Assists in the half-court
Ball has also shown a glimpse of potential creating shots for his teammates in half-court sets and in pick and roll situations, which would be crucial in a screen heavy Lakers offense. Per 40-minutes, Ball’s half-court assist numbers jump up to an outstanding 8.1 a game, showing clear potential from this area of the floor.
This said, Ball still has work to do. He needs to cut down on turnovers, as he had a turnover percentage of 32.7% on half-court plays for the Bruins. This can improve however as UCLA seldom ran sets, such as pick and rolls, which were only utilized roughly 10% of the time.
It is possible Ball simply needs to be put in more of these situations in order to become more comfortable and make the proper reads in the half-court.
Takeaways
All in all, due to the Lakers struggles getting assists and knocking down shots from long range, adding Lonzo Ball makes a lot of sense. He is a true point-guard who can move the ball around and make the offense flow. In addition to his distribution skills, Ball can also create for himself.
Next: Full First Round 2017 NBA Mock Draft
Ball may be a great addition to the team, as he seems to have the tools required to take the squad to the next level offensively.
* Statistical data courtesy of bballbreakdown.com, draftexpress.com, nba.com, and sports-reference.com*