Luke Walton Thinks Lonzo Ball Is Letting His Shooting Woes Affect Him Too Much

Wednesday night’s game between the Sixers and Lakers at Staples Center was originally billed as Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons vs. Lonzo Ball. After the game, everyone was talking about Embiid’s unreal performance, with some residual buzz about Simmons’ near triple double.

For the Lakers, the stars were Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma, the Lakers “other” rookie, with Lonzo Ball ending up tallying only two points, two assists, and five rebounds on the night in 21 minutes. Ball was an abject disaster on Wednesday night. The national TV spotlight on the rookie point guard only highlighted the mistakes and gave a stark example to the viewing audience what his struggles have been all season.

Ball’s shooting has been an issue all season, but his 1-of-9 performance (0-of-6 from three) against Philadelphia was among his very worst. What made the evening worse for Ball was it was clear he was searching for answers and his impact in other areas, which at times has been able to keep him on the court despite shooting problems, was non-existent. After the game, Lakers coach Luke Walton pointed to that being the biggest concern for him, noting Ball was letting his shooting struggles affect his ability to impact the game in ways beyond scoring.

The Lakers played the most crucial minutes of the game with Lonzo on the bench, watching as Kuzma, Ingram, and the rest valiantly tried to fend off the Embiid onslaught. While so much time has been spent discussing the physical mechanics of Ball’s unorthodox form, what is most concerning is that he’s clearly struggling with the mental aspect of the game and desperate to figure out the answers. Just look at this sequence in which he hoists two three-pointers in succession that miss (very) badly.

Notice how quick he is on the first shot from picking the ball up to his release, compared to the much slower rhythm of his second attempt. Neither works, and it’s obvious that he’s searching for answers in game, hoping to find the thing that clicks. Ball’s concern over his jump shot failing him has spilled over to the rest of his game, which is unfortunate. His passing ability and vision is elite and he can impact a game in a positive manner for the Lakers without shooting, but only if he’s mentally engaged and not fretting over that shot.

It’s going to take some time for Ball to get out of this funk, but he’s at least aware that it’s a problem, as he concurred with Walton’s assessment of his shooting affecting the rest of his game.

There’s immense pressure on the young point guard in Los Angeles, some of which has been self-inflicted. However, it’s still tough to see any young player going through these kinds of struggles, and hopefully he’ll find his way sooner rather than later.