When the basketball draws a beautiful arc, rotates in the air, and everyone holds their breath, it is wonderful at this moment. The charm of
is largely due to its unknown and unpredictability - that's why I'm obsessed with the rising stars.
You can see the amazing talents in them and the infinite possibilities, but no one can be sure how the future will develop.
The story has just begun, and the brave have embarked on the first step of the endless journey. This is the best moment.
Next, the author wants to start a new series. First, analyze, and second, record the growth process of the new stars of the league Chinese Super League, and make a season summary as accurate, comprehensive and detailed as possible for their just-concluded season, and look forward to the future.
article 2, we will bring you a summary of the season of 2020 Tanhua Show Lamero Ball .
"Which aspect do you think you need to improve in the offseason?"
"Every aspect. Shooting ability, defense, ball control, everything, I want to do better in all aspects."
This is the conversation between reporters and Lamelo Ball after the Hornets 5 play-off was eliminated last season. Let's remember it.
2021-22 season Lamelo Ball plays?
This is a summary of the previous season written at the beginning of the new season - so, let's write something different.
We directly skip the conventional routines of season review and advanced data analysis - as Magician, Kobe , James , , the fourth youngest All-Star player in history, how talented Lamelo is, how imaginative his passes are, how his future is, how imaginative his future is... I don't think there is any need to elaborate on these. (Or let's leave this part to the end)
Lamelo Ball is already a celebrity, and everyone knows his strengths.
Let’s talk about Lamelo Ball’s problem.
Personal offense
It is obvious that Lamelo Ball’s problem is not in passing – but in personal offense.
Three goals have the ability to make everyone around him better. Under his leadership, the Charlotte Hornets averaged fourth in the league (115.3 points), first in the league in assists per game (28.1), and 7 players averaged double-digit points per game. Lamelo Ball himself ranked 8th in the league in assists (34.2%).
As a stadium commander, three goals are qualified – but the problem is, Charlotte Hornets need more than just a stadium commander.
Except for Gordon Hayward and Plumley, the remaining players of the Hornets are all young people around 25 years old. They can attack, but they lack a backbone. The three-goal counterattack and instigation of the regular season can make everyone in the system shine. But in the battle of life and death, when the opponent deploys targeted defense, reduces speed, and does not give the Hornets a chance to counterattack, forcing the Hornets to deal with the moves - the limitations of Ball are revealed, and the entire Hornets also seem to have no leader.
So, the Charlotte Hornets, with such strong offensive firepower, failed in the playoffs for two consecutive years - lost Pacers in 21 years and lost 29 points in 22 years.
Next, let’s analyze all aspects of Ball’s personal offense.
At the basket
LaMelo Ball is the highest point guard in the league in active service. His registered height is 201cm, and it is said that he has grown to more than 203cm after entering the league. This is a natural advantage and one of the reasons why Lamelo Ball is so special - but so far, Lamelo Ball has not fully utilized this advantage.
LaMelo Ball shot 54% from the field in the penalty area (within 4 feet) - only more than 20% of all point guards. This is obviously not good enough.
So far, he has not developed a back-to-back skill, and rarely scores in the cuts to catch passes by his teammates. Most of his shots at the basket come from layups after breakthroughs or throws and shots .
Then we will analyze the three-ball breakthrough and ending in the form of a GIF. What are the advantages and aspects that need to be improved:
dribbling
Remember a few years ago, many people were keen to discuss Paul George , Tracy McGrady , Durant who is the best player with dribbling over two meters?
Now, Lamelo Ball should join this discussion. As a player over 2 meters, Ball can make all the dribbling super movements you can imagine. His dribbling speed and perfect combination of man and ball are completely different from a player of this height:
smooth dribbling under the crotch, change direction in front of the body, and Tony Parker -style fried ball turns and passes.
Kyri-Irving style fake dribbling behind really turns around.
