One of the knocks on point guard Lonzo Ball coming out of UCLA when the Los Angeles Lakers drafted him with the No. 2 overall pick was his unique shooting form.
Many experts did not believe Ball could be an effective NBA three-point shooter with his shooting style as it may take him longer to release the ball than other good shooters.
At UCLA, Ball was a very good three-point shooter as he knocked them down at a 41.2 percent clip. He struggled with his shot in the Las Vegas Summer League though, and so far through three career NBA games, he is shooting just 34.8 percent overall and 29.4 percent from three-point range.
Los Angeles Lakers head coach was asked after Tuesday’s practice if he will try to change Ball’s shooting style, and the answer was no, via Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum SportsNet:
Lonzo’s unique shooting style won’t be changed.
“For us to try to mess with it would be silly,” Luke said, b/c “the ball goes in the net.”
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) October 24, 2017
Changing his shooting style may be something to consider down the road, but doing it just three games into his career doesn’t really make sense as the sample size is too small.
The Lakers are hoping that Ball can get closer to his shooting stats from college, but even if he doesn’t Ball still finds other ways to impact the game as he is averaging 9.3 rebounds and 8.7 assists so far on the season.
Also, although his shot hasn’t been falling, Walton has said that he is happy with Ball’s aggressiveness looking to score, something that hasn’t always been the case with the pass-first guard. So look for Ball to continue to look to score if that is what the defense is giving him.