It’s no secret that Los Angeles Lakers rookie point guard Lonzo Ball has struggled with his shot to begin his NBA career, as just about every news outlet and TV analyst has criticized him in the past week.
Rightfully so though, as through his first 12 career games, Ball is shooting just 29.2 percent from the field and 22 percent from three-point range, which are well below what his averages were at UCLA.
Ball said the shooting struggles are in his head, as he knows that he can shoot the ball, and he also added that he is working on improving his balance, which could help his shooting.
Since his dad LaVar has openly put so much pressure on him though, it has opened him up for more criticism, and people are certainly taking that opportunity. The latest was TNT’s Charles Barkley, who on Thursday night’s Inside the NBA poked fun at Ball by pretending to dodge brick that he claimed to be Ball’s shots, via Bleacher Report:
Chuck is a savage ????????????
(via @NBAonTNT) pic.twitter.com/wvA3Ar91Lv
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 10, 2017
Barkley, of course, was just joking around, but he is not exactly one to talk as he shot just 26.6 percent from three in his 16-year NBA career.
While Ball’s shot hasn’t been falling, he is still having a big impact on the young Lakers team, averaging 6.4 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.8 blocks. People knew that Ball was an outstanding passer, but he is also proving to be a better defender than people gave him credit for when he came out of UCLA.
Another thing Ball has done a good job of is taking the criticism and remaining confident, as he is extremely mature for his age so look for him to continue shooting to get out of the slump.
WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DISCUSSION? CHECK OUT THE NEW LAKERSNATION FORUM CLUB