The Pelicans’ 2019-20 season was peaks and valleys with little in between. They started 6-22, rebounded by going eight games above .500 from Dec. 18 to March 11 and then looked deflated inside the bubble.
It was probably not a coincidence that their starting point guard’s performance ebbed and flowed in a similar manner. Lonzo Ball got off to a poor start and was briefly benched. He regained his starting spot and showed why he was the No. 2 overall pick three years ago. But during the restart, he disappeared.
"I feel like I let the team down,” Ball said shortly after New Orleans was eliminated from playoff contention. "I know I'm a big part of it. Usually when I play well, we win. Obviously, I didn't play well this trip. We're going home early, and I have to live with that."
The 22-year-old point guard is one of the most polarizing players in the league. Ask around and you’ll get a dozen different opinions.
Ball is a brilliant playmaker in the open floor who’s hindered in half-court situations by his unwillingness to attack. Only 26% of his shot attempts came at the rim this season, according to Cleaning the Glass. He’s a shaky finisher who still can’t reliably make defenses pay when he does get fouled, which isn’t often.
Ball attempted 76 free throws in 63 games. Reserve guard Frank Jackson shot an almost identical amount — 75 — in 1,200 fewer minutes. Ball converted 43 free throws all season, the ninth-most on the Pelicans roster.
Jrue Holiday has worn many hats for the Pelicans during his seven-year run with the team. He’s played point guard and shooting guard. He’s def…
A common gripe about Ball’s game is his tendency to float. There were times, especially at the book ends of the season, when he didn’t make his presence felt.
When engaged, Ball showed he could quarterback one of the NBA’s most entertaining offenses. The connection he has with Zion Williamson is undeniable. Ball assisted on 70 of Williamson’s 210 field goals. Their ability to work off one another from 50 or 60 feet away is borderline telepathic.
Ball also looked like a solid fit next to Williamson because he developed a reliable 3-point shot. He scrapped his awkward looking left-to-right flinging motion and began releasing the basketball on the right side of his body. He shot 37.5% on 6.3 3-point attempts per game, career highs in both categories.
"I think for sure my shooting, just changing my shot,” Ball said when asked what he can build on from this season. “When I was rolling, it felt a lot better. I feel like once I get back in the gym, it’ll be fine and (I’ll) just go from there. Definitely work on my in-between game, finishing at the rim. I think those are two of the main things that stick out for me. Defensively, I’m not too worried about it, so mostly just offensive stuff.”
Ball is eligible for an extension this offseason. The Pelicans have a tricky decision to make.
Ball is a difficult player to figure out. When things are going well, his stoicism is interpreted as him being unfazed. When things are going poorly, it can be seen as apathy. Which version of Ball the Pelicans get next season could go a long way to determining what they’re able to accomplish.
"Just continue to move forward,” Ball said. “Fortunately here we’ve got a lot of guys that should be coming back, and hopefully we can have pretty much the same team, same dynamic as we did this year, but just start off hitting the ground running. I felt like in the beginning of the year we didn’t have our full team, for one. For two, we had a lot of guys that didn’t really know their roles. we were all new coming to a different team.
“I think it will be better next year, and I think we should just pick up, watch a lot of tape on how we ended before the hiatus started, and try to play that way for the whole year.”
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August 19, 2020 at 06:03AM
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End-of-season review: Who is the real Lonzo Ball? - NOLA.com
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