The Bigfooty Official Week 12 NBA Lonzo Ball discussion thread.

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Jun 23, 2008
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Hot take - I find the fact that Lonzo Ball still rarely even gets to the free throw line far more problematic than his free throw percentage at this stage.

He's averaged just 1.20 FTA per game across his career so far (0.458 FT%). Even if he shot at 75% from the line for his career, he would average just 0.35 points per game extra. He really doesn't shoot enough free throws for his free throw percentage to matter that much either way at this point. His lack of ability to attack the basket, finish in close and draw fouls is far more of a concern IMO.
 
May 23, 2012
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Hot take - I find the fact that Lonzo Ball still rarely even gets to the free throw line far more problematic than his free throw percentage at this stage.

He's averaged just 1.20 FTA per game across his career so far (0.458 FT%). Even if he shot at 75% from the line for his career, he would average just 0.35 points per game extra. He really doesn't shoot enough free throws for his free throw percentage to matter that much either way at this point. His lack of ability to attack the basket, finish in close and draw fouls is far more of a concern IMO.

This is exactly what I said to you when you wanted to know why we had Lonzo shooting so many threes.

He's not Ben Simmons, in that he can't get his own shot in the half court. So either he learns to take and make threes, or else he is basically unplayable.
 
Jun 23, 2008
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This is exactly what I said to you when you wanted to know why we had Lonzo shooting so many threes.

He's not Ben Simmons, in that he can't get his own shot in the half court. So either he learns to take and make threes, or else he is basically unplayable.

Like the Bat Signal, you and fidstar ;)

Fair play to Lonzo, he's improving his outside shot. Getting that to a respectable level will naturally open up further driving opportunities as well.

I'm not of the mind that he (or any other 22 year old) needs to be the finished product right now, so I'm looking forward to seeing him play out the kinks a bit more and continuing to improve.
 

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May 23, 2012
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Like the Bat Signal, you and fidstar ;)

We only had this discussion 10 weeks ago!

I mean it's good that your analysis has evolved accordingly, but it's hardly an independent thought bubble.

Fair play to Lonzo, he's improving his outside shot. Getting that to a respectable level will naturally open up further driving opportunities as well.

It's the passing opportunities that he needs opened up for him above all.

Nobody would ever confuse Simmons or Rubio with notable paragons of shooting efficiency, but they're aggressive enough that it creates opportunities for them to rack up the assists as true playmakers.

If Lonzo can become passable at one aspect of a half court set - say running a pick and roll because he consistently makes 35% of his threes - then he becomes a viable starting point guard because of his defensive length and open court skills. If he can't, then he may well end up like Michael Carter-Williams.

Our (the Pels) choice was to either start working with him on an outside shot, or work with him to develop his ability to beat defenders off the dribble and finish in traffic. We chose the former, at least for this season. You can argue whether or not it was the right choice, but you can clearly see why it was a tough choice.
 
Jun 23, 2008
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We only had this discussion 10 weeks ago!

I mean it's good that your analysis has evolved accordingly, but it's hardly an independent thought bubble.

I've expressed similar opinions and discussed this on and off since the first few weeks of Lonzo's rookie season. True though, hardly a unique take or new discussion point though.

It's cute that you think you're teaching me something though ;)
 
His lack of ability to attack the basket, finish in close and draw fouls is far more of a concern IMO.

Is it ability or fear of missing FTs?
 
May 23, 2012
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I've expressed similar opinions and discussed this on and off since the first few weeks of Lonzo's rookie season. True though, hardly a unique take or new discussion point though.

It's cute that you think you're teaching me something though ;)

You wanted to know why Lonzo was shooting threes, or why he didn't have Ben Simmons' shot selection or Jason Kidd's all-around impact.

Seems pretty clear cut that you are/were watching the stat sheet and not the player, that's all.
 

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