Why the Celtics should hope the Lakers pass on Lonzo Ball
Lonzo Ball may not want to go to Boston but that wouldn't prevent him from being an ideal fit in green
COMMENTARYThe Basics on Lonzo Ball:Position:
Point guard
Height: 6-6
Weight: 190 lbs
Age: 19
Year: Freshman
College: UCLA
2016-17 stats: 14.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 7.6 apg, 55.1 FG%, 41.2 3PT%
What he does well: Make his teammates better. UCLA had one of the most exciting offenses in college basketball last season and Ball was the main reason why. He turned a middling Pac 12 team in 2015-16 into an offensive juggernaut by setting the table in the halfcourt and transition. He’s got the size and vision to see past most guards and he’s a strong rebounder as well, enabling him to kick start fast breaks on his own.
Offensively, Ball’s jump shot might be ugly, but it’s still effective. He’s got a quick unorthodox release, but knocks down jumpers at an impressive rate. He’s not a shoot-first player, but he’s also good enough in the paint to keep opposing defenses honest. Add in a disciplined handle and an acceptable turnover rate and you have most of the key ingredients for an ideal floor general at the NBA level.
Where he can improve: Defensive physicality and containment. While Ball is a bit of a showman on the offensive end, he doesn’t like getting his hands dirty with his defense. The 19-year-old struggles keeping opposing guards with speed out of the paint, as was the case in the NCAA Tournament when Kentucky guard De’Aaron Fox got the best of him.
He’s not a physical defender either and tends to stick to screens on the perimeter, which compromises the rest of his team’s defense at times. Ball’s an opportunistic defender when it comes to steals (jumping pass lanes) and helps on the glass, but he’s probably going to be someone who must commit to defense more if he wants to hold his own against a deep crop of NBA point guards.
How he helps the Celtics: The Celtics’ offense is predicated on pace and space as well as ball movement. Ball has the vision to find holes in opposing defenses and could in theory push Isaiah Thomas off the ball and form an explosive backcourt. He’s an upgrade over Marcus Smart pretty much across the board on the offensive end and that’s an area that needs to be addressed after the C’s offense struggled to create at times throughout the postseason. With Avery Bradley or Smart likely to move on upon hitting the free agent market next summer, Ball is the guard that could develop into an integral part of the team’s core for years to come.
The Celtics’ historical comp: Many scouts see plenty of shades of Jason Kidd in Ball’s game, so it’s only fair to bring Rajon Rondo into the mix as a comparison. Ball is a much better shooter than Rondo ever was in college, but both players provide the kind of all-around contributions (rebounds, assists, steals) that fill up the box score each and every night.
One highlight to get you excited:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ksNJMncytw
