Los Angeles Lakers: Has Lonzo Ball fixed his jump shot?

Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball’s shooting form has been heavily criticized but has he turned a corner with the offseason work put in?

Well before Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball made it to the league, his quirky jump shot form was garnishing a lot of attention as a student at Chino Hills High School.

From the extra second he takes to gather before shooting, to the way he slings the ball to the left side of his head, everything about it made you wonder how it would translate to the NBA.

Lonzo entered the NBA as a 41 percent 3-point shooter in college. For perspective, the top-ranked NCAA three-point shooter was 54 percent from downtown. So even in college, Lonzo was an average at best shooter, and with the NBA 3-point line about two feet farther out, there was bound to be an adjustment period.

With the 2017-2018 average 3-point percentage being 36 percent, and Lonzo shooting 30 percent his rookie season, there was a long road ahead to become a respectable shooter in the NBA.  Now with Lebron James leading the way for Los Angeles, improving his jump shot grew that much more important to keep the floor spread for ” The King.”

More from Lake Show Life

• Darvin Ham adds to Max Christie hype train after Lakers preseason opener
• Is LeBron James playing tonight? Latest Lakers vs Warriors update
• Can Darvin Ham put all of the Lakers puzzle pieces together?
• Lakers news: Darvin Ham knows his fifth starter, LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino praise
• Michael Malone’s painfully ironic comment has Lakers fans heated

While a small sample size, Lonzo’s shot looks vastly improved, and his percentages have jumped up as well.  Currently knocking them down at a 40 percent clip, NBA defenses have started to give him more respect from downtown, thus creating more space for the Lakers offense to operate.

Sure, with only six percent of the season on the books, it might be way too early to tell. But, the fact that his mechanics have drastically changed makes you think this might be a legit change. Watching his shot from last season, he would bring the ball up from his waist over to the left side of his head, then release.

A general rule of thumb for shooters is to keep the shooting elbow pointed at the basket, even something Kobe Bryant has tried to pass on to Kyrie Irving. There are certain expectations to this rule, (see Phoenix Suns legend Shawn Marion) but following this rule of thumb typically leads to positive results when the work is put in.

Although his new shot is not COMPLETELY different, it is noticeably less shifted the left side of his head, moving it closer to the center. Not only should this improve accuracy because his elbow is more in line with the basket, but it makes his release much quicker by not slinging it all the way across his face before letting the ball go.

Lonzo still takes that extra second to gather himself before shooting, but having a quicker release makes that hitch less of concern when trying to get his shot off. His clutch step back three over Nikolas Jokic Thursday night was a prime example.

The Lakers still have 77 more games to go in the regular season. Lonzo has a long way to go before defenses completely change their scouting reports on him, but things are looking up so far for the Big Baller point guard.