A lot of factors have gone into Lonzo Ball’s breakout season with the New Orleans Pelicans, but perhaps nothing has been as important as him being at full health for a long period of time. Ball has noted multiple times this season that his health has been the single biggest factor in his success this season.
Ball isn’t the only one who has noticed the importance of his health to him being successful this season. During his media availability on Saturday, Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry talked about the improvement of Ball and Brandon Ingram this season.
“Well, when we traded for these guys we thought that they had a ton of potential. We were excited about having them on our team. I think Lonzo finally got himself healthy. When he got himself healthy, he played at a real, real high level for us and he shot the ball extremely well. I think a lot of that credit goes to Fred (Vinson). A lot of it goes to Lonzo because he’s put in the work. He’s really put in the work.”
Assistant coach Fred Vinson has been credited for helping Ball reshape his shot. Both he and Ball have spent countless hours in the gym together further perfecting his shot, leading to his career-best shooting figures from three-point range.
But Ball has also already set a career-high mark in games played as well this season despite the league’s season first being halted before agreeing on an abbreviated finish. No matter how many games the Pelicans and Ball play in the NBA’s restart bubble in Orlando, it will build on a career-best mark for the third-year guard.
