Lonzo Ball made himself clear on Saturday: Triple-doubles don’t mean anything to
him if they come in losses.
“I really don’t care,” he said after falling to Milwaukee. “We took a loss, so
it really doesn’t mean nothing.”
While that is an ideal mentality for the 20-year-old key piece to the Lakers’
future, that doesn’t mean that his stat-stuffing performance was irrelevant.
On the contrary, Ball’s 19 points, 13 assists, 12 rebounds, four blocks and
three steals signaled a player who can affect every area of the game — which
obviously improves the team’s potential for future wins.
“The triple-double is going to be the norm for him,” said Bucks coach Jason
Kidd, who has the third-most triple-doubles in NBA history (107). “He’s going to
fill up stat sheets. We just need to give him time.”
Here are the most telling moments from the youngest triple-double in NBA
history.
19 points This was one of the most encouraging shooting performances of Ball’s
young career, and it began with a splash from deep.
Here, Milwaukee dares Ball — who entered the game hitting just 22.0 percent on
3’s — to shoot by going under the screen in pick-and-roll.
Lonzo correctly decides to pull up from deep and makes them pay with the triple.
“My confidence is going to stay the same all year,” Ball said. “I’ve been
shooting my whole life, so I’m not gonna stop now.”
Lonzo also spotted up for two more treys, giving him a 3-of-5 clip from deep for
a team that can certainly use more shooting. More nights like this would be
crucial for the Lakers’ spacing and help open up their half-court offense.
Inside of the arc, Ball shot 4-of-7 with a couple driving layups, a floater and
this nice cut off the ball.
Lonzo gets a screen from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and then uses Eric Bledsoe’s
aggressiveness against him. Bledsoe tries to deny him the ball, so he cuts to
the hoop, gets a good pass from Brook Lopez and finishes through contact for the
and-1.
13 assists This is the pass that Lakers fans have already come to expect from
their rookie point guard. Lonzo gets the ball from behind the opponent’s free
throw line and notices that Brandon Ingram has a path to the basket on the other
end of the court.
He nonchalantly whips the ball 65 feet down the floor to Ingram, as his patented
outlet pass leads to an easy fast-break dunk.
Ball also showed excellent composure in pick-and-rolls against the Bucks,
particularly during a seven-assist second quarter that gave him a double-double
before halftime.
Milwaukee is one of the league’s most aggressive teams in guarding
pick-and-rolls, as it likes to double-team ball handlers with its long-armed
defenders. Rather than being overwhelmed, Ball made split-second decisions and
found a rolling Julius Randle three times.
“They were blitzing a lot, so that makes the roll pretty much open if you pass
it quick enough,” Ball said.
Then there is this well-designed play, which starts with Kyle Kuzma setting a
flare screen for ball, causing the defense to switch. Bledsoe, a point guard new
to the Bucks, gets confused with the action, and Kuzma uses another screen from
Randle to cut to the rim.
Ball has a tight window to get it to Kuzma, but he does and it’s a barely
contested layup.
12 rebounds Hitting the glass may not be the most glamorous aspect of Ball’s
game, but it is an area that he has made an immediate impact.
He ranks third among point guards in rebounds this season with 6.8 per game,
which has allowed him to jump start the Lakers’ fast-break attack.
In the second quarter, he grabs the board and immediately takes off, finding
Jordan Clarkson around mid-court. This quick push allows JC to take advantage of
Milwaukee’s unsettled defense, and the result is a basket five seconds into the
shot clock.
Something similar happens in the third. It’s an atypical rebound caused by
Brandon Ingram’s excellent defensive play, as he rotates over to help Lopez on a
mismatch and is still able to return to the restricted area to swat 7-foot-1
Thon Maker.
The block goes right to Ball, who possess it for maybe a millisecond before
flipping it to Ingram in transition. This quick decision has Ingram striding to
the hoop against a scrambling defense that is forced to foul him, resulting in
free throws.
Four blocks, three steals Finally, these stats didn’t contribute to the
triple-double, but reflect how well Ball has competed defensively all season
long.
Ball also had three deflections and two loose balls recovered, but his most
eye-popping plays came on a pair of fourth-quarter rejections.
With all that he showed when it came to scoring, passing and rebounding, it’s
gravy to have a 6-foot-6 point guard who is locked in defensively and can pack
opponents like this.
Player: Lonzo Ball
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