New Orleans Pelicans: Lonzo and LaMelo Ball can’t shoot? Think again.

When Lonzo Ball joined the New Orleans Pelicans, the knock against him was that he had a broken  shot that couldn’t be fixed. Same for younger brother LaMelo, whose draft ceiling was lowered because of his wonky shot.

No one ever denied that the Ball brothers were special, and if you looked at Lonzo vs. LaMelo you’d see a lot of similarities. Both have plus size for the point guard position, and both have elite court vision and slick passing that will fill up the highlight reels.

Lonzo Ball had a weird looking shot on the Lakers, but since joining the New Orleans Pelicans, has changed his shot completely under the tutelage of Fred Vinson.

There were also questions about LaMelo’s shooting, as he too had a weird looking shot that needed some adjustment.

After the start both have had this season, opinions are starting to change.

Let’s take a look at the numbers.

New Orleans Pelicans: Lonzo vs. LaMelo Ball, who is the better shooter?

LaMelo Ball is just 19-years-old and has been better than advertised. He is frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, mostly because his shooting has been a lot better than people expected.

LaMelo is shooting just 43 percent overall but is 34.6 percent from 3-point range on 5.2 attempts per game. He’s been even better of late, becoming the youngest player to ever hit seven 3-point shots in a recent game against Houston.

Lonzo Ball has been even better. He too is shooting 43 percent overall but has raised his 3-point average to 39.1 percent for the season on 7.7 attempts per game, both are which are improvements over last season.

Lonzo has been especially hot lately. Over his last 12 games Lonzo has shot 85 from behind the arc and made 45 of them for a blistering 52.9 percent.

He has become a perfect player to put around Zion Williamson, as he can defend all over the floor and stretch it with his shooting.

False narratives often follow players around, mostly because fans and media are too lazy to dig into the numbers or update their thinking on a guy.

Both Lonzo and LaMelo Ball are better shooters than anyone thought they’d be and it has changed the ceiling of what they can be in the NBA.

The New Orleans Pelicans would be foolish to trade Lonzo Ball at this point and the Hornets now look like they got the best player from last year’s draft.

Flash and swagger aside, the Ball brothers are hard workers who knew what they had to improve and got it done.