Lonzo Ball constantly receives criticism from all over the place in the media.
Most recently, Ball got the Stephen A. Smith treatment on ESPN's First Take, where Smith said he was “petrified” for the Los Angeles Lakers rookie.
But one person who has Ball's back is his former coach at UCLA, Steve Alford. According to Tania Ganguli of the L.A. Times, Alford thinks the criticism Ball receives is not fair, and praised several aspects of his game.
“The thing … I am very impressed with him is that I think defensively, he's really working at it,” Alford said. “And defensively he's growing in that area. For a rookie, I think that's the hardest thing coming into the NBA, is to learn what you have to do defensively. And I was very impressed with that.
“I just think he's gotta get the ball. When he's got the ball, he makes people around him better, and I think the more trust there can be in Lonzo being the guy that facilitates the offense, because right now what's being critiqued is his jump shooting. That's not who he is. He's not a shooting guard.”
Alford is not wrong. While Ball has shot an abysmal percentage from the field, the free throw line and in three-pointers, Ball has shown solid defensive instincts.
He has good timing when attempting to strip the ball from offensive players, and has also blocked his share of shots. Speaking of shots, Alford said Ball will start making them once his pass-first style completely ingrains itself among the entire team.
“In my 27 years of coaching, I've never seen anybody at the collegiate level … move the ball north-south any faster and more efficiently by the dribble and by the pass than Lonzo,” Alford said. “And when that trust happens, and he's allowed to do those things, I think you'll see teammates' game go up, you'll see passing, the joy of passing will go up in that organization. And when that happens he's going to get easier shots, and he'll make those shots.”
It must make Ball feel good to hear some praise from anywhere these days, with the media constantly wondering whether he should rework his jump shot or if he's a bust after only 20 games.
It's still very early in Ball's NBA career, and some of his issues seem correctable for a player who seems to work as hard as he does and cares about the game. Yes, his shooting is an issue, but he's young enough to address it, and he does several other things at an elite level.
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