Lonzo Ball providing two-way force, closing in on consistency with Pelicans

Coming over to the New Orleans Pelicans in the offseason, Lonzo Ball was a guy with some hardened traits, but his game simply oozes with potential.

After missing six straight games but playing well early in the season, the Pelicans have enjoyed the return of Lonzo Ball to their rotations on this road trip.

So far this season, Lonzo Ball hasn’t been a perfect player, but he’s given the team a swiss army knife of a modern NBA basketball skillset. The team’s needed his two-way edge as they’ve continued to navigate a loaded Western Conference and a tough early-season schedule.

Over the last pair of games, Lonzo Ball was held to a minute count as he continues to recover from a right adductor injury.

Coming off the bench playing 20 minutes against the Phoenix Suns and 25 minutes last night against the Utah Jazz, it seems reasonable that the minute restrictions will be lifted from Ball tonight against the LA Clippers.

Playing a really impressive game two-way game with 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists off the bench against Utah, Ball is starting to play really good, smart basketball with his new team.

He’s struggled a tad from the field, shooting 33.3% on 12 attempts over the last two games. Still, playing 22.1 minutes over the last pair of nights, Ball is averaging 10.5 points, 4.5 assists, and 2.5 rebounds, moving the ball well while hitting 5-of-14 of his threes.

He’s scoring at the highest rate of this career and his shooting numbers have improved quite a bit from his time with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Lonzo may be averaging less than his career totals in assists and rebounds, but the scoring ability of the 21-year-old point guard was an area that needed the most refinement.

On the season, Ball is averaging 11.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists, shooting 36.5% from three with a 50.5% effective field goal rate. Playing a career-low 27.6 minutes per game, he’s still shooting and career-high 2.3 of his 6.3 attempts from three per contest.

Looking improved as a shooter after working heavily in the offseason with Pelicans’ assistant Fred Vinson to remove his infamous hitch from his jump shot.

It’s greatly helped his shooting as a whole, perhaps nowhere more important than the free-throw line, where he’s shooting a career-high 60% from the stripe, nearly twenty percentage points better than his 41.7% rate last season.

Getting Ball going at an even higher rate on offense seems like an inevitability, as he continues to look more and more interested in playing downhill basketball.

For his entire career, folks have waited patiently while the quick-footed guard learns to dive to the rim off pick-and-rolls. He’s shooting a career-high 73.6% on shots within three feet but needs to continue attempting looks from that range, where he can be deadly.

Lonzo has the foot speed to be one of the better interior-scoring guards in the league, but like many angles of his game, he needs to develop consistency in his plan of attack.

While we might focus on the offensive creativity of Lonzo Ball, it’s the defense that stands out for the guard in year three of his young career.

There’s something captivating about watching Lonzo on the defensive end of the floor. He rotates with utter brilliance, can handle many different kinds of players in man schemes, and causes all sorts of deflections that push the ball in the team’s direction.

Lonzo Ball is also a huge factor in a Pelicans defensive team that ranks sixth in the league in steals, as the guard contributes 1.3 steals of the team’s 8.7 steals per contest. Ball also ranks second on the New Orleans Pelicans causing 3.3 deflections per game.

What’s been nice to monitor from the third-year player is how much muscle and strength he’s added between each season.

Standing 6’6″, 190 LBS with a 6’9″ wingspan, Lonzo has an ideal frame for a two-way guard in the NBA, especially with his incredible quickness. While Pelicans fans might be impressed with the physical traits of Zion Williamson, Lonzo shows some daunting athleticism of his own.

Having a defensive rover like Ball a team that cannot find a flow on the defensive end is going to be a continuing key in getting that unit back on track.

Too often this season, Brandon Ingram has struggled against smaller offensive players, while J.J. Redick has a negative wingspan, is a tad undersized, and has career-spanning defensive issues.

Putting Ball alongside the duo makes the unit much more switchable. For any player struggling with an offensive player, Lonzo has looked more than capable of manning up and taking care of the target, really no matter the size.

The career defensive metrics on Ball are pretty impressive, with a career 108 defensive rating and +1.8 defensive plus-minus, he gave the Lakers a defensive edge over the last two seasons.

Giving the New Orleans Pelicans that defensive edge now, he’s been a huge benefit as the team adjusts to Jeff Bzdelik’s system, one that the team hasn’t shown quick adjustments in as a whole.

This does bring up the running “should Lonzo Ball come off the bench” question.

As the New Orleans Pelicans trend closer towards full health, most notably with Zion Williamson about four weeks from a return, Alvin Gentry is going to have a lot more choices to make in his rotations.

With Jrue Holiday starting to play really quality basketball and Redick giving the team a stabilizing force, there’s not a whole lot of logical reasons to have three guards in their starting lineup.

Lonzo Ball is such a versatile player, but it seems like he doesn’t have the set-in-stone role for this Pelicans team that could allow the guard to develop a better sense of consistency.

While relinquishing Lonzo to the bench might feel like a demotion in the eyes of some, it actually makes a lot of sense for both the player and the team.

Theoretically, Ball could give this team a ton off of the bench as the enforcer for that unit. In this line of thinking, Lonzo would still play about 30~34 minutes per contest, but Alvin Gentry could play him in much more strategic spots.

Think Manu Ginobili for the San Antonio Spurs dynasty or Lou Williams for the LA Clippers. Teams need players who are willing to come off the bench but can still play heavy volumes of minutes including crunch time.

The two-way talent of Lonzo Ball is obvious, but the role is less of a given. Granted, the Pelicans have a lot to learn about Lonzo and a lot of time to do it, but giving the guard the guaranteed “six-man” role seems like a beneficial move for both parties.

Lonzo Ball gives the Pelicans a lot of good things and hopefully, the consistency will come with time. However, it seems like another piece from the Anthony Davis swap is yielding positive long term solidarity for the organization with a whole lot to like for their future.