Much of Lonzo Ball’s scoring in his career as a professional has come from beyond the arc. Prior to this season, 42.5% of Ball’s made field goals in his career came from beyond the arc.
While it was always a constant talking point about his game, Ball has finally taken a step forward in his development as a scorer by improving his finishing at the rim. This season, Ball is shooting 62% at the rim, per Cleaning the Glass. It’s a career-high mark, besting the 58% he shot at the rim last year.
It’s not simply a matter of him attacking the rim more frequently. Last season in 47 games, Ball attempted 153 shots at the rim. This season in 45 games, he’s attempted 108 at the rim. The improvements have come with greater body control and knowledge of how to finish at the rim paired with him being at full health for an extended stretch, a rarity in his brief career.
One of the biggest reasons Ball has been a better finisher this year is because he’s being put in more ball screen situations. Per Synergy, Ball had 141 possessions as a pick-and-roll ball-handler and while it was his most frequent possession, he has already had 178 possessions this season in the pick and roll.
Ball’s work in the pick and roll is still in need of improvement but he has a high enough basketball IQ that he knows what play needs to be made. Often, opponents go over the pick against him and he correctly attacks the rim.
One of the areas he’s most improved upon is not simply barrelling to the rim whether on foot or through the air without considering how he’s going to finish the shot before he gets there.
In this clip, Kemba Walker goes well under the screen but Ball eats up the space given to him, knocks Walker back, stays under control and feeds Derrick Favors for the dunk.
In this clip, Ball takes advantage of the defense shading hard for a potential JJ Redick three-pointer and drives past Anthony Davis before using his athleticism and explosiveness to finish authoritatively.
Here’s another clip of ball attacking the basket, remaining under control to go around a defender and finishing at the basket.
Two of the best examples of Ball’s newfound aggressiveness in attacking the rim came in the fourth quarter of the Pelicans’ win over the Pacers on Saturday.
The first drive came with Ball rejecting the screen before looking off Domantas Sabonis long enough to finish over him through contact.
Ball’s confidence, which has long played a part in his game on the court, was in attacking the basket is at an all-time high as evidenced by his huge bucket down the stretch. After having Myles Turner mismatch on him with just under 90 seconds left, Ball used his patented stepback motion to get Turner off-balance before driving past him and finishing over one of the league’s best rim protectors.
That play encapsulates many of the things Ball has improved on this season. His three-point jumper has been consistent enough that defenders have to respect it, which leads to Turner lunging out for just a split second too long. Ball takes advantage of that, keeps Turner on his hip and finishes high off the glass to avoid the shot being blocked.
The numbers are still coming along for Ball this season and while they don’t quite yet reflect his improvement, he’s taking big steps in the right direction this season.
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