Lonzo Ball is one of the more unique point guards in the NBA. Not a traditional point guard that slows down and dictates the opposite, Ball uses his high basketball IQ to push the pace and run a high-tempo offense.
Part of what makes him unique is also what holds him back in other aspects. Ball has never been a particularly effective guard in pick-and-roll situations and only last season did he become a respectable shooter from range.
In speaking with the media on Monday, Stan Van Gundy acknowledged the uniqueness of Ball while also discussing many of the areas he needs to improve upon.
“He’s a guy that I want to try to put in some different situations but I think the thing that we really want to focus on improvement with him in terms of playing the game is being a little bit more aggressive on pick-and-rolls in particular to turn the corner and go to the basket to score. I think he can be a better finisher turning the corner on his drives and I think it’s a mindset. He’s so unselfish and such a great passer that I think there’s times he’s coming off looking to pass and then what opens up is the basket and, my experience is, it’s hard to adjust from the pass to the shot whereas if you’re thinking score and the help comes, a guy with Lonzo’s instincts will see the play.
So, we just sort of need to turn that around with him but his passing ability, his ability in transition and his three-point shooting alone make him a very, very good player. And I think, like, we’ve got a lot of guys who are playmakers now and I think playing multiple playmakers together is a good thing in today’s game particularly in the amount of switching you see and everything else. Your ability to break people down off the dribble and make plays is absolutely essential and I think having more of those guys gives you an advantage.”
Van Gundy gave a more detailed answer as to how he’d use Ball when discussing the Pelicans on Zach Lowe’s podcast The Lowe Post prior to the NBA bubble and him being New Orleans’ head coach.
“…Like, we’ve been reading about…with Philly Ben Simmons playing more as a traditional four. I sort of think of Ben Simmons as the point guard in transition, lets go ahead and outlet to him or he’s such a great rebounder like Lonzo Ball is. Take it off the glass and go ahead and be our point guard in transition. And then in the halfcourt, fine, we’ll use Ben Simmons as the screener in the pick and roll. I think there’s going to be more and more guys in the league like that where, in transition they’re going to play one position and in the half-court, they’re going to have a whole other role and I think that’s where Lonzo Ball fits for these guys.”
Last season, Ball ranked in just the 11th percentile as a pick-and-roll ballhandler, per Synergy, despite it being his second-most common play type. As Van Gundy noted, he was poor as a finisher in those situations, ranking in the 14th percentile on drives to the basket out of ball screen situations.
Also as Van Gundy notes, Ball was a willing and able passer. On offense derived from pick and rolls for Ball, he ranked in the 66th percentile and was particularly adept in passes to the roll man, ranking in the 74th percentile.
If Ball can add an element of scoring to his pick-and-roll repertoire, he could become a significantly more effective offensive player. Unfortunately, the shortened off-season may hinder how much Ball or any other player can improve their game. It’ll certainly be a storyline worth watching as the season quickly nears.