Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Players who stood out in 119-105 win
By Ronald Agers
Lonzo Ball
Lonzo Ball played a strong floor game and looked more in rhythm. Ball scored eight points, dished out seven assists and grabbed six rebounds. What is more impressive to point out was that he set the table for Svi Mykhailiuk and Kyle Kuzma to get off in the second half with smooth passes in their comfort zone.
Hey Lonzo…this is for you! For all the fans that clowned your air-ball…
https://twitter.com/PlayoffLABron/status/1050982597084569606
Tell them to get some of that! Now some analysis to see Lonzo’s growth…
If you watch Lonzo on defense, he got caught behind Stephen Curry and got caught when Curry knocked down a three. But did he get down on himself? No. He moves on and executes the high pick and roll and slides to the open spot on the right wing. When Lance Stephenson draws two players with him…guess who’s wide open. Then Lonzo smoothly drains the jumper from long range…press play!
I have used the same quote throughout the entire preseason for Lonzo Ball and Rajon Rondo…
"This is an extremely important area of emphasis. Eventually, teams are going to pack it in the paint and demand Rondo (and eventually Ball) to consistently hit the jumper during the season. That’s the NBA folks. Whatever this positionless basketball the Lakers are selling will not work if everyone is not contributing on the offensive end. Good teams will isolate these guys and take advantage if they don’t look at the basket. The backcourt has to look for their offense and not look to LeBron James for everything."
The way the Warriors played off of Ball defines the quote said above. The offensive play you saw illustrates what the Lakers need from the point guard position. No one is saying that these two have to shoot like Curry and Thompson, but they have to at least shoot the ball to keep the teams honest.
Ball knocked down two three pointers in the game which the Warriors can’t scout for based on the fact he was a poor three point shooter last year. Look at the distance Ball had with the defender playing off of him. This will be there for maybe two to three months. Lonzo Ball shot the ball eight times in the game. If he gets that number to ten, the Lakers will see positive differences trust me!