Subscribe
Follow Us
The Los Angeles Lakers revolve around rookie guard Lonzo Ball more than most people realize – at least that’s one takeaway you can get when hearing how Lakers head coach Luke Walton described how big of an influence Ball is to the team’s gameplan following a 118-95 home loss to the Houston Rockets Sunday, per Ryan Ward of ClutchPoints.
Luke Walton on Lonzo Ball: “A lot of what we do and how we go is dependent [on him], which is a lot of pressure to put on a young rookie.” #Lakers
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) December 4, 2017
Walton further explained that Ball plays a big role in one aspect the Lakers are good at, which is in scoring in transition, and also on the defensive side of the ball.
Luke Walton on Lonzo Ball: “A lot of what we do is how he gets engaged on those defensive rebounds. How he’s pushing the ball up the floor, how he’s collapsing in defense or flattening out in defense. Tonight I didn’t feel like we got as much of that out of him.” #Lakers
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) December 4, 2017
Ball is a big guard with a knack for foraying for rebounds, and unlike somebody like Larry Nance Jr. or Brook Lopez, Ball can push and dictate the Lakers offense following a rebound. Ball is second on the team with 6.9 rebounds per game and could be credited for most of the Lakers’ success on the open court. The Lakers are second in the NBA behind the Golden State Warriors in fastbreak points with 15.3 per game.
But as Walton mentioned, Ball just didn’t seem to have the legs to perform those duties well enough against Houston. Ball has reportedly been dealing with a calf issue, which was also likely the reason why Walton benched him for the last 16 minutes of the game. Ball finished with just two points, one rebound, and three assists in only 22 minutes of play.
The rookie will look to turn things around this Thursday against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Lakers are now 0-5 in their last five games and are just 2-8 on the road this tilt against the Sixers.
