Los Angeles Lakers: Luke Walton praises Lonzo Ball for setting the tone
By Nick Ziegler
The Los Angeles Lakers were able to defeat the Detroit Pistons on Halloween. After the game, head coach praised Lonzo Ball for helping set the tone.
After a couple tough games for Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball, he wasted no time putting the blame on himself for some of the struggles of the offense. However, the offense looked really good against the Detroit Pistons, and so did Ball.
Walton asked for the Lakers to pick up the pace even more despite them playing at one of the fastest in the NBA. On Tuesday, they were able to both fast and in control, and that led to a lot of easy baskets in transition.
In addition to playing well in transition, the Lakers also looked much better in their half-court offense. One of the reasons for the improvement was the aggressiveness of Lonzo Ball. Early on in his career, we have seen Ball maybe too passive when it comes to taking his shots. Against the Pistons, Ball looked for his layups around the rim but also mixing in some passes to his teammates on drives to the basket.
This balance from Ball really seemed to confuse the Pistons’ defense, and the Lakers were able to make them pay. In the win, Ball totaled 13 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Even though it wasn’t his best statistical game in the NBA, he played very well against the Pistons. After the game, Walton praised Ball for his efforts on Tuesday.
Luke said taking away Lonzo's game against Phoenix, tonight was the best game he's played, said he set the tone, pace & everyone fed off it
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 1, 2017
The play from Ball really did appear to spark the team, as they had six players score in double figures. The well-balanced attack on offense was great to see from the Lakers, as every starter scored in double figures aside from Brook Lopez.
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Even though the assists numbers weren’t great from Ball, he had plenty of the hockey assists, as the ball was moving very nicely for the Lakers throughout the game. Seeing Ball aggressive is certainly something that the Lakers will want to encourage, as good things tend to happen when he is attacking the rim.