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Los Angeles Lakers: How Lonzo Ball fits into this era of basketball

Jack Obrien|
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 17: Magic Johnson and Lonzo Ball #2 of the Los Angeles Lakers shake hands against the Portland Trailblazers during the Championship game of the 2017 Las Vegas Summer League on July 17, 2017 at the Thomas & Mack Center 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 17: Magic Johnson and Lonzo Ball #2 of the Los Angeles Lakers shake hands against the Portland Trailblazers during the Championship game of the 2017 Las Vegas Summer League on July 17, 2017 at the Thomas & Mack Center 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)

How will Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball fit into this era of basketball?

The Los Angeles Lakers and NBA have effectively turned a corner in the last five years. It’s shut the door on the previous era. What this means: the style and look of professional basketball has changed.

It’s faster sure, but some may argue that the speed of the Golden State Warriors or Oklahoma City Thunder from rebound to fast break bucket isn’t any faster than the 2007 Phoenix Suns team led by Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire. But they do look different, don’t they? Well, yes and no. Let’s figure it out.

I don’t think a barrage of stats comparing the style of play helps this argument, so I’m going to refrain from that. It’s better, in my opinion, to focus on what we see out on the court; the patterns and what it looks like to the naked eye. It’s less about the numbers that the action leads to and more about the look of the action itself.

Successful basketball in the current NBA has the following elements:

  1. The personnel necessary to knock down 3’s in transition (think Golden State)
  2. The facilities to read and react to the defense and keep the ball in constant motion (think San Antonio).
  3. The ability to consistently outrebound the other team on the defensive end. (think Oklahoma City)
  4. And finally, the will to play sound, quality, team defense on every possession. (think Golden State and San Antonio)

If you have these elements, the only key to success is adopting the mindset of “pace and space”. Magic Johnson was able to accomplish this during his career better than any other player in NBA history. Better than Jordan, better than Lebron, and dare I say… better than Kobe Bryant.

Magic unleashed a fast break in such a way that enabled his teammates to be successful. It was a different game in the 80’s, less 3’s, more bigs, etc. But the basketball ideology is the same. And as long as the parameters of the court and basic structure of the game remain the same, this style of play will likely endure for as long as the game of basketball exists.

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The “Pace and space” style is an elusive quality that many teams chase, and even some championship teams have failed to accomplish. When it is fully realized, it is simply unstoppable.

The concept is simple. You play gritty, tough, hustle defense. You force your opponent to miss, you must rebound their missed shot. The ball is then pushed down the court at a speed just under break-neck, controlled. A read is made, the ball moves through its decided positions, and an open 3-point shot follows.

A team needs the four keys outlined above to accomplish this, when those necessities are achieved, executing the “pace and space” style is as simple as deciding to implement it.

So, what does this mean for next year’s Lakers team? Johnson is now the President of Basketball Operations, not out on the court. So, what good does it do to mention his proficiency in the system? I thought this was supposed to be an article about the upcoming Lakers season?!

Cue Lonzo Ball…

I’m going, to put it bluntly, Lonzo Ball has the potential to become the best passer in the NBA, and possibly, the most transcendent pass-first point guard of this era of basketball. Stephen Curry evolved the style of the game of basketball on a global scale in a way that only a handful of players have done historically. Lonzo Ball will be the next to contribute his particular play style and evolve the game. Colin Cowherd shared his opinion:

Lonzo Ball is the starting piece, and the most crucial, to building a team to contend with the greatest powers in the NBA today. The Spurs, Warriors, Thunder, Rockets to name a few. The Lakers will look in the coming years to surround Ball with 3-point shooting defenders, through the draft and free agency. Moreover, two-way players, the model of these being Kawhi Leonard and Klay Thompson.

Additionally, next summer we could get lucky enough to add a superstar.  As fans, we can check an important box off the list to becoming a relevant team in the increasingly powerful western conference. There remain many boxes to check; that’s what makes it fun right?

This season is not going to be one we keep the DVR recordings from. It probably won’t last past the month of April. But it will be exciting, it will show a completely revamped system and a host of new faces and players. As well as a shiny new front office.

Next: 5 Bold Predictions For Lakers 2017-18 Season

This season is worthy of Lakers fan’s excitement and desire. Ball will look to bring back the “pace and space” style optimized by Magic Johnson’s Showtime Lakers. It’s only fitting that he was drafted by the man himself.

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