Lonzo Ball’s sophomore season with the Los Angeles Lakers was an eventful one, to say the least, so we asked our staff here at Lonzo Wire to help us recap the 21-year-old’s season, as well as his upcoming offseason. Enjoy!
How would you grade Lonzo Ball’s sophomore season?
Raj Chipalu: For the games he did play I would say a C-plus, but overall an incomplete seeing as he missed had half of the season. The shooting was up and down throughout the year, but thought his defense was pretty consistent. Ball was a big part of the Lakers staying above the top ten in defensive rating, but his offense still has a ton of improvement to do. The injury was so unfortunate because it came with him playing the best ball of his career.
Donny McHenry: For Lonzo’s second season I’d give him a C-plus. I base that grade on comparing him to the other point guards in the league, but also in comparison to his rookie season, which I would have probably given him a C-minus for.
I don’t know what the other LonzoWire contributors will say, but in my opinion you have to be held to a high standard as a point guard in today’s NBA. I do agree that Lonzo has been an elite defender for a point guard, but I don’t think it’s come close to cover his deficiencies on offense.
Grant Dowling: B+. Lonzo Ball’s sophomore season was full of signs for hope and bumps in the road. It is encouraging to see him attacking the basket more and being able to take the grind of an NBA season. He was pretty durable for more than half of the season before missing the rest after a freak ankle turn.
While he improved overall as a player, it did take him about half the season to find his niche on this LeBron James-led team and consistently and optimally produce. He continues to show off his outstanding passing abilities and shining on the defensive end while also being completely unreliable from the free throw line.
Bryan Kalbrosky: It is hard to grade him well because one of the biggest concerns for Ball right now is his health. The Lakers need him on the court and even if the injuries he sustains in the future happen to be flukey, his conditioning still needs to be a huge priority. His free throw percentage is so atrocious that it needs to knock him down a full letter grade. If his shooting had improved or he played a full season, I’d give him a solid B. But neither thing happened, so I’m giving him a C. That’s not a C-plus or a C-minus.
Where did Lonzo improve the most this season?
Karl Bullock: Without question, the biggest improvement for Ball was on the defensive end. In just 47 games, Lonzo displayed divine instincts navigating around screens, jumping in passing lanes, and an ability to pressure 94 feet from the basket. All of this is year two. He has the potential to be a menace for a long time.
McHenry: I think the main area he improved in this season was just being aggressive in driving to the basket. I’ve felt he showed aggressiveness at times in his rookie year, but almost never with driving and trying to finish his own bucket.
Chipalu: His confidence handling the basketball and finishing inside. His field goal percentage rose ten percentage points at the rim, and you could see before he went down how comfortable he was starting to be on the ball. There are still a ton of technique issues, but with a healthy summer ahead I see a big year coming in that regard.
Kalbrosky: The Lakers run a ton of transition offense and that is crucial to their identity. Only the Sacramento Kings scored more points on the break than Los Angeles did this season. Ball played a big role on these looks. When finishing these possessions on the right wing, Ball averaged 1.00 points per possession (28th percentile) as a rookie. During his sophomore season, that improved to 1.59 PPP (94th percentile) this year. That helped him increase his scoring total on these play types from 0.4 points per game last year to 0.9 points per game.
Dowling: Lonzo improved most in his aggressiveness this season. Last year, a constant knock some critics repeated was that Ball did not play aggressive enough to be as successful as he could be. Though he had to adjust to playing with a deference to James, Ball clearly asserted himself more on both ends of the floor. There are countless examples but the best ones that come to mind are his full-court steal and layup on Denver’s Jamal Murray and his poster dunk over San Antonio’s Jakob Poeltl. There are no two clearer examples. In both situations, Ball stepped up and made a momentum-grabbing play on his own.
This newly-shown aggressiveness also contributed to his identity in the NBA as a calm quiet player who can surprise with his passion when he gets locked-in. Watch Ball’s second half and overtime against the Thunder from January 17.
What’s the biggest thing Lonzo needs to work on this summer?
Bullock: Shooting. In two years, albeit injury-riddled, Lonzo has posted .380/.315/.437 splits. Those are just unacceptable numbers for a player as talented as he is. In order to become an all-around threat, he needs to improve that part of his game.
McHenry: Shooting, shooting, shooting, and don’t forget shooting. Look — Lonzo can be the best defender and passer in the league. Even if he is those things, the Lakers cannot be attaining championship levels of success if he’s starting and shooting 40.6 percent from the field, 32.9 percent from three, and 41.7 percent from the three-throw line like he did in his sophomore season.
Chipalu: In terms of skill, it’s free-throw shooting. Fans can live with the outside shot being up and down, but being confident and getting to the line is the biggest key. It’s been documented he’d much rather find his teammates than shoot himself, and attacking the basket opens that up for him.
