The Los Angeles Lakers have had a solid start to the season so far, currently sitting at 5-5 after Sunday’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Despite the overall team start, rookie Lonzo Ball has come under scrutiny for his shooting struggles.
So far Ball is averaging just 8.8 points and is shooting a very poor 29.9 percent from the field and 23.4 percent from three-point range. Ball is contributing in other ways, putting up 6.9 assists, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game, but his shooting needs to improve and his father LaVar Ball has an idea on what could help.
According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, LaVar believes that Lonzo should play the entire fourth quarter because that would help him get into a better rhythm:
“Let him play the whole fourth quarter and bet you’ll always win. He’ll get into a better flow,” Ball said. “The in and out, sitting out six to 10 minutes? He’s not going to take no shots because he’s not in the flow. He don’t want to hurt the team by shooting.”
Luke Walton likely won’t be taking rotation advice from LaVar anytime soon, but it is an interesting theory that Lonzo may need longer stints in order to get into a better rhythm.
However, Lonzo currently leads the Lakers in minutes per game, averaging 33 a night after 10 games so he is definitely getting an ample amount of time to find his rhythm.
There are many possibilities as to why Lonzo is struggling to shoot. Perhaps he is still adjusting the speed and pace. He could be thinking too much about hurting the team, as LaVar suggested and is hesitating too much. His awkward shooting form will always be a question mark as well.
Whatever it is, Lonzo will have to figure it out, but in the meantime his teammates and coaches continue to praise him for what he has brought.
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