Los Angeles Lakers: Luke Walton says Lonzo Ball was passive in loss

The Los Angeles Lakers were beaten in a close game against the Portland Trail Blazers. One player that was quiet for the Lakers was Lonzo Ball.

On Thursday night, the Los Angeles Lakers suffered a heart-breaking loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. With the clock winding down in the 4^th, Damian Lillard hit a 3-pointer over Brandon Ingram to take the lead.

Despite getting a good look for Kyle Kuzma with 0.7 seconds left, the Lakers were unable to force overtime. In the loss, there were a few Lakers that really had a big game, but Lonzo Ball was relatively quiet in the loss.

Ball only attempted two shots in the game and was held scoreless for the first time in his young career. In addition to not scoring Ball was pretty quiet in the rebounding and assist categories. However, Ball did a great job pushing the pace for the Lakers. Playing fast was something that Luke Walton wanted from his team, and Ball certainly helped accomplish that. Unfortunately for him, that didn’t show up in the box score.

After the game, Luke Walton said that he thought Ball was a bit too passive.

Seeing Ball only take two shots is rather surprising. When Lonzo is playing aggressive and looking to score, the Lakers offense appears to be much better in the half-court. However, in the game, the Lakers featured both Brook Lopez and Brandon Ingram.

Moving forward, it shouldn’t be too surprising to see Ball have some of these stat lines. As a rookie point guard, Ball is going to have some tough nights. However, Ball has shown aggressiveness at times this season.

Next: 3 Takeaways from loss to Trail Blazers

Good things tend to happen for the Lakers when Ball is attacking the basket and looking to score. Having to respect Ball’s ability to finish around the rim usually causes the defense to collapse. With a big game coming up against D’Angelo Russell and the Brooklyn Nets, Ball will have to be aggressive for the Lakers.