Jamal Crawford style quick dribble behind the back twice.
back and retreat to worship Buddha, click the opponent's center of gravity and then shake it away in disguise.
Dwyne Wade -style man scored , and two people assisted their teammates like a butterfly.
nba Local commentators often describe Lamelo Ball as " street ball hands on the professional arena", which shows how skillful the three-ball control is. Not only in active service, but even the point guard who can dribble like him in history is probably only Penny Hardaway and Magic Johnson.
dribbling is never a problem for three balls, not to mention that he has excellent first-step explosive power and a 35.7% pick-and-roll holding ratio - whether it is one-on-one or using pick-and-roll, Lamero can always throw away his opponent and break into the inside...
The problem lies in the matter after passing the first person.
ended
2021-22 season, Lamelo Ball averaged 13.8 balls per game, with the Hornets the most, ranking 18th in the league - this is enough to prove Lamelo's ability to enter the inside.
However, after entering the penalty area, Lamelo Ball's shooting percentage was only 44%. This shooting percentage ranks sixth last among players who averaged more than 10 games in the league.
cannot end after entering the basket. This is LaMelo Ball's biggest weakness at present.
See some examples:
LaMelo Ball used a beautiful large forward change to shake off the opponent, but when facing the defender who came up from the basket, he tried to end with an air change layup, but it was not completed in the end.
The current three goals ended poorly at the basket. The author believes that it is composed of two reasons:
, the weight is too light.
201cm tall, but the registered weight is only 81kg, which is actually the same as 185cm Trae Yang . You should know that McGrady , George , and Cunningham, who are about the same height as Ball, weigh more than 100kg. The thin body has caused the three-ball team to have weak ability to fight at the basket;
the second is to avoid confrontation.
This may be caused by the first point - when you enter the basket, Lamelo Ball prefers to use a series of operations such as pulling rods and changing hands in the air to avoid the opponent's blocking. averaged 13.8 breakouts per game, and his breakthrough averaged only 1.1 free throws per game, ranking eighth from the bottom among players who broke through more than 10 times in the league.
In addition, the author also observed some of his breakthroughs and ending habits during the review of LaMelo Ball’s game:
Although three balls are a player who can lay down with both left and right hands, he has a relatively obvious ending habit when breaking through on the left and right sides, and his shooting percentage is significantly different when laying on the left and right hands.
For example, when he dribbles from the top of the arc and breaks to the right, he prefers to use throws than layups:
Even if he gets the chance to layups, he prefers to jump from the right side and end with the left hand in the air:
. When the opponent seals his throws, he does not give him space in the middle and he cannot change his left hand to finish with the end, his shooting rate of layups with his right hand (sometimes he uses a hook) is usually relatively low (unfortunately, there are no numbers. This can be shown):
On the contrary, if he is breaking from the left side of the arc top, he usually chooses a left-hand layup as the finishing method, and the finishing hit rate is relatively high:
Due to the lack of data support, the author dares not assert that Lamelo Ball's right-hand breakthrough is not as good as the left-handed end, but this trend does exist- Whether it is a right-handed attack on the right side of the arc top or the left-handed attack in the middle, these attack methods that require a right-hand layup, Lamelo Ball prefers to end with a throw.
Although Lamelo Ball is indeed a master of landing, this ending method of landing inevitably lacks some stability than direct layups - especially when the confrontation is strengthened and the pressure is increased.
And last season, some teams have tried to seize this trait to target three goals:
vs. Nets In the fourth quarter, the three-ball throw was perfectly predicted by Dragic.
Immediately afterwards, when Irving defended Ball, he also chose to put the right side to him (note Irving's slide direction), and then waited for Ball to return to the left to interfere with Ball's layup.
There is also a time when playing against Spurs :
Boltel, followed Lamero, waiting for him to change his left hand from the right, and send a block.
