New Orleans Pelicans: Will LaMelo Ball be better than Lonzo?

The New Orleans Pelicans already have Lonzo Ball but will his brother LaMelo Ball be even better?

The New Orleans Pelicans think Lonzo Ball will be a star, but the real question is whether he will be better than his brother LaMelo Ball.

Lonzo Ball took a step last season, improving his shooting, becoming a better defender and taking more of a leadership role on the New Orleans Pelicans.

He still has a level or two to go to be considered a top-five point guard, but most believe he will get there, as he has all of the tools. Lonzo Ball could end up being one of the best point guards in the league and still not be the best one in his own family.

Some have even suggested the two should play together, which would make Lonzo the second banana Ball on his own team.

LaMelo Ball is expected to go in the top-3 of this year’s NBA Draft, and many scouts believe he will be even better than Lonzo.

On a recent episode of the Hoop Collective podcast, scout Mike Schmitz had this to say about LaMelo when compared to his brother:

"“I think the difference between him and Lonzo is that this kid has never-ending confidence. He’s not afraid of anything whereas that’s what Lonzo kind of had to work through and then in LA, (he) wasn’t shooting it well, teams were going under screens, weren’t respecting him and then he wasn’t really looking at the rim. He’s still working his way back there but LaMelo is an incredibly confident kid.”"

New Orleans Pelicans: LaMelo Ball could be even better than Lonzo

It’s strange to hear someone say that Lonzo Ball lacks confidence, as one of the biggest knocks against the Ball family is that they are “too confident.”

But if you watched Lonzo Ball last season then you know what Schmitz is talking about. He was often reluctant to go to the hoop, and when he did, had trouble finishing at the rim.

Part of this is because Lonzo is a pass-first guy who always looks for a teammate, but the other part is that Lonzo does, in fact, lack confidence.

Not only is he poor at finishing at the rim, but Lonzo Ball is a terrible free-throw shooter, which makes him even more reluctant to draw contact when he does penetrate.

He helped himself somewhat last season by improving to 38 percent from 3-point range but Lonzo will not be a complete player until he has more confidence in his ability to penetrate and finish.

LaMelo Ball, on the other hand, does not seem to care where he is on the floor, he will put it up. Even though his shot needs work, he lacks no confidence, especially around the rim.

This could come from the fact that LaMelo Ball has always been the centerpiece of his team, while Lonzo plays more of a secondary role on the New Orleans Pelicans when it comes to scoring.

Another factor is that LaMelo shoots free throws at 72.3 percent while Lonzo struggled at 56.6 percent last season.

For Lonzo Ball to reach his full potential, he has to be more of a threat to score off the bounce and he absolutely must improve his free-throw shooting.

If not, he won’t even be the most talented Ball in the NBA, as LaMelo is going to come in with endless swagger and the ability to back it up.