This is crazy seriously with the coincidences of Lonzo being out for seems like every time we play Sacramento and Fox since Summer League 2017. Totally looks to a casual observer and probably Fox himself like Ball is ducking him. https://www.yahoo.com/sports/lakers-guard-ball-tweaks-ankle-012234508.html
Not a good performance given the expectation level. If he was like pick 36 or something nbd but come on son...
I’m high on the kid, but he’s not going to last long on this team with continued games like this. Has he even had a really good game since Denver? I’m glad he was able to play after tweaking the ankle, but again, not gonna last, because we are in win now mode, and eventually LeBron is going to weed out the guys he wants here and doesn’t. You’ve also got guys from his draft class like Fox, Mitchell, and Smith at his position outplaying him right now, and it starts to become a problem. I don’t know what is up with him, but he better figure it out. The only positives I can list right now are that his defense and defensive effort/going after offensive boards remains pretty consistent, as well as his court vision of course being a huge plus.
If they can land us any kind of all-star that would mesh with LeBron I can see it happening. We’re lucky these guys had such mediocre/poor games against a sliding Kings team, a good team we probably lose. LeBron and Magic’s patience is only going to last so long if these kids aren’t taking steps forward and learning how to win. Kuz fits with LeBron, Hart fits with LeBron, Ingram is struggling to and Lonzo started off looking good next to him, but looks bad right now.
Ball got cooked by Fox. It was embarrassing to see him airball a layup just to follow up it up with b2b airballs on jumpshots. The 3 air ball, nobody was within 12 feet. He was wide wide wide open. Absolutely unacceptable even for a scrub. It wasn't even surprising, it was vintage Lonzo. This is who he is, this is what he does. I hope he is gone soon. He has an issue between the ears which isn't fixable. I give him credit for being more aggressive but clearly he doesn't bring enough to the table on a nightly basis. Enough of this garbage 4/3/4 games with lethargic body language and a sad panda face. Ship his azz out.
Magic got conned by Lavar into getting his boy, Zo plays like a 2nd rounder rather than a second over all pick
I don't think it has all to do with LeBron. That's kind of making it easy. Kuzma and Hart have it, Lonzo does not. It's the same story from last year being continued. Kuz and Hart overachieved while Lonzo was a disappointment. This is intrinsic. Great players find ways to succeed. As for Ingram he is what he is. A versatile forward with good defensive potential and good play making ability. Not a great fit but also doesn't get to showcase his strengths. Right now he is certainly not untouchable. I still would not trade him unless we find an ideal player.
It was my concern and why I was so critical about Lonzo the entire summer. It was frustrating that he couldn’t work on his game in the summer because he had his knee surgery. Because of that, it’s no surprise that we have seen NO improvement in his game from the previous season. Can anyone honestly tell me what aspect of his game has improved? We were all cautiously optimistic by tweaking his shot his field goal percentage would improve but it looks like that was false hope and he is regressing back to what he was last season. Although Ingram doesn’t seem like a natura fit next to LeBron, u can still see improvement to his game because of what he worked on over the summer. His midrange game seems ok and he has a more aggressive mentality compared to last year. Before the Sacramento game last night I even had thoughts that Jamal Murray has come a long way since his rookie season compared to Lonzo. I know Jamal is a bit of a punk but I honestly believe he’s head and shoulders better than Lonzo. Think of it from this perspective, if the Lakers and Nuggets actually agreed to trade Lonzo for Murray... the Lakers would be a better team while the Nuggets take a step back. This thought exercise could work for a lot of young point guards... Ball for Fox, Ball for Mitchell, Ball for Dennis Smith, Ball for Trey Young.. crap, even Ball for D’Angelo. Message has to be clear to Lonzo. It was communicated pretty clearly we needed you to get better to be an important part of the team. You aren’t delivering, we might be shipping you out now
Lonzo needs a system where his skillset is highlighted. His skillset is playing PG. He is being relegated to spot up shooter half the game. He will never be the player he is suppose to be if they don't make him the lead guard for an entire game.
The problem with this thought is Lonzo just isn’t good in half court sets. He can’t create for others in the halfcourt the way Rondo can.... which makes him exactly what u mentioned, a spot up shooter.... a bad spot up shooter. I also don’t know what other system would make Lonzo excel and look good. You would think this current system of open court fast paced, open court, grab the rebound and run, get easy shots would be perfect for Lonzo... but he sort of is what he is.
