Walton backs Lonzo despite awful shooting: 'He's our starting point guard'
Big Ballers don't come off the bench.
Lonzo Ball continued to struggle in Wednesday's contest against the Philadelphia 76ers, registering just two points on 1-for-9 shooting from the field and 0-for-6 from deep in the 115-109 loss.
The performance saw Ball continue to be one of the league's worst shooters this season, as he is now putting up 30.3 percent from the field and 23 percent from 3-point territory over 15 games.
Is it perhaps time to bench the 20-year-old?
"He's our starting point guard," head coach Luke Walton said of Ball on Thursday, as quoted by ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. "So there's no discussion, no talks as of now of moving Lonzo to the bench. Nah. He's our starting point guard."
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The No. 2 pick has shown a lack of confidence during his current funk, and a move to the second unit might exacerbate the issue. It's worth noting, though, while he's been starting games, he hasn't been finishing them lately. Ball didn't get any burn in the fourth quarter of each other the last two contests.
Nevertheless, the 6-9 Lakers are sticking with their prized rookie. They're going to let him keep shooting in hopes of getting back on track. His mechanics remain problematic, but the team doesn't plan on tinkering with his unorthodox shooting form until after the season.