[highflyer0Participant]

 I’ve noticed that people (analysts and fans alike) have maintained the narrative that Lonzo’s rookie season has been a disappointment, due to his anemic first couple months.  However, for the last 10+ games (even after coming back from injury) he has looked like a completely different player.  Honestly, I think the horrific shooting was abberation as he has put together a lot games recently where he’s hit mulitple threes at a nice percentage.

 This might sound crazy to some, and maybe I just didn’t have astronimical expecations of him, but he’s actually looking better than I thought he would this year.  His defense, especially his help defense, is very good for a rookie and should continue to improve.  Getting his shot off does not seem to be much of an issue, and he gets to the rim pretty effectively, despite the critics saying he can’t.  His athleticism is also better than advertised and his open-court speed is very impressive.  The team plays much better with him than do without him, which shows that he is one of the rare rookies that actually has a positive effect on his team’s performance.  

Although I can’t stand Lavar, I don’t think he’s really that huge of an issue.  It’s clear that Lonzo doesn’t let the outlandish comments affect him, and Luke Walton even joked about Lavar after the game tonight.  

Now, perhaps the past dozen or so games are just a hot streak and his shooting truly is as awful as it was earlier in the season.  But if he continues to shoot well, I definitely see an allstar player in the future.  Right now, he’s averaging 10, 7, and 7 and less than three turnovers.  Those numbers, aside from the percentages (which are steadily rising) are fantastic for a rookie point guard, and I think once he gets stronger and learns how to finish in the lane more effectively he’s going to be a much bigger scoring threat than people anticipated.  

Over the last 10 games he’s averaged 14.5 ppg, 6.8 apg, and 6.8 rpg on 44% shooting.  And he has hit three or more three’s in 6 of those 10 games.  

 

[HawklanParticipant]

Can it be that the distance to his father makes Lonzo better?

[The GoatParticipant]

 I don’t like him but I think he’s played well overall. The shooting early on was beyond horrible but he’s had a good season so far for a rookie, better than I thought he’d do. I won’t go so far as to say he’ll be an All Star, but he has time to improve. I can definitely see him being a Ricky Rubio type, who is a legit starter. His father is a negative, and yes, the time apart has probably helped Lonzo concentrate. You can’t choose your parents, but you can choose to not be like them. I hope Lonzo takes notice. 

[Andv1 WaitingParticipant]

I think he is just figuring out how he can get his now and comfort with his team mates…As it would probably be pretty hard to have the following happen to you:

Playing for one of the biggest markets in the NBA.

Here are the keys go beat some of my records:Magic

Lavar: My boy is better than the past MVP/all other contraversial takes…

ESPN: He is the next J Kidd/big thing…Hoping his brand gets as big as Lebrons..

Most NBA PG’S team mates: Bust him up…

All while having to deal with your team mates and not brusing their egos as he already has a bigger brand than most of his team mates and probably gets more media attention which could lead to some resentment/freezing out by them..See his cold streak to how they were starting to not give him the ball as examples..

Give them two years after this one with a consistent team/coach and they should turn it around as long as everyone just buys in and plays their role perfectly…

 

[Magic JordanParticipant]

coming around. 

His 1st 16 games, 30% FG, 22% from 3.

His last 17 games, 39% FG, 36% from 3.  And even hotter if you count from December and on.  

 

  

[mcbaileyParticipant]

 He may or may not be playing better, but those numbers are still atrocious. 

[mgreener_34Participant]

 I’m a believer in Lonzo, and haven’t let the Lavar show ruin my opinion of his son. He’s well spoken, cerebral, and tries to play the game the right way. I hope he does well, and I agree that people are being way to pessimistic his rookie year. 

What really blows my mind is how people sit there and trash this kid, yet the player he’s been compared to the most, Jason Kidd, had an even worse rookie year, especially shooting the ball. Kidd’s team was also in the lottery, and had 2 25 ppg scorers on it…Kidd averaged 12/8/5/2 on 39/27/70 shooting, and didn’t really improve that aspect of his game until his second contract (and that’s being generous to Kidds early shooting woes.) Lonzo is averaging 10/7/7/1/1 on 35/30/45, playing good D, and is finally starting to trend upward. 

What makes finding a good comp for Lonzo hard is his size. Being 6’6 it’s hard to really point to another PG and say, yep that’s who he plays like. He reminds me Brevin Knight in his approach, but Brevin was 5’10 and didn’t average a block a game. Kidd comp is the best, but Kidd had a killer attitude and lethal first step when he first came into the league. What makes Lonzo such a unique PG is the fact that he doesn’t have the ball in his hands a lot. He’s in the top ten in the league in AST and AST% yet only has a 18% usage rating…To give you an indication, Jeff Teague, who is above him in AST’s is at 19.7, Rubio at 22, Elfrid Payton 21. watching him play you can see this, as the ball never sticks in his hands, it’s always a quick pass, two dribbles and pass, or just shoot it. 

He plays an interesting style of basketball, and I know I’m going to get some heat for this, but he reminds me more of Andre Iguodala than most of the HoF pg’s he’s been compared too. If he has that level of impact for the Lakers, than I think they will be happy with their pick

 

 

 

 

[kobyzParticipant]

 Elfrid Payton is the closest comparison to current Lonzo version… The young prospect in the nba right now who’s most remind J Kidd is Bogdan Bogdanovic the kings rookie…

[cominup7Participant]

I like the Iguodala comparison, or even Draymond Green. They’re all ELITE glue guys that make positive plays without having to score, excellent passers, high BBIQ and good all-around ball players.

 

 I think most people that hate on Lonzo’s game are casuals. When I watch him it just seems that he gets it, as far as unselfishly contributing to team winning without having to score, but once he actually finds his rhythm shooting/scoring he’ll have a huge Draymond-like impact for the Lakers

[Ahkasi ClayParticipant]

 Ball is a good player.  Hopefully he fixes his shooting,   

He has been playing better. All it took was getting his dad to go to the other side of the world.

 

[BKGingerSnapParticipant]

In today’s NBA its very difficult to be successful if your starting point guard isn’t a great scorer. Kyrie, Harden, Curry, Westbrook, Lilliard are averaging over 24ppg this season. Isaiah averaged 29ppg last year. Wall, Walker averaged 23ppg last year. And this list doesn’t even include guys Chris Paul, Kyle Lowry, Mike Conley. To me Lonzo just doesn’t have the 1-1 scoring ability, blow by moves, alpha dog mentatlity, and shot creation needed to an all nba level point guard in today’s NBA. 

I think he can be a effective and memorable player in this league who stuff stat sheets and could even follow in Shawn Marion’s footsteps as having the ugliest, effective 3 point shoot in the league. But Lonzo can only be as good as the teammates he plays with and right now only a few organizations feel more dysfunctional than the Lakers.

 

[Author]

Posts