Before the New Orleans Pelicans tipped off against the Detroit Pistons on Monday, head coach Alvin Gentry announced that Lonzo Ball will come off the bench and Kenrich Williams will start in his place. Ball has started all but three games for the Pelicans this season. Meanwhile, Williams, a second-year guard out of TCU, has started 12 games this season.
On reputation alone, Ball’s demotion doesn’t make much sense, but on paper it was the right decision for Gentry to make. Williams has the highest net rating on the team through 21 games this season and has posted a team-high defensive rating of 108.4. It’s not great, but it’s the best they have right now.
The decision was also made easy by just how bad Ball has been to start the season. In his first season with the Pelicans, Ball is posting a net rating of -10.2 and a defensive rating of 115.2.
It really just boils down to the fact that the Pelicans are much better with Williams on the floor — particularly with the starting five — and much worse with Ball on it.
Gonna keep harping on this. pic.twitter.com/vinbrSDq2d
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) December 8, 2019
The good news for Ball is that he’ll be able to handle the ball more and initiate the offense off the bench, assuming he doesn’t spend too much time playing with the likes of Jrue Holiday and Brandon Ingram. The better Ball looks controlling the team’s offensive flow, the better his chances of starting again will be — whether it’s with the Pelicans or another team.
[lawrence-related id=18580,18564]