UCLA’s Lonzo Ball Epitomizes The Los Angeles Lakers
Whether it’s his game or the noise surrounding him, Lonzo Ball is tailor made for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Those are the words of LaVar Ball, the ever-present and consistently overzealous father of Lonzo Ball. The UCLA guard who could be the top draft pick and who his father believes should help spark a $1 billion dollar shoe deal for his up-and-coming Big Baller Brand.
While that is obvious hyperbole in every sense of the word, it does — in some deeply convoluted manner — allude to the attributes of Ball’s game that make him most effective. He doesn’t beat his opposition in isolation, or pound the defense with a relentless scoring game. He’s effective by making those around him effective. Ball is, without question, the most gifted playmaker in this year’s class, and has established his presence as a top tier prospect through the most advanced basketball I.Q. of any college player we’ve seen in recent years.
While at UCLA, Ball has revolutionized the entire offensive spectacle that is the Bruins’ systematic destruction of teams on that side of the ball. They’re a lackluster defensive team, but move the ball with such a glorious pace that it almost doesn’t matter. Teams can’t keep up with a Lonzo-led fastbreak, and his combination of cross-court slingshots and abnormally tough entry passes almost always end in an open man found via a mesmerizing assist.
And while there are some definite holes in Ball’s game — from his funky shot release to his minimal half court scoring — it’s not difficult to imagine the setting in which he’d fit best at the next level. He needs a team with shooters in a system that embraces up-tempo play and breakneck athleticism on the fast break. Plus, the aforementioned LaVar made it relatively clear that Lonzo belongs in the very spot that I’m speaking of, placing him not only in a basketball system that fits his game, but a mass media hub that fits the meteoric expectations of his father as well.
Ball needs to be a Laker.
There’s simply no fit more entertaining in virtually every facet than the eldest of the Ball family getting his wish, while allowing his son to play in his hometown on a team that would feverishly embrace his talents. He’s a tall, 6–6 point guard whose primary goal is to open up the offense for others. He’d not only have the popularized fervor of Lakers fans throwing their support behind his creativity with the basketball. But, would boast Magic Johnson as his mentor. And, be placed into a Lakers rotation that is tailor-made to provide the foundation for an extremely effective unit around him.
Offensively, all the pieces are in place for Luke Walton’s squad to run the opposition out of the gym — on the fast break, at least, not on the scoreboard quite yet — as they possess all the tools needed to run Lonzo in transition with an apt small ball rotation around him.
While they may not be starting off games with straight gunners — perhaps Ivica Zubac shows the growth needed to start full-time next season — there’s no reasoning against giving Julius Randle and Larry Nance Jr. some run at the five spot, while throwing Brandon Ingram in at the four and D’Angelo Russell or Jordan Clarkson at the two. The gives Ball both spacing and a plethora of capable creators to go pass-happy with, while giving him quite the arsenal of transition threats.
We’ve seen Ingram make strides as this season has progressed, as he’s finishing better around the rim and flashing some consistency with his 3-point shot. Albeit, his percentage has dropped to just 27.3 percent during the month of March thus far. In theory, though, another offseason of work should bump his 3-point shooting percentage above it’s current mark of 29.2 by next season, hopefully to around — or above — league average.
Randle has has also been working on his perimeter shot, while Nance is gradually trending towards becoming a reputable threat from distance in his own right. And, while neither of them are eclipsing 24 percent from that range, we’ve seen pretty radical shifts in recent seasons as shooting has become a more integral aspect of teams’ offensive schemes. Otto Porter Jr. has jumped from 19 percent shooting from deep during his rookie campaign to a league-leading 44.9 in his fourth season. There’s reason to believe that, when afforded better looks from a Ball-led regime, the likes of Randle, Nance, and Ingram could become reliable sources of scoring from the outside.
And thus, this Lakers team is set. Throw in Nick Young and a handful of shooters around him via free agency, and it’s tough to imagine this team wouldn’t — at the absolute least — make some strides offensively, both in terms of efficiency (23rd in the eFG%) and ball movement. Ball, for all his deficiencies, does make the players around him better, and when placed into a system embracing him in the mold of Walton’s, would put his teammates in a much better position to score.
We’ve seen Ball execute in a variety of ways in transition this season, as it allows him to get dribble penetration and open up passing lanes that don’t manifest in the halfcourt offense. His outlet passes are among the more impressive you’ll find at any level, while his ability to locate open spots in the defense and exploit those — whether as a passer or a scorer — is certainly impressive.
His sense of pace and control is an impressive factor in that transition success, as he does an excellent job of turning on the proverbial afterburners and speeding past his defenders en route to the basket. His sneaky quickness and rapid acceleration is a rarity for a point guard with his size advantage, and allows him to finish around the rim at a high level when out in the open court. While not as impressive as Markelle Fultz, his ability to control those bursts and not press too hard in any given scenario is something that bodes well for immediate success at the next level.
Ball’s success off the ball in transition is another benefit when considering the placement of other playmakers around him in the Lakers’ rotation. He does a nice job of leaking out to the 3-point line, where his spot-up shooting has been among the most prolific in college basketball, despite his awkward, slingshot-esque release. He’s also a strong cutter in transition, using his length and athleticism to finish above the rim in space.
There’s also the halfcourt fit, where the Lakers’ current setup does favor some of Ball’s best game facets. Lonzo’s scoring is far more limited when the pace is slowed down. This is due to his lack of a pull-up game when going right and severe weaknesses in the mid-range game given his lengthy windup. He does move well when stationed off the ball, moving around screens and making quick cuts to the rim. Here, he’s often found by either one of his accompanying guards or a big man, such as T.J. Leaf. As a Laker he could utilize this asset with Randle and Nance, who like Leaf, are both capable passers at the four spot.
The Lakers could run a lot of the same action, such as this play, where the Bruins set a pair of screens for the ball handler on the elbow — something Walton does quite a bit — then move to an off-ball screen on the opposite side for Ball after that play developed, allowing Lonzo to make the backdoor cut and finish the alley-oop off the nice penetration from Aaron Holiday.
In the mold of Holiday, the Lakers would have the benefit of both Russell and Clarkson, also quality playmakers, allowing them to attack the defense from a variety of angles when desired.
Ball won’t be a massive scorer, but he doesn’t need to be in order to find success at the next level. And, the Lakers are well-suited to accommodate that type of arsenal. The UCLA stud’s innate feel for the game and overwhelming basketball I.Q. is enough to alter the flow of the offense entirely, while giving more room for both himself and his teammates to make plays for others.
Expectations for Walton have been set relatively high in lieu of his success with Steve Kerr in Golden State, and a player like Ball could help him make some moves in the right direction in regards to upping the versatility and efficiency of his team’s offensive attack.
Lonzo, as mentioned before, also fits the paradigm of a Lakers star fitting seamlessly from multiple different perspectives. He has the Magic Johnson feel, along with the big market desires and outspoken noise of his father’s L.A.-esque persona. He fits them both systematically and personality-wise. He’s a level-headed kid who has managed to rise above the chaos stirred up by his dad, giving Lakers a hard worker with a Los Angeles vibe.
It’s genuinely a perfect fit, and one that I — for the sake of the Big Baller Brand and basketball in the city of Los Angeles — hope works out.
