Lonzo Ball may have one of the uglier jump-shooting forms in recent memory, but the LA Lakers have no plans to tinker with it for now.
In an appearance Monday on ESPN’s “Mike and Mike,” Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson discussed the rookie’s unorthodox shot.
“He’s been shooting that way his whole life, so what we wanted to do is just let him play his game, let him shoot the way he has been shooting and hopefully it will go in.” said Johnson. “We’re not gonna mess with it. We’re gonna let him play his game. If after the season he’s not shooting well, then we’ll sit down with him and say, ‘Hey, let’s maybe look at a different way’ or ‘Let’s try to improve the way you are shooting.'”
“But we don’t wanna mess with his shot,” Johnson stressed. “He’s proven that he’s knocked that shot down and we want to encourage him to keep shooting.”
Ball shot 55.1 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from deep in college, but that has yet to translate to the NBA level. Through his first 13 games, the 20-year-old is shooting just 31.4 percent from the field and a ghastly 25.0 percent from three. Ball himself believes his shooting woes are all mental, so perhaps the Lakers do just need to give him time to adjust to the NBA three-point line and the reduced window of opportunity he has to get his shot off as a pro.
