It was no secret that Lonzo Ball had issues shooting the basketball coming out of UCLA, and it was expected he would struggle in that department in his rookie season for the Los Angeles Lakers. But just how terribly he’s shooting right now has to be a bit concerning to the Lakers’ brass (and it’s unlikely they would admit that, of course).
On the season, Ball is shooting 29.2% from the field, 22% from three-point range, and 50% at the charity stripe.
Lonzo Ball's shooting percentage is getting dangerously close to the speed limit in a school zone.
— Keeping It Heel (@KeepingItHeel) November 10, 2017
Lonzo Ball: "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take, and 70% of the shots you do."
— Jay Rigdon (@jayrigdon5) November 10, 2017
*No, Lonzo didn’t actually say that*
But this month, things have gotten even worse for Ball. The point guard is shooting 22.8% from the field (13-for-57), 12.5% on three-pointers (3-for-24), and 45.5% at the line (5-for-11) in November. In these five November games, Ball’s highest shooting percentage is 26.7%. He hasn’t shot at least 27% in a single game this month!
On Thursday night in the Lakers’ 111-95 loss to the Washington Wizards, Ball scored 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting on field goals, 1-of-7 shooting behind the arc, and 3-of-7 at the free throw line.
Yes, we’re talking about a 20-year-old rookie, but…
After going 3-of-12 in the loss to the Wizards, Lonzo Ball has the 2nd-worst FG pct through 12 games in the shot-clock era (via @EliasSports) pic.twitter.com/7joq4wv1B7
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 10, 2017
Yikes. And, again, it’s been much worse than that in November.
Now, Ball still brings a lot to the table even with the shooting woes. He had eight assists and eight rebounds on Thursday, for example. He’s a very good distributor and floor general, and averaging 6.4 rebounds at the point guard position is certainly a plus as well.
Ball doesn’t need to ever even be a “good” NBA shooter, but his shooting still needs to improve substantially to become the player the Lakers hoped they were getting with the No. 2 overall pick over the summer. It’s nowhere near panic time, but there’s absolutely cause for concern here.
