Los Angeles Lakers: Luke Walton happy with an aggressive Lonzo Ball

The Los Angeles Lakers might have lost to the New Orleans Pelicans, but that didn’t stop their young coach from praising his rookie point guard.

On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Lakers looked like they were going to be destroyed by the New Orleans Pelicans on their home court. However, this young Laker group never gave up, and they actually took the lead in the fourth quarter despite being down by over 20 points at one point.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, they did go a bit cold at the end of the game, and the Pelicans were able to escape with a win. In the loss, there were a lot of positive takeaways for the Lakers.

As expected, the big comeback resulted in this actually being a good game for multiple players on the Lakers. A lot of credit has to go to the bench unit, as they were able to spark the comeback.

Off the bench, Kyle Kuzma, Jordan Clarkson, and Julius Randle combined for 55 points. If the Lakers’ starting five was able to play better, they easily could have won this game.

One of the starters that did play well was Lonzo Ball. Even though Ball struggled from the field, he was quite aggressive like we saw against the Suns. This was a goal of Walton this season, and Ball certainly looks like he is playing much more aggressive than when we saw him at UCLA.

Even though Ball might have shot the basketball poorly, he totaled 13 assists and eight rebounds. After nearly getting a triple-double against the Suns, Ball flirted with another one against the Pelicans. After just three games, it is clear that Ball does a lot more than just pass. As a pretty good shooter at UCLA, his shooting percentage will surely go up.

Next: 3 Standouts in loss to Pelicans

The Lakers might not have won against the Pelicans, but this was a team that showed a lot of heart. Most teams in the NBA would have waved the white flag when they went down by 20. On Sunday, this was a team that showed they won’t give up.