Ball averaged just one free throw a game in 30 minutes of play, which is bad for anyone, let alone a starting guard. He shot 70 percent from the line in college and that has dropped to 43 percent in his two years in the league. He definitely has it in him to at least be an average free throw shooter next season. His main concern should be his health, though, so getting stronger in any way to help endure through the grind of an 82 game season will be beneficial to him long-term.
Bryan: Considering that he will inevitably spend the offseason at the free throw line and I’d expect the rest of the contributors to say the charity stripe, too, I’ll zag when everyone else zigs. So I’ve long said that the most realistic key to opening up his offensive game would be some finesse on developing a floater. He ranked in the 5th percentile on short midrange among players at his position, per Cleaning the Glass. If he could work on his teardrop, it would go a long way to his ability to score near the basket. He was just 3-for-20 (15.0 percent) on runners, according to Synergy Sports Tech, so a floater would be fantastic for his offense.
Dowling: Other than being able to play close to a full season, Ball has one thing and one thing only that everybody who watches basketball will agree he needs to improve on: free throws. He shot an abysmal 45.1 percent from the line his rookie season and then somehow shot a worse 41.7 percent his sophomore year. It is quite the odd hole in Ball’s game since he still managed to see a 4.6 percent improvement from the field and a 2.4 percent improvement from beyond the arc. If Ball does not get better from the line, do not be surprised if whoever ends up coaching the Lakers this year is unable to trust him down the stretch.
Does Lonzo fit with LeBron James and the Lakers?
McHenry: It’s hard to say if Lonzo can continue to properly fit with the rest of the Lakers since, well, there’s not many guarantees on the roster for the 2019-20 season other than LeBron James (Lonzo included). With that being said, he has shown the ability to thrive around Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram, especially on the defensive end. I also think Lonzo and Kawhi Leonard will create a lot of probl — sorry, getting a little too ahead of myself.
Chipalu: Absolutely. As we saw this season, James is still more effective having the ball in his hands and controlling the offense. Ball allows him to do that, getting majority of baskets off of cuts and spot ups. Over 50 percent of all of Ball’s attempts came off of assists, and with Ball’s vision, he can find James as well. It’s also clear that around James, you need good defenders as his effort will wain on that end, and Ball definitely fits that bill.
Kalbrosky: I still saw enough to be impressed with his long-term fit next next to James because his court vision and relatively low usage rate allows the superstar (and another!) to be ball dominant. Especially if the Lakers land a potentially high usage player like Anthony Davis or Kawhi Leonard, it would be tough to find enough touches for a typically ball dominant point guard. Ball is passive enough to stay on the floor with other stars, which is truly fantastic news for his potential tenure in Los Angeles moving forward.
Dowling: Lonzo Ball certainly fits with LeBron James and the Lakers. He has not shown consistent prowess from the three-point line, but he remains capable of hitting the shot. Ball is also good at cutting off the ball and finding open layups or opportunities for a teammate to score on the following pass.
Critics and supporters alike knew James would be the primary focus of the offense, so there was uncertainty regarding whether Ball could remain as effective without as many touches. This year, Ball continued the quick pass-first style of play he displayed his rookie season, which blended perfectly with having James demanding the ball. Ball’s assist numbers took a hit but actually improved in notable categories playing next to James, like shooting and pace, scoring 8.6 percent more of his points this season on a fast break than he did last year.
If Lonzo is traded, where is the best landing spot for him?
Bullock: The Chicago Bulls (even with the chaos on Madison St.) or any team that is in rebuilding mode. That way management could afford the luxury of him developing without the weight of championship expectations crowding judgment all over the place.
McHenry: My heart.
Chipalu: I think somewhere he’s not asked to do too much offensively, preferably with another ball handler. As a point guard, he could be miscast as a pick and roll player and thats just not his strength. He would blossom on a winning team that would develop his skills correctly like a San Antonio, or even an Indiana. Phoenix could theoretically work with him and Devin Booker, but I wouldn’t wish that on anybody.
Kalbrosky: I really do like the fit of Lonzo on the Suns because of his defense and rebounding ability. He ranked Top 10 in ESPN’s Real Defensive Plus-Minus for the second year in a row and that would complement Devin Booker in the backcourt. Ball could also pair well with Deandre Ayton in the pick-and-roll when finding the big man rolling to the rim. It’d be interesting to see who ends up running the show as their new head coach but either way, the Suns want a longterm answer at point guard. If they don’t land Ja Morant in the draft, Ball makes the most sense for Phoenix.
Dowling: The easy answer would be Phoenix. They have a lot of young talent and just need a point guard to grow with and put it all together. But I actually think Dallas might be a nice spot for Ball to continue improving should the Lakers dump him.
Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingas, and Ball: picking two and putting them in a simple pick-and-roll would be hard to stop. Ball would also provide the Mavericks with some sorely needed perimeter defending. Basically, place a player with the outstanding pass-first playmaking ability like that of Ball on any team with two players like Porzingas and Doncic who can hit a shot anywhere on the court and success should follow.
All stats are courtesy of NBA.com unless otherwise noted.
