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Los Angeles Lakers: Top priority should be surrounding Lonzo Ball with shooters

By Asha Doucet

LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 08: Lonzo Ball #2 of the Los Angeles Lakers passes to a teammate while being guarded by Semi Ojeleye #37 of the Boston Celtics during the 2017 Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 8, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 08: Lonzo Ball #2 of the Los Angeles Lakers passes to a teammate while being guarded by Semi Ojeleye #37 of the Boston Celtics during the 2017 Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 8, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images) /
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The Lonzo Ball era is only two games in for the Los Angeles Lakers and he’s already posted a triple-double. The Lakers next priority should be providing him with shooters in order to capitalize on his skill set.

After a less than impressive debut to his NBA career Lonzo Ball bounced back in his second Summer League game by posting a triple-double for the Los Angeles Lakers. He finished the game with a stat line of 11 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

Ball’s point total was modest but the Lakers didn’t draft him to score. They drafted him to distribute the ball, which in a short time he’s already proven to be ahead of his peers at. Any scoring or rebounds Lonzo can accumulate is just icing on the cake but in order for L.A. to reap the benefit of Ball’s precision passing, they need to surround him with shooters.

In both of the Lakers’ Summer League losses, L.A. left points on the board by just not being able to knock down shots. In their matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers, they played great in the first half, then went cold from the field in the third quarter and were never able to recover.

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Unfortunately for the Lakers, the same scenario played out in their second Summer League matchup against the Boston Celtics. They started the game on a 10-0 run and held a decent lead at halftime before going cold in the third and early in the fourth letting the Celtics take control of the game.

In L.A.’s game against the Clippers Lonzo only tallied five assists but that mark would have been higher had the Lakers made more of their open shots.  It became apparent early on that outside of Brandon Ingram, L.A.  doesn’t have a player that can take over a game and score when they need a bucket.

With Ingram sidelined for the rest of Summer League, rookie Kyle Kuzma stepped up big time dropping a game-high 31 points against the Celtics. Yet his offensive power alone wasn’t enough to lift the Lakers past Boston. In many instances, sweet dimes from Lonzo that set his teammates up for good looks should have been assists but instead were misses.

Ball put on a passing clinic in his second game and he would have upped his assist total had more of his teammate’s shots simply gone in. Nonetheless, the potential is there and the Lakers future is in good hands. With Lonzo lobbing the ball and threading the needle the way only he can imagine how good L.A. will be with knock down shooters around him.

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The Lakers have already stated and proved they aren’t making any major moves until free agency in 2018. But after witnessing just how good Ball is ,they must make surrounding him with shooters their top priority moving forward.

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