New Orleans Pelicans: Why Lonzo Ball’s assist totals don’t matter

Lonzo Ball of the New Orleans Pelicans is one of the most controversial players in the NBA.

Some fans think he is destined to be a superstar, a triple-double machine that leads a team and fills up a stat sheet, while others think he is merely a complementary role player who might be little overhyped by his legions of passionate fans.

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle, as Lonzo has improved in some areas while seemingly regressing in others.

His 3-point shooting has improved immensely and he is now one of the best high-volume shooters in the NBA.

But some fans have pointed to his lower assist and rebound numbers as proof that he cannot thrive with Zion Williamson and should probably find another team that can maximize his skills.

Raw numbers can be misleading, especially when it comes to assists, which is why fans shouldn’t read too much into Lonzo’s lower assist totals. Here’s why.

New Orleans Pelicans: Lonzo Ball’s shooting is creating space

Lonzo Ball is shooting 38.5 percent from 3-point range on over eight attempts per game, making him the Pels’ best 3-point shooter.

In fact, he is really the only plus 3-point shooter on the team other than Brandon Ingram, who takes fewer from long range and prefers to get his buckets from the mid-range.

Zion Williamson is an unstoppable force of nature in the paint and like Ingram, needs the ball in his hands to be effective. If the Pels didn’t have Lonzo Ball, teams would just pack the paint and dare anyone else to beat them from long-range.

Lonzo may not be getting a ton of assists, but his long range shooting is “assisting” the Pelicans’ spacing and allowing his teammates to thrive.

New Orleans Pelicans: Lonzo Ball keeps the ball moving

Lonzo Ball is getting 5.6 assists per game, lowest of his career since his second season in Los Angeles but he is still a big part of the offense.

He leads the team in touches per game with 76.1 and also leads the team in passes per game with 59.2 and adds another 8.9 potential assists.  Not all of his passes are leading to assists, but Lonzo Ball is keeping the ball moving and in doing so, creating lanes for Zion Williamson to operate.

So while Lonzo Ball’s assist totals may be down, he is still handling and passing the ball more than any Pelican and is helping to facilitate a better offense in the process.

Fans often look at raw numbers and draw incorrect assumptions about what they mean. Lonzo Ball doesn’t have as many assists but his shooting and ball movement are doing more to help the team score points.

The Pelicans certainly understand this, which is why they won’t be looking at assists when they are deciding whether or not to re-sign him in the offseason.