To start the season, Luke Walton is very happy with the balance on offense for the Los Angeles Lakers.
As the Los Angeles Lakers begin to see some success on the court, we are starting to get an idea of what type of team they are going to be this season.
One of the things that have been noticeable so far this season is the ball movement on offense. With the type of players that the Lakers have, sharing the ball was one of the things that we all expected to see this season. LeBron James, Lonzo Ball, and Rajon Rondo are all excellent players at setting up their teammates and moving the ball.
Since Walton comes from Golden State, moving the ball on offense is always something that he has stressed due to the success the Warriors have doing so. Recently, Walton spoke about that he is pleased with multiple players averaging in double-figures. Here’s what he said to Corey Hansford of LakersNation.com.
"“It tells me we’re playing the way we want to play, and that’s a selfless style of basketball,” he said. “We’ve got to still get better at it. We have too many possessions where I feel like guys are open and we don’t make that extra pass.“But I think when you get multiple guys scoring in double-figures it means you’re trusting your teammates and they’re doing a nice job of scoring when you get the opportunity.”"
So far this season, the balance on offense has been really good. While James is the leading scorer by a fair amount, the Lakers currently have five players averaging in double figures. In addition to having five players in double figures, the Lakers have eight players averaging over eight points per game.
Seeing how the Lakers are able to hurt opposing teams with multiple players shows that they do indeed have a strong rotation. While that rotation might not be completely set yet, they have a lot of players that are capable of playing meaningful minutes.
Without Rondo, the ball movement might take a bit of a hit, as he was playing quite well this season. However, with Rondo out, Ball will likely see an increased role, which will hopefully keep the ball movement going. If the ball movement continues to be good, the Lakers should continue to have success.