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Los Angeles Lakers: 4 goals for Lonzo Ball in the 2018-2019 season

By Anthony Santillo

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Lonzo Ball #2 of the Los Angeles Lakers handles the ball against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 11, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Lonzo Ball #2 of the Los Angeles Lakers handles the ball against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 11, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images /

4. Finish top-5 in assists

This goal might seem a little far-fetched. Especially when you realize that only ONCE in Lebron’s 15-year career has he not led his team in assists and that was his rookie season. They were led by Jeff McInnis with 7.5 assists a game.

So how could I possibly expect Lonzo to not only lead the team in assists but also finish in the top 5 in the league? Main reason being, Lebron has never in his career had a point guard like Lonzo Ball. A true point guard whose first instinct when he gets the ball is to find an open teammate.

After the circus act of point guards Lebron has had over the course of his career you can see, with exception to Kyrie Irving, who is a score first guard, there hasn’t been a point guard on any of his teams who has the passing ability, vision, and athleticism that Lonzo has.

With Lonzo running the point, Lebron’s transition to being more of post player becomes a lot easier. Having a guard who can take the ball-handling pressure off Lebron will not only make it easier for him to set himself up in the offense but saves him energy and allows more off-ball movements, similar to how Kevin Durant plays with Golden State.

Not to mention the highlight plays these two are bound to perform for the fans of Los Angeles. Let’s not forget last year at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas when the ONE game Lebron went to wasn’t the Cavs, it was the Lakers, and he witnessed this play:

Now imagine that, but with Lebron sprinting down the floor instead of Kyle Kuzma (no disrespect to Kuz but nothing compares to a Lebron fast break dunk). Lebron is about to be LeBORN again with this new role and offense he gets to run with this team.

I digress, it’s very easy to get caught up in the Lebron hype but this piece is about Lonzo. Finishing in the top 5 in assists shouldn’t be that difficult considering a few things. Lonzo averaged 7.2 assists last season on a very mediocre and injury-plagued team.

That would’ve have been good enough for him to finish 9th in the league if he would have played the required amount of games to qualify. He played 52 (which I’ll address later) and 58 games was the minimum, but we’ll go ahead and say he finished ninth. This season is different though, he has a year of experience under his belt and his team has gotten significantly better, as I mentioned earlier.

All the buzz going around is that Lonzo’s role is going to take a hit with Lebron and even Rajon Rondo joining the team but I disagree. I believe Lonzo will thrive even more now. Being a great point guard is nice and all but at the end of the day, you need to have ball players around you in order to succeed.

As a point guard, you can do everything you can to set your teammates up for great, open shots in rhythm but they still need to make the shot. With better players around him, Lonzo is going to be able to do what he does best and create for others around him. I would look for him to focus a lot more on getting everyone involved this year with the plethora of options he has around him.

The league leader in assists last season was Russell Westbrook with 10.3 APG. I will be shocked if adding Lebron James with Lonzo doesn’t provide at least three more assists per game for him. Expect Lebron to fade from bringing up the ball this year and allow Lonzo to run the show at point guard.

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