With LeBron James joined the Lakers it immediately placed a new level of pressure on the young core L.A. has built. Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, and Lonzo Ball all now must show marked improvement over the next season to prove they belong in the rotation in 2019-20 when the Lakers make a full effort to create a contender.
The expectations in L.A. for the entire team is raised, but for those young players in particular, the learning curve has gotten much steeper as the allowance for mistakes and the errors of youth gets much smaller with LeBron in town. Ball may feel that pressure more than anyone as the projected starting point guard, who will have to share ball-handling duties with the King.
Ball’s rookie season was a mixed bag, as he showed his talents as a ball-handler, passer, and defender, but struggled mightily as a shooter and scorer from just about everywhere on the court. Most of his issues stem from his jump shot form, which has long been a topic of conversation, and as Gilbert Arenas recently explained in a video for Complex, his unique shot has a negative effect on so many aspects of his offensive game beyond just a poor shooting percentage.
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Arenas’ analysis is a fascinating glimpse into how NBA players can dissect so many parts of the game that the casual fan doesn’t even really consider. The foot placement and ball placement, as Arenas notes, leads Ball to almost never pull up for a quick jumper because he simply can’t get his shot off, and it makes for a very simple scouting report on him as a point guard since he lacks the ability to stop and pull up for a shot.
It will be interesting to see how Ball’s shot develops over his career, as he and others around him seem insistent that he doesn’t need to completely overhaul his form. It’s reasonable to think he can be a perfectly fine three-point shooter with his form as is — he’s shown that ability at every level prior to the NBA — but as Arenas points out, the issues go much deeper than just poor shooting from long range.