Pay attention to Boltel's position for this ball. As a center with a heavy and retreat style defense, his position of guarding and screening should have been lower, but perhaps because of understanding Ball's offensive habits, he chose to raise the defensive position a little, block Ball in the throwing area, and finally successfully steal.
There is also time to play against the Bucks:
Pay attention to this goal Matthews 's backup defense position. After being scored 36 points by Ball at the beginning of the season, the Bucks obviously studied Ball's offensive habits. Matthews' replacement for this ball completely predicted the three-ball throws, resulting in three-ball throws and three-ball throws.
This goal Benbry also perfectly predicted Ball's shooting method and timing. In this game, the Bucks, including Ju Holiday and Benbry, have predicted many examples of three-ball throw interference in this game, and the reason for the space is not fully displayed.
In short, Lamelo Ball's offensive methods in terms of finishing are still a bit monotonous. Although in most cases, it can also form a relatively excellent pick-and-roll effect with three balls (the left and right hands are out of the ball in one hand, and there is no blind spot in the pass. It can be said to be "sense-taking", with top-notch vision and accuracy), and it can also form a relatively excellent pick-and-roll effect.
But now the biggest role of the league's "pick-and-roll" tactic is - creating a misalignment of the defender's internal lineup and then scoring easily. La Merlot is not outstanding enough in this regard.
Last season, he averaged 7.6 pick-and-roll balls per game in three games, but when he shot, he hit only 40%, which is the countdown among all pick-and-roll ball-holders in the league. We need to see three goals improve in this next season.
shooting
Compared with the unstable end of the breakthrough, Lamelo Ball's shooting is actually quite outstanding.
He has the ability and confidence to fire in any area. His effective shooting percentage is an astonishing 63%, of which the three-point shooting percentage is 42%, the team's first in the catch and shoot, and the team's second in the effective shooting percentage is - he is the Hornets' well-deserved best shooter.
His ball-holding shooting is relatively weak, with 45% effective shooting percentage ranking fifth in the team, and averaged 5.6 points per game by shooting with ball-holding, but this output and efficiency can only rank outside the 30th place in the league.
One of the reasons why Ball is inefficient in shooting with the ball may be his choice.
Last season, only three players made more three-pointers than Baltimore over 30 feet - Lamelo Ball shot 53 times in total - Of course, from learning from the Australian League, he has been shooting these extremely long three-pointers. He has such confidence, but sometimes, as the Hornets' only stadium brain, the team may need him to consider these moves again:
Although overall, LaMelo Ball is a very outstanding shooter, according to NBA.com, he hit 38.4% at a "long-range" three-point shooting percentage of 25-29 feet, ranking 8th in the league - but we still don't recommend him to use this method as the main offensive method.
The biggest feature of super long three-pointers and three-pointers holding the ball is instability. Look at the superstars in the league that use this as their signature. They all have other efficient offensive methods to guarantee the guarantee, and dare to take a large number of ultra-long three-pointers:
Rockets Harden uses this as the main offensive method because he has a super high foul rate as a guarantee;
Curry can make ultra-long three-pointers stable to normal three-pointers, and other offensive methods are also very efficient;
Doncic and Trae Yang dare to take a large number of ultra-long three-pointers because they have an extremely high pick-and-roll success rate as a guarantee;
These are what Lamero does not currently have.
Mid-range shooting
The lack of mid-range shooting skills of the younger generation of players has become a cliché--Lamerol Ball in the first two years of his career was a player with extremely "magic ball-like" shooting distribution. His shots from outside and inside of the three-point line combined to reach 71%, and 20% of the shots came from mid- and close shootings - at 10-16 feet, he only had 10% of the shots.
Although intuitively speaking, Lamelo Ball's shooting mechanism is not suitable for mid-range shooting (it is more in a single-stage style, the sinking position is relatively low and the shooting point is not high), but with this 201cm height, when facing the center back, he can only choose a 185cm small guard-style throwing shot when facing the center back. It is indeed a waste of resources in terms of appearance:
Jokic retreats, giving Ball a large space for the middle distance, but Ball lacks the ability to distance the middle distance and can only choose to move one step in. A far-reaching small throw missed.
