Lonzo Ball is doing the little things, could be point-Draymond for Pels

Off to a quiet, yet generally impressive start in his third year in the NBA, Lonzo Ball is being the team-first player that can help a club win on the margins.

When the New Orleans Pelicans traded Anthony Davis to begin their reload, Lonzo Ball was always going to be key to whatever resulted on the back end. So far in the Big Easy, he hasn’t made a monumental leap, but Ball certainly looks like a guy worth having in their starting five.

So far this season, Ball has appeared in all six of the Pelicans games and has been a bright spot during the team’s 1-5 kick-off to their campaign.

Out of the gate, Lonzo Ball is averaging 12 points, 7.3 assists, 5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals while playing around 31.5 minutes per contest.

Partially due to a renewed shooting stroke, Ball is looking much more assertive from the floor, shooting 40.6% from the floor, 37.8% from three, and 60% from the free-throw line, all being career-best percentages from the third-year player.

With the improved stroke, Ball is finally starting to mold into the player some people projected him to be when he was considered by teams highly out of college. However, he’s only 21-years-old and sometimes refinement for point guards is a longer process than other positions.

Lonzo Ball is unique for his level of talent in that he’s far more focused on setting up teammates than scoring. His 1.42 assists-to-usage rate is in the 93-percentile per Cleaning the Glass, making him one of the least selfish and most focused distributors in the league to start the year.

Seemingly elevated in confidence from his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, especially as he steps out of the shadow of LeBron James, Lonzo is looking like the director of a new offensive future for the Pelicans.

Missing a season ago, Lonzo seemed more intimated to crash towards the rim, taking away a facet of his game that previously made him such a tantalizing prospect.

However, fans at home are probably most excited to see how Lonzo looks when he’s next to Zion Williamson.

The two seem like a match made in alley-oop heaven, a point guard and scorer who run in transition with the same hard-nosed agility.

Since riding the bench in crunch time in the team’s season-opening loss to the Toronto Raptors, Ball is increasingly and continually finding more of an impact role in New Orleans.

Coming into a system that’s tailor-made for point guards of his profile, Alvin Gentry’s offensive system allows guards like Lonzo Ball to play downhill. Lonzo is often his most creative lighting up a defense chasing his elite speed in transition, where he can crash or (usually) hit an open man.

In a league where players aren’t always willing to do the little things, Lonzo Ball plays with such high basketball IQ that he helps the team in ways that won’t show up in the box score.

Lonzo Ball was expected to be the next Magic Johnson when the Los Angeles Lakers selected him with the second-overall pick out of UCLA. When he stopped short of NBA Legend through two full years, the ever-impatient LA fans soured on all the positives the young player put forward.

Sometimes when watching Ball, I simply can’t take my eyes off of what he’s doing on the floor and in more situations than not I’m most captivated by what he’s doing without the ball in his hands.

Much like Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors, Ball is a guy who makes his team better when he’s on the floor. Ball has some steps to take to become the defensive enforcer that Green has become in Golden State, there’s potential for Ball to become a fantastic glue guy.

Green has carved out his niche in this league as the guy who doesn’t do the superstar things but instead does the small things that affect winning and losing. In turn, he was matched with a 4-yr., $100 million contract to keep making a difference after winning three championships.

Lonzo Ball needs to be the same player for the New Orleans Pelicans. With Zion and Brandon Ingram projecting like traditional scoring stars, Ball has to make their life easier.

So far, Ingram is off to a career-best start and looks boosted by the clever distribution from Ball.

The metrics haven’t been super reflective of his own performance, as the team’s starting unit has struggled to contain opposing teams.

He’s posting a +1.3 offensive box plus/minus, but the team is -0.7 when he’s on the floor. Granted, that’s the best rating among Pelicans players who’ve started at least three games.

However, the Pelicans need more out of their starting five in general. There’s been some criticism from fans about the pairing of Lonzo and Jrue Holiday, but truly it takes five to make the game run.

Increased focus on the defensive end from all New Orleans Pelicans would be an ideal development heading into the future.

Ball plays a really impressive brand of perimeter defense, but it’ll be interesting to see if Jeff Bzdelik can transform him into an even better multipositional defender.

While he’s a brilliant and flashy passer, his offensive spacing wisdom and off-ball defense are two of the most exhilarating pieces of the young guard’s game.

Uniquely large for a point guard, Ball stands 6’6″ with plenty of muscle, which he uses to propel him at a turbo-rate across the court. His large stature makes him a daunting defensive ask for a smaller guard, but allows him to match-up with bigger wings on the other end.

It’s been a nice start for Lonzo Ball and hopefully, for the future of the team, his development just continues. Modeling his game to be the do-it-all guard for the Pelicans, he can make this team into a formidable threat in the Western Conference as he develops over the next few years.

Overall, there are fewer distractions for Lonzo in this new situation. Ideally, a clear head and focused mind make all the difference for the incredibly talented young player.

Hopefully, Lonzo Ball continues to provide this team with the same intensity and focus he has through the first six frames. He’ll make this team a lot better if he can be a glue guy, even if his Hollywood father would prefer his son plays like a superstar.