Ballin' Out?

When I first heard about Lonzo Ball, it was December 2016. I was on YouTube, scrolling through my subscribed videos for something interesting. I came up on Mike Korzemba's video titled, "Meet Lonzo Ball: Stephen Curry With A 40 INCH VERTICAL!"

"Likely story," I thought. "It's probably just clickbait."

Well if it was, Mike succeeded. In the video's span, I was educated on the Ball Brothers, their insanely successful style of play, and how Lonzo is going to be the next big thing in the NBA. Of course, I was impressed with all the highlights and stats—Westbrook should take notes from Ball on how to average a triple-double the right way—but Mike is a YouTuber I respect and admire. I agree with almost everything he says and I find him to be factual and relatively unbiased, so I know I can trust what he had to say. Even with stating Lonzo's flaws, I was sold that he was going to make waves in the NCAA Tournament and ultimately the NBA.

Flash-forward almost two years and the hype around Lonzo is all but gone. After an early NCAA Tournament exit and "lackluster" rookie season, many people are questioning Lonzo's capabilities, already going as far as calling him a bust.

While his rookie year was far from perfect or what was expected from a second-overall pick (by the Los Angeles Lakers, no less), Lonzo wasn't terrible. The first thing people will look at is his jumper and while he had atrocious shooting splits of .360/.305/.451, there were definitely stretches where his shot showed promise, such as against the Lakers first three matchups against the Warriors, and against the San Antonio Spurs in March. For him, it was all about consistency and getting comfortable, which he was rarely able to do since he was oft-injured, missing 31 games his rookie season and is currently nursing a torn meniscus. And the largest criticism by many was his apparent lack of aggressiveness/assertiveness, which I can partially agree with. A lot of his "lack of aggression" comes from his poised nature; never rattled, somewhat laid back, Lonzo plays with a cool demeanor.

Anyways, Lonzo was nowhere close to being in the running for Rookie of the Year as many expected, but posting per game numbers of 10.2 points, 7.2 assists, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.7 steals and making the All-Rookie Second Team in a deep draft class, that's not too shabby. As new teammate Michael Beasley pointed out, he posted better numbers than 2017 ROY Malcolm Brogdon (who I actually like), but that's neither here nor there. The question is, where does he go from here, especially with LeBron James and Rajon Rondo on the team?

2017 Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon

Well, it's still undecided whether he'll be starting be it due to injury or losing the job to Rondo. Regardless, I think he'll be a much improved player. (NOTE: I did not say Lonzo was going to win the Most Improved Player of the Year award, nor magically fix his jumpshot.) I do believe he'll be stronger after putting in time in the gym (and bopping to Taylor Swift), and therefore, be on the court more. This should help him get into a rhythm and be a tad more consistent with his shot and hopefully become a better finisher at the rim. While it may be difficult to imagine Ball's assists increasing with James and Rondo in town, his assist percentage should trend upwards having such high IQ players showing him how to control a game with his passing. Furthermore, the new playmaking additions should help Lonzo in more ways than his passing. Rondo, a competitor when engaged, has already expressed his desire to develop Ball further and he should help Ball play with more of an edge. LeBron on the other hand, will help Lonzo deal with the hype and expectations. Handling the spotlight better than anyone could have anticipated, James will show the young point guard how to handle the media—and his father Lavar—and simply let his game do the talking.

No one is comparing Lonzo to Stephen Curry anymore. I've seen people liken him to Jason Kidd and even Draymond Green, but definitely not the two-time MVP and greatest shooter of all time. But with the level of hate he's received and his perception in the public eye, he really has nowhere to go but up. Things won't always be perfect for this interesting Lakers cast, but with one year of NBA experience under his belt and mentors around him, expect Lonzo to make strides in the right direction.

Predicted Stats: 12.3 PPG, 7.0 APG, 7.3 RPG, 2.0 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 42% FG, 34% 3FG, 64% FT.

P.S. I'm thinking of doing a series about 2017 rookies and expectations for the upcoming season. Comment who you want me to talk about next.