As we all know at this stage the Bulls brought over point guard Lonzo Ball during this past offseason. The expectation was for Ball to instantly improve the point guard position for this team. Twenty-two games into the season and it’s clear the Bulls have a great starting point guard. However, if you look at Ball’s performance overall this season he is in his own separate category. Lonzo Ball so far this season is playing at a level that no other player has matched.
Chicago Bulls PR:
Point guard Lonzo Ball is the only player in the NBA this season to have 100 or more rebounds, 100 or more assists, 35 or more steals, and 15 or more blocks.
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) December 1, 2021
Ball is the only player in the league currently who is putting up numbers like that. He is impacting the game in every single area. Both defensively and offensively he is putting up massive numbers. He’s the all around point guard the Bulls had been dreaming of this offseason. Lonzo has done this quietly as he hasn’t lead the team in scoring in any game, has lead in rebounds once, and assists seven times. This is why you don’t see a lot of media attention around Lonzo’s performance. If you look at his overall game he is playing out of his mind and is doing things that haven’t been matched this season. One of the main things that’s helped Ball out is his improvements shooting the Ball.
Top 5 three-point shooter
When Lonzo entered the league the biggest knock on him was his shooting form. Honestly it was a 100% fair critique. His shot looked broken and far from being fixed. Here we are five years later and his shot looks smooth and crisp. It’s a night and day difference, so much so that Ball finds himself in the top five in the league in three-pointers made.
3 Point Field Goals Made leaders:
Stephen Curry – 108
Buddy Hield – 86
CJ McCollum – 72
Lonzo Ball – 67
Grayson Allen – 67
Patty Mills – 66
Fred VanVleet – 65
Anthony Edwards – 63
Zach LaVine – 63
Duncan Robinson – 63— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) December 1, 2021
Lonzo has put himself in a position to succeed offensively with his improved shooting form. He’s now able to become even more of a threat. Being paired with shooting guard Zach LaVine and forward DeMar DeRozan certainly doesn’t hurt either. Lonzo’s ability to now stretch the floor and be a shooter anywhere on the court makes him the ultimate point guard. He’s exactly what the Bulls wanted and then some. The only question remaining is can he sustain this level of play?
Looking ahead for Lonzo
When you look at Lonzo’s stats so far this season he is averaging 12.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG, & 4.8 APG. Looking at his career numbers he averages 11.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, & 6.2 APG. So if we just look at those three stats right there then yes Lonzo can absolutley keep this up and could actually get better when it comes to assists per game. The real stats we want to look at are his shooting percentages. Those have taken quite the leap from the previous season to now.
So far this season Ball is shooting 42.6% from the field, 44.4% from three, and 75% from the free throw line. Comparing those to last season he is shooting 1.2% better overall, 6.6% better from three, and pretty close to is free throw percentage from last season. It’s these numbers that are going to matter as the season progresses. Lonzo is fully capable of maintaining those shooting percentages and has proven his imporvement level year over year. Every single year he has improved his three-point percentage. Now his three-point percentage is the highest it’s ever been and that’s heavily due to his work ethic. His improved shot has not gone unnoticed.
Lonzo Ball went from having a broken shot to now shooting 5/6 3s in a night
Now that's a glow up pic.twitter.com/Uq92m4p79m
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) October 9, 2021
While I know we are only a quarter of the way through the season this is still something that we must keep an eye on. If Lonzo can maintain this level of shooting, which I believe he can, then the Bulls are going to be in a great position come playoff time.
Just keep shooting
The one thing that Ball can do to continue improving is just keep shooting. Yes, I know the Bulls don’t necessarily need him to lead the team in scoring or take over offensively but Ball needs to keep being active. He needs to continue shooting the ball and putting up high quality shots. He’s averaging almost 11 shots per game and that’s a rate that Bulls fans should feel comfortable with. The most shots Lonzo has taken in any game this season is 14 and that occurred twice. It’s going to be key for Lonzo to continue being active and shooting the ball. He’s shown that he’s a great point guard and a solid shooter this season. All that’s left to do is maintain that level of play and prove that the Bulls made the best possible decision bringing him to Chicago.
