No. 2: Lonzo Ball’s shooting woes
I’m sure we would all like to forget Lonzo Ball’s horrific shooting woes during the season, but it was undoubtedly one of the lowlights from this past season for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Coming out of UCLA, Lonzo Ball was known as a pass-first point guard. Many people forget, though, that he was a great scorer at the collegiate level. He averaged 14.6 points per game while shooting 55 percent from the field and 41 percent from behind the arc.
There were questions as to whether or not his unusual shooting form would work at the pro level. After struggling shooting the ball for the first couple of games during the Las Vegas Summer League, he seemed to get his shooting stroke back.
After missing almost the entire preseason, Lonzo Ball couldn’t have had a worse start to the season shooting the ball. He had one of the worst shooting percentages of any player for the first stretch of the season.
The thing that was most apparent to me was that despite the fact that he was shooting a low percentage, Lonzo Ball continued to shoot a high volume of shots, mainly 3-point shots. He attempted six 3-point shots per 36 minutes despite shooting 30 percent on threes for the season.
His shooting slump was highlighted by a 1-for-12 3-point shooting display on March 22, 2018, against the New Orleans Pelicans in which Lonzo Ball could not buy a 3-point basket. Commentators would go on to criticize his decision to take these shots, especially, during crunch time.
He pointed out after the game that he was frustrated that his shots were not going in. Head coach Luke Walton went on to praise his 20-year-old point guard for having the courage to take those shots, especially in crunch time situations. Even though he was not widely known as a scorer coming out of college, no one could have predicted his all-time shooting slump.