With training camp just a few weeks away, Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball already has a feel for how his coach wants him to play.
Coming into the 2017-18 season, the Los Angeles Lakers are going to be a much different looking team compared to last season. Most notably will be the change at the point guard position.
With the second overall pick in the NBA Draft, the Lakers selected point guard Lonzo Ball. After a great season at UCLA, the Lakers believe that Ball can be the floor general that the organization desires.
Prior to drafting Ball, the Lakers cleared the way for him to be the starting point guard, as they traded away D’Angelo Russell. Even though Russell is a good player, and might become even better, the Lakers didn’t believe that he was what they wanted leading the team on the court.
Entering his second season as the head coach of the Lakers, Luke Walton knows how he wants the team to operate on offense. Recently, Ball talked with Trevor Lane on the Lakers Nation podcast. Here’s what he had to say about Walton’s vision.
"“It’s early but you can already tell that he wants to play really fast. Every time he’s in there watching us play he’s always telling me to push the ball. He’s very supportive but at the same time, whenever I start messing up or I do something wrong he’s going to tell me about it. He’ll do whatever he can to help the team get to where it needs to be.”"
In the Summer League, it was very clear that the Lakers were looking to push the pace whenever they could. Some of Ball’s best passes came on full court bombs on the money to a streaking player. While that is one way to push the pace, Walton obviously wants Ball to be quick up the court when he can.
As a point guard with both great speed and vision, having Ball in an uptempo offense will likely help him feel comfortable and succeed right away. With athletic players like Brandon Ingram, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Julius Randle in the starting rotation, moving quickly on offense shouldn’t be a problem.
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Considering that Walton coached with the Golden State Warriors, it should come as no surprise to see him want to model the Lakers’ offense after theirs. Having a point guard like Ball is certainly key for that, and he should be up for the task.