UCLA Basketball: For Lonzo Ball, the best is yet to come with Lakers

UCLA Basketball alum Lonzo Ball’s first professional game has come and gone. Did it live up to the hype?

Lonzo Ball’s influence was felt before the open tip. The Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas was packed and the atmosphere was very electric.

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This was more energy  and excitement than the Lakers had seen in ages and it was only the Summer League. Early on, Ball kept the crowd entertained by notching this magnificent first assist;

After that, Ball looked like a rookie struggling to adjust to the faster NBA game. Early in the game, he was a liability on pick and rolls.

He got stuck on screens forcing teammates into help situations that led to  defensive breakdowns and open shots. The Lakers had Ball defending point guards in this game. At this point in his career, this is not a winning strategy.

The second half was better for him defensively as the Lakers started switching screens on defense. However, playing a switching defense led to this sequence;

This was not the start that LaVar Ball spoke into existence for Lonzo who shot 2/15 (13.3%) from the field and 1/11 on three point attempts. Since Lonzo shot so poorly from the perimeter, defenders went under screens daring him to shoot. To his credit, he kept shooting.

Lonzo will be much better in the future. He is better when surrounded by shooters and can utilize the space they create. The lack of shooters in this Lakers’ lineup led to too many clogged lanes on drives. He will not shoot this poorly again.

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Laker fans can look forward to Lonzo improving as he gets to know his teammates. He flashed the vision that made him the second pick in the 2017 draft tallying five assists and three secondary assists. Those numbers  will go up as he starts to understand where other Lakers want the ball. That was evident when watching his developing connection with Brandon Ingram.