Lonzo Ball’s improvement as a shooter in his third season in the league has done very little to stem the talk around him as a long-term prospect. Despite shooting 37.5% from three on the year as a whole, a career-high mark, and putting together a 45-game stretch from December through March’s shut down where he shot 39.2%, not everyone is a believer in Ball.
The Athletic’s Will Guillory recently penned a piece detailing some of the decisions the Pelicans have ahead of them in the coming months and years. Included in the piece was a section on Ball that included discussions about his friendship with Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson as well as a quote from a former Eastern Conference executive on his game.
“I really like the way Lonzo sees the game, but his shooting is a real concern. If he shoots it with confidence, he’ll be a great asset for them. But he has to space it to give Zion (Williamson) and (Brandon Ingram) the room they need.”
The last point is correct in that Ball does need to space the floor for Ingram and Williamson, but that was something he did much of the limited time the trio spent together. Over the 360 minutes the trio played together, Ball shot 37.7% from three.
When focusing on the pre-bubble portion of those minutes to factor out Ball’s poor finish to the season, he shot 38.7% in 299 minutes with Ingram and Williamson. Boiling Ball’s worth with Williamson and Ingram down to just shooting, though, does a disservice to the rest of his skills.
When the trio played together this season, the Pelicans had an 11.3 net rating. Compare that to the -13.9 minutes when just Ingram and Williamson were on the court without Ball and his value starts to become more apparent.
Still, though, Ball’s value for many will at the very least start with how well he can shoot the ball playing next to the two franchise cornerstones. But given the relatively small sample size to go off of, fans of Ball and the Pelicans should have little to worry about.