I guess I’m not the only one who has been thinking the same thing. I felt it the night I watched the first game, but didn’t want to say anything until the Lakers proved that they can stay on the court with Philly’s Big Two.
With regard to Lonzo Ball, I look at his development along the same lines as Ingram:
- Year 1: Ingram couldn’t absorb contact and finish at the rim.
- Year 2: Ingram can finish, but has to learn when to drive, when to stop short for a jumper, and when to kick out.
- Year 3: Ingram gets more efficient on jump shots and starts to carve up defenses.
We got a glimpse of Year 2 Lonzo and Year 3 Ingram against the Warriors:
Finally, I think Ball’s decision making is the one thing that separates him from nearly every rookie and most veterans. Currently, he’s #8 in assists, and his AST/TO ratio is 2.72, which is better than every player above him except Lowry, who is at 2.80. Imagine if he was playing with a team that could shoot better than 31.9% on their 3-pointers.
