Los Angeles Lakers recent success courtesy of Lonzo Ball’s return

The Los Angeles Lakers recent success has coincided with Lonzo Ball’s return to the lineup.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been on a tear since the All-Star break, winning all five of their games. They faced weaker competition in their first three games, playing teams who appear to be tanking in the Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings.

However, their win against the Miami Heat on Thursday night and Saturday against the San Antonio Spurs show that these Lakers victories are not a fluke.

The Thursday night win strengthens the argument that this young Lakers team has developed into one that can compete with any team on a nightly basis. A big part of the Lakers’ success since the break has been the return of Lonzo Ball to the lineup.

Ball sprained his MCL in a contest against the Dallas Mavericks on January 13th. He sat out for the remainder of the month, including from the Rising Stars Challenge, to recover. He returned to the lineup against Dallas on February 23rd and has been on a tear since.

Ball had to sit out against the Kings because it was the second night of a back-to-back and Luke Walton put him on a minutes restriction. Despite this, his stats in the three games he has played have still been impressive.

Over the four games that Ball has played, he is averaging 12.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 2.5 steals per game while shooting an efficient 55.1 percent from the field, according to ESPN.

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Furthermore, Ball has posted a spectacular +44 over his four-game tear while leading the Lakers to an average +15.8 point differential over their opponents.

For comparison, when the Lakers beat the Kings without Ball, their differential was only +5. This is definitely a small sample to work off of. Though, it seems clear that this Lakers team is substantially better when Ball is in the lineup.

There have definitely been other factors contributing to the Lakers’ success, too. Julius Randle has performed well since being inserted back into the starting lineup by Walton. He’s averaged 18.5 points while shooting 59.6 percent from the field heading into Saturday’s game, per ESPN. His strong play combined with the return of Ball has made the Lakers a formidable team.

Despite Ball’s return and the Lakers strong play, Walton still feels the Lakers can be better with Ball in the lineup.

Tania Ganguli, the Lakers beat writer for the L.A. Times, wrote that Walton felt that players are still “adjusting” to play with Ball again. Ganguli added that Walton said,

"“A few times he [Ball] grabbed rebounds or steals and his head was already up looking to make a pass and the people downcourt weren’t looking.”"

Walton makes a very good point here, but this must mean that Lakers can be an even scarier team with Ball back than the one that is already winning by a +15.8 differential.

Lonzo’s strong play has even gained praise from his opponents. After being beaten at home, Dwayne Wade had this to say about Ball when asked about the rookie by Mike Trudell:

For all Lakers’ fans sake, we hope Ball becomes our next great franchise player. With Ball back, look out for this young team as they find their chemistry moving forward.

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Maybe this invigorated play could lead to a late playoff push? With this young squad, anything seems possible right now. Keep a close eye on Lonzo Ball and the Lakers as the season winds to a finish.