On Lonzo Ball's second season with the New Orleans Pelicans, eyes will be on him as he takes on a bigger role for the team.
With Jrue Holiday gone, it's Ball's turn to run things in the Big Easy. Fortunately for fans, his evident progress has been a welcome development for newly hired head coach Stan Van Gundy. The 61-year-old tactician gushed about his point guard during training camp, as the Pelicans gear up for their first preseason game against the Miami Heat on Monday.
“I was really, really happy with Lonzo today,” Stan Van Gundy said (via Lonzo Wire). “I thought that he was more vocal, he organized his team offensively, he was our best communicator at the defensive end of the floor today, particularly in transition, getting back and pointing to other people, getting people matched up.”
Lonzo Ball has mentioned before that he wants to become more of a leader, and it seems that there's no better time than now. The second overall pick of the 2017 draft started 54 games last season, and with Holiday all the way in Milwaukee now, the ball is definitely on Lonzo's court.
“To me, one of the things that I really value offensively is organization. When the point guard isn’t vocal, isn’t letting people know, a possession that starts badly rarely ends well,” the Pelicans coach added. “So, I think organization is key, I think it’s their job and it’s something that we will stay on them about but they all did a much better job today. Lonzo, in particular, I thought was just outstanding.”
Ball was already averaging career numbers in his third year in the league last season. Hopefully, a larger leadership role pushes him even further and leads the young Pelicans all the way to the playoffs.
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