The compelling, irrefutable case for Lonzo Ball to remain a Lakers starter


By Bill Oram Oct 26, 2018

SAN​ ANTONIO​ — When​ Lakers​ guard Rajon Rondo returns​ from his three-game​ suspension on Saturday​ against the Spurs, coach Luke​ Walton​​ will have a decision to make. He can either revert to his opening night lineup, with Rondo starting at point guard and Lonzo Ball coming off the bench, or he can accelerate a decision that most assumed would eventually come and name Ball the permanent starter.

The case Ball made for himself in those three games was compelling and, perhaps, irrefutable.

With Rondo in the penalty box, Ball averaged 12.7 points, 6.7 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 40 percent from 3-point range. The Lakers won two of three games. The new starting lineup, with Ball and Kyle Kuzma alongside LeBron James, Josh Hart and JaVale McGee, posted a beefy net rating of 11.6 while holding opposing teams to just 93.6 points per 100 possessions. The group that included Rondo, Brandon Ingram and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope posted a net rating of 1.6 in its two starts.

If you saw Thursday’s 121-114 win over Denver, you witnessed just how valuable Ball is to the Lakers when he is at his best, especially on defense. Pete Zayas of The Athletic comprehensively broke down his performance, which saw Ball finished with five steals after spending most of his night hounding Denver point guard Jamal Murray full-court.

Ball pressured Murray into a backcourt turnover in the second quarter that led to a Lonzo layup that brought the Lakers even with the Nuggets. Walton pointed to that play as swinging the momentum of the game.

“His instincts for the game when he’s aggressive and active,” Walton said, “he changes games.”

Later, Ball forced crunch-time mistakes by Nuggets star big men Paul Millsap and Nikola Jokic when he switched onto them in the post.

“He’s had some of the quickest hands that this league has,” LeBron James said. “A lot of people always try to discredit what he does offensively, but they never give him enough credit for what he does defensively.”

What else does James think of Ball now that they’ve won a couple games together?

“He’s a very gifted basketball player,” James said. “Very cerebral basketball player. I think when he’s playing aggressive basketball and thinking shot first (because) everything opens up for him.”


Declaring the worst parts of Ball’s game fixed just five games into the season would be premature, as would announcing that he is now mature enough to handle the attention he received last season. He will continue to make strides and suffer setbacks. But the difference between Ball’s first season and now has been dramatic. He is fully engaged on both ends of the court, he is physically up to challenges he tried to engage in last season and, frankly, looks like a worthy No. 2 pick.

Ball had forced his way onto the court before last week’s brawl with Houston. He played well against the Rockets, and when Walton put Rondo back on the floor for what figured to be the final 8:22, he left Ball on the floor.

Then all hell broke loose shortly thereafter and the NBA determined Rondo spit on Chris Paul to set off a fistfight that created an earlier-than-expected chance for Ball to start alongside James.

Ball said Thursday he recognized the door that had opened for him.

“Most definitely,” he said.”Now that they took the minutes restriction off, because they had no choice, helped me a lot to get back into the swing of things.”

It’s important to note that the momentum for Ball to remain the Lakers’ starting point guard has next to nothing to do with Rondo. Before going all Fountains of Bellagio in Paul’s kisser, the one-time Celtic had been exemplary. He scored 13 points in each of his two appearances while averaging 10.5 assists and knocking down two of his four 3-pointers. His chemistry with James was among the best things the Lakers had going for them in the narrow losses to Portland and Houston that opened the season.

In none of the Lakers’ preferred scenarios, however, was Rondo ever more than a capable placeholder, directing the offense while Ball came into form. It is the best case imaginable that Ball would take advantage of an unforeseen opportunity and make it impossible for Walton not to reward him with the job – upon earning it.

That was a critical step Ball missed as a rookie, when he was the starter from Day 1 by both design and default.

After the insatiable scrutiny Ball faced as a 19-year-old, starting 50 of the 52 games he played, the Lakers this time around created a situation in which the young point guard could exceed expectations. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in July, and it was unclear how much he was able to work on his game in the summer.

It was really just a matter of fine tuning. Lest we forget, Ball averaged 10.2 points, 7.2 assists and 6.9 rebounds. That’s really good. But he was left off the All-Rookie first team, an indictment of his sporadic and overconfident 3-point shooting, as well as an acknowledgement of the 30 games he missed.

Getting James also helped alleviate some of the pressure that was once deposited solely on Ball’s shoulders. The hordes of media that used to camp out around his locker now orbit that of James.

In Year 2, a bulked-up Ball has been freed to play basketball. And with Rondo starting from the season’s opening tip, he was free to make mistakes.

To the Lakers’ delight, he rarely has.

Following the win over Denver, Walton was evasive on the subject of future starting lineups. Kuzma has been dynamic alongside James, and with Brandon Ingram’s impending return on Monday in Minnesota, his role may yet surface as a different debate.

Regarding point guard, however, Walton said he needed to watch the tape and talk to his coaches. Ball said it doesn’t matter.

“As long as we win games, that is all I care about,” Ball said. “Whoever starts is whoever starts. But we are all going to play. That is all that matters.”

Yet when it comes to Ball, there is always more to the story. Lonzo earning the starting job at some point this season was critical to the Lakers’ ability to snap a puzzle piece in place next to James for their planning beyond this season.

Earning that spot on Oct. 27? It would be damn impressive. And deserved.