Facing the extremely conservative squatting style of Gober , Ball's face was wide open, but because of his lack of middle distance ability, he could only brake and make an emergency stop and a sharp iron shot.
Occasionally I can't stand being put two meters away and shoot a mid-range shot, but my movements are very twisted.
Offensive Summary
LaMelo Ball is an unquestionable passer master. He has the top opportunity-catching ability in the league. On his passes, you can see the shadows of many historical superstars such as Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, , White Chocolate, Magic, Pistol Malawich, etc., but what currently limits him to a higher level is his lack of ending and medium-distance means.
In this Charlotte Hornets , Lamelo Ball himself has not gone far without stable punishment for the big man. There are two ways to go in the future:
One way is to develop his own skills, improve the end and middle distance like the above, and become a point guard with the Steve Nash style with its own system;
The other way is to configure a powerful helper around Lamelo Ball to create a real powerhouse-just like the New Jersey Nets for Jason Kidd, or Lakers for Magic Johnson. And Lamelo is only responsible for doing his current affairs better.(For example, controlling the turnover rate, improving the choice of shots, etc.)
But considering that Charlotte is a small football market, it is hard to imagine that there will be stars of Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid to vote for Lamelo, so the first way is more realistic.
Do you still remember the interview with Lamelo at the beginning of our article?
"Which aspect do you think you need to improve in the offseason?"
"Every aspect. I have to do better in all aspects of shooting ability, defense, ball control, everything."
Compared with the second-year data, I have increased from 15+6+6 in the rookie season to 20+7+8, I am more interested in the improvement of Lamelo Ball's efficiency.
Since 2000, point guards who won the best rookie have almost all had a curse that is difficult to get rid of: while the usage rate increased in the second year, efficiency has declined. This curse cannot be escaped, including Paul , Irving, McAvey, and Morant.
, and there are only two people who can achieve both output and efficiency increase - Derek Rose , Damian Lillard - and now Lamelo Ball.
Last season, while averaging 4.4 points per game, Ball's effective shooting percentage rose from 50.9% (more than 50% of the league players) to 52.4% (more than 75% of the league players); and with the usage rate increased from 26% to 28%, and averaging 1.5 assists per game, Ball's turnover rate did not increase.
All of this reflects Ball's learning ability - this is what I pay most attention to.
Many people say that Lamelo Ball only thinks about being handsome and showing off, I don’t agree with this - After choosing Lamelo Ball, the Hornets are steadily improving at a rate of 10 wins a year - isn’t the biggest reason why three goals can win the best rookie because he is a player who can win? Although the loss in the playoffs of
is embarrassing, but have those who slander Lamelo Ball for not making the playoffs ever thought that if it weren't for injury, the Hornets wouldn't need to play the playoffs at all?
On Thanksgiving Day, Charlotte ranked fifth in the league. The offensive frenzy led by Lamelo Ball and Myers Bridges won praise from the most exciting teams in the league.
Until late January, the Hornets were fighting for the East Six seed. That's when Gordon Hayward foot injury, Charlotte lost 9 of 10 games in a difficult schedule.
Then they quickly got Monterrez Harrell to strengthen the frontcourt before the trade deadline, and Charlotte won 11 of the 15 games at the end of the regular season...
Maybe this is called success, defeat, bandit.
In this era, fans forget that the speed of time is amazingly fast, or some people have never paid attention to the process at all. What a ridiculous fact that people only need a player from touting to belittle (or vice versa) just one game.
And for those fans who follow and love Lamelo Ball and the Hornets, I want everyone to understand one thing: point guards, it takes more time to grow into the best form in this league. This is especially true for point guards who pass the ball.
Enjoy this wonderful waltz , don’t think the dance music is too long, don’t care about the discussions of others - they just can’t hear the music.
