to cause the turnovers for us and guard multiple positions.”
Walton added:
“He is big on versatility and switching lineups. He has great instincts and deflections. All the things that we harp on every day and what we want to do as a defensive unit. As far as doing that as a rookie, surprised me. It is a tough position to play, but we knew early on he was going to be able to cause the turnovers for us and guard multiple positions. It was good to see while he was healthy that he was able to maintain that.”
Ball was heavily criticized for his ability to score last season, but his defense was another story. As Walton mentioned, Ball — who is 6-foot-6 with a 6-foot-9 wingspan — was able to defend multiple positions in a league where switching is almost a necessary skill for every player. His defensive versatility would be a benefit on any team, and it's that same level of defensive versatility that made point guards like Magic Johnson and Rajon Rondo standout players.
However, it's not just size and length that allows Ball to be an impact defender. He has great eyes and instincts, perhaps a byproduct of his tremendous basketball IQ, which he has put on display throughout his basketball career. After posting 1.8 steals and 0.8 blocks per game as a freshman at UCLA, Ball notched 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks per game as a rookie (Basketball Reference).
He had 2.0 Defensive Win Shares and a Defensive Box Plus/Minus of 3.5 at UCLA, then had 2.5 Defensive Win Shares and a Defensive Box Plus/Minus of 2.5 as a rookie.
Ball's versatility will likely be put on display throughout the season, as he has been put in dual point guard lineups with Rondo in the preseason.
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