Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball is heading into the biggest summer of his life, but here are 3 things that he absolutely has to have on his to-do list for the summer.
Lonzo Ball has had no shortage of criticism surrounding his rookie season in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers. From the notion that he is better than 2-time NBA MVP Steph Curry to Magic Johnson making the proclamation that he wants his jersey to hang from the southeast corner of Staples Center, Lonzo has been no stranger to lofty expectations.
Aside from the off-the-court issues surrounding his team and his father, and the string of injuries that cut his season down to just 52 games, Lonzo has shown a lot of promise, however, as with anything, there is always room for improvement. Here are the top 3 things that Lonzo Ball needs to address in the offseason to come back next year better than ever.
1. Fix That Jumpshot
This seems like the obvious first thing that Lonzo needs to attack during the offseason, however, as he himself as well as Magic Johnson have stated in the past, they have no intention on mechanically changing his shooting form. We have all seen Lonzo’s shooting form where he brings the ball over from the left side of his face even though he is a right handed player.
However, in a few games, particularly the game on March 26, 2018 against the Detroit Pistons, Lonzo Ball has shown the ability to shoot the ball conventionally from the right side of his face as he did so on multiple occasions during that game. It is pretty uncommon for a player to have two different in-game jump shots, and continuing to shoot that way could ultimately conflict Lonzo Ball during the game as he would be more focused on which shot to use other than worrying about the game itself.
Realistically, I expect him to go with the shot that he has been shooting all his life, but there are some little tweaks that I think he can implement that I think will give him a better chance of knocking down those shots at a more consistent rate. For example, I think Lonzo can work on the balance of his shot.
Working on his balance and really improving the lower body aspect of his shot including balance as well as footwork could be key. Too many times have I seen Lonzo Ball miss shots due to being off balance, and I feel that establishing good footwork when squaring up to the basket will help him stay balanced and therefore give him a better chance at knocking down the shot.
He could also look to change how far to the left he brings the ball , maybe looking to start the shot from the top of the left side of his head instead of down below his neck. Breaking down his shot completely is something that he probably should not consider doing especially if he is comfortable with it, but sometimes it is the little things that can make a big difference.