Be it as it may, Lonzo for the most part has been handling all the distractions like a seasoned pro which speaks volumes about his mental fortitude. This characteristic will prove beneficial when the best basketball decision needs to be made in a split second with the game on the line. In his 19 games, he has shown a great deal of poise in pressure situations and has demonstrated the court vision and basketball IQ that got Magic Johnson excited about drafting him after his freshman year in UCLA. Lonzo currently boasts a better assist to turnover ratio (2.7) than Kyrie Irving (2.55), Steph Curry (2.14) and Russell Westbrook (2.11) while being on the court longer than Irving and Curry. There are no signs of Lonzo's mental toughness regressing and it looks like it will only get better as he settles into his NBA career.
Much has been said about Lonzo's shooting form and how he will need to change it to be a successful scorer in the NBA. His poor shooting percentage (25% from 3 point range and 31.5% overall) along with his dreadful accuracy on the free throw line (42.9%) will not keep the "bust" labelers quiet. However, I don't believe it's his form or mechanics that is causing him to shoot so poorly from the field but rather his timing and rhythm. If you watch Lonzo during pregame shoot arounds, he often sinks ten or more 3 pointers consecutively. It's during the game that his shooting goes awry and it is simply because of his pass first mentality. He inadvertently takes himself out of his shooting rhythm as he tries to make the best decision for the team resulting in a great deal of misses on his end. Getting into his offensive flow is what he needs to figure out to fix his shooting woes while also playing the most complex position on the team.
Lastly, Lonzo has recorded two (2) triple doubles so far in his young career. With Russell Westbrook and James Harden accomplishing this feat with regularity, people are downplaying Lonzo's abilities and skills as a basketball player. What most Lonzo naysayers fail to realize is that Luke Walton's offensive system is not conducive to point guards getting triple doubles. The Lakers are currently running an offensive system that revolves around constant ball movement similar to the pass friendly offensive scheme of the Golden State Warriors where Walton was an assistant coach. Very rarely does the system allow one player to dominate the ball at any given time with all players expected to find the best scoring opportunity. In fact, ever since Steve Kerr took over as head coach for the Warriors and implemented this system, back-to-back MVP point guard Stephen Curry recorded a triple double only three (3) times in 3 years. If you include the playoffs, the likelihood of Steph Curry recording a triple double is 1%. Though only 19 games into the season, the probability of Lonzo getting a triple double in the same system is 10.5%. Not bad for a 20 year old rookie.
Bust you say, I don't think so.
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