DRAFT TALK Thread: Looking Like Lonzo

Kyrie played a dozen games before his foot injury so it's not a apples to apples comp

 

Or the 4-5 turnovers Russell and Randle averaged together.

 

Don't remind me haha

This is why I think there's a really good chance assuming everyone improved a little and with Ball and maybe some good cheap vets. This Laker squad can win 42 games and squeeze into the playoffs.

 

The article doesn't really go in depth of how they could work together, just provided a few examples of how Ball would be playing off ball, which I would think Russell would be primarily playing off ball if Lonzo was initiating the offense.

I'll try to go a little deeper into why I think these two would pair well, at least offensively starting with D'Angelo off ball.

D'Angelo is probably a much better shooter than what his 35% average makes him out to be. His stroke is quick, smooth, and in rhythm. When he's hot, he hits them with ease. I felt that as the primary ball handler and responsible for initiating the offense, he could not get into a rhythm that a shooting guard could. He would be forced to take contested shots, take shots off the dribble which I'm sure are tougher than spot up shots and catch and shoot situations, and he always had to think about the next pass.

With Ball's vision, and the use of off ball movement and screens, we could give Russell the type of looks Curry and Thompson get, which always seems to be high percentage.

Additionally, I love Lonzo's ability to push the tempo off of a rebound. Lonzo is really fast with the ball in his hands and he can get the ball up court quick. This gets the team active and running to spots on the floor without allowing defenses to set. Again, higher percentage shots.

Lonzo's abiilty to get to the basket will cause defenses to collapse on him and space the floor effectively. Russell was good at using the pick and roll, but he wasn't much of a rim attacker as Lonzo is. Russell will benefit with the spacing from good penetration.

Where Lonzo is not quite effective one on one using pick and rolls, is where we can use Russell. D'Angelo's use of the screen and midrange jumper is his bread and butter, and he can get a variety of shots off with ease.

With Lonzo's ability to space the floor with his shot, it'll give Russell more room to operate and keep defense's honest. This worked well with Nick Young early on the season, giving Russell an option if he got stuck. I also see Russell as an option in the post and Luke utilizing a version of the triangle to get spacing and wide open shots the way Derek Fisher did in that system.

I also think Lonzo's athleticism is going understated. The guy can get up and with some power in some of those dunks and alley-oops. He's no slouch. Same goes for Russell's passing, he's makes some great, sometimes flashy passes. So the same way we can use D'Angelo off ball, we can get Lonzo the open looks and back door screens and alley-oop plays I saw at UCLA as well.

The beauty of these two together is that although they might bring different skills to the table, they have A LOT Of skills together. Both can shoot, both have passing ability, both can handle the ball. Combo guard size to switch on defense and a swagger each possess on the court that could vibe really well for some fun basketball.

 

I'm warming up to the idea of Ball and Russell. I'm starting to think it can work.

 

so we wont be able to see Ball vs Fox?

 

Don MacLean playing some reverse psychology Lavar Ball style?

 

Donnie Mac also said DLo was the best

funny:

 

SPORTS SCIENCE ON LONZO BALL'S SHOT MECHANICS!!!!

 

0.47 for Lonzo vs 0.45 for Klay

Yeah like I said the critics can pick on his shot all they want, it still goes in!