The Big Ball Theory

It makes me wonder when exactly LaVar decided he was going to turn the boys into basketball superstars. Why didn’t he fix that when Lonzo was a kid?

 

Fix what? He's better than Steph Curry!

 

That money will be gone in 18 months.

 

1. I don't find the father amusing.
B. Hasn't he already hurt the kid and the family's financial prospects by declining endorsements in favor of his own apparel company?

 

My guess is because, when he was a kid, Lonzo was so killing the competition that Lavar figured no change was needed. Same reason nobody tried to fix Tim Tebow's screwy long passing motion when he was young.

Someone with more foresight would've realized that weirdly flawed form would catch up to Lonzo when he moved up and faced better competition. Lavar was not that someone.

 

My impression is that the Ball kids grew up chucking long shots from a young age, before they were strong enough to shoot them with good form. That's why they developed these hitches and shoot so low. It worked and, as you point out, they never learned the right way as they got stronger.

 

I'm surprised that it wasn't more of a concern with NBA teams. I kept bringing it up last year. I seem to recall the same criticism of a former UCLA player. Don McLean maybe?

 

Keith (Jamaal) Wilkes?

 

I remember it being brought up here and there in pre-draft analysis, but if it worked for him in college, you probably have to at least let him try it his way in the pros at first. Oddly, I do think he will improve as a player. Lavar's bluster kind of obscures that Lonzo himself seems like a reasonable human being, and it's not like he's a gunning, shoot-first player. It would surprise me if he's ever an all-star, but I think he'll be a 5 to 10-year pro if he doesn't get hurt. If you can pass well, teams will keep signing you - Look at his coach as an example. Eleven years in the league, and he was still getting regular minutes when he retired. (On a bad Cavs team, but still.)

 

Downtown Terry Brown and Michael Adams both cringe when they see Lonzo shoot.

 

Oh, it looked weird, but Terry Brown was one of the best shooters I've ever seen.