Lonzo Ball outshines Markelle Fultz in matchup between possible No. 1 overall picks -- video and analysis

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2017/02/nba_draft_2017_lonzo_ball_outs.html







NBA Draft 2017: Lonzo Ball outshines Markelle Fultz in matchup between possible No. 1 overall picks -- video and analysis




UCLA's Lonzo Ball (2) defends Washington's Markelle Fultz in an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017, in Seattle. UCLA won 107-66. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)


Jay King | mjking@masslive.com By Jay King | mjking@masslive.com


on February 05, 2017 at 11:30 AM




Sometimes basketball games do not live up to the hype.

I probably should have teased you with a catchier opening, something about the considerable talent shown by the No. 1 and No. 2 draft prospects when they met each other Saturday night. I would have been smart to mention all the NBA scouts and executives who traveled to the state of Washington for the matchup, or the wonderful contrast between Markelle Fultz's pick-and-roll polish and Lonzo Ball's devilishly unorthodox skill set.

But I'm not here to mislead you. By the time six minutes of game action between Washington and UCLA had passed, my notes included this gem: "I don't know if I want to keep watching." Two minutes later I jotted down, "Do I even want to do this?" By that point, I was leaning toward no. I kept watching because 1) hey, maybe something cool would happen, and 2) the Boston Celtics might be lucky enough to draft either Fultz or Ball in June.

I will not pretend like I watched the greatest basketball game ever Saturday night, but, even in a blowout UCLA win, Fultz and Ball showed why they will earn consideration for the top overall pick come June. Consider yourself lucky if you chose to spend your Saturday night some other way (like, maybe just watching Paul Pierce tribute videos for hours) but the point guards showed all sorts of promise.

Thankfully, I survived the two hours of observation and I'm here to tell you all about it. Here's a running compilation of notes, observations and videos from the night. Please forgive me for rambling at times. I was only trying to stay awake.

-- Before sitting down on my couch and struggling to figure out how to sign in to Pac-12.com (side note: Dear TV people, please put all matchups between top lottery picks on national television from now on), I understand Washington has little chance unless Fultz goes full supernova. Maybe he will, and his team will compete, but UCLA is the heavy favorite here. Ball doesn't necessarily need to dominate because he actually has teammates who know how to play basketball. Believe it or not, that's relatively helpful in the quest to win games.

-- But we're not here to dwell on supporting casts. We're here to discuss Fultz and Ball, who will likely be the first two point guards - and possibly players - picked in the 2017 NBA Draft. Four minutes in, it's becoming clear this may not be a competitive game, but at least Ball just threw an alley-oop:


https://twitter.com/UCLAMBB/status/828088461903007744

Follow
UCLA Basketball ✔ @UCLAMBB
Ball ➡️️ Leaf ➡️️ Dunk!#GoBruins #UCLAvsUW
7:50 PM - 4 Feb 2017
 24 24 Retweets   59 59 likes


Two thoughts on the play:

1. Dear Washington,

When playing a laid-back zone defense, the idea is not to have a pair of wings on the same side, defending the same player, thereby leaving a center trying to contain two big guys near the bucket.

2. Even if the defense looks drugged, Ball has the size to see over the top of the zone, the vision to spot his teammate in an instant, and the touch to put the lob in a perfect place. Not many guys can pass like he can. I enjoy passing. Maybe this night will be fun after all.

-- Note: Maybe not. Ball blocks a Fultz triple, Bryce Alford hits a 3-pointer from the moon, and UCLA leads 18-4. For some reason, I remember I have beers in the fridge. I will not drink them because I'm working, but I wish I could offer one to Washington coach Lorenzo Romar.

-- Washington needs Fultz to be a Russell Westbrook "I will break your defense even if I need to do it alone" type of good. One issue with that: UCLA's junking things up with a zone defense, which takes away Fultz's pick-and-roll brilliance. Every draft expert I've talked to basically drools while noting the way Fultz handles pick-and-rolls, but that doesn't matter when he's standing stationary at the top of the key, swinging the ball to initiate zone offense, and watching from afar while one of his teammates does something overly ambitious.

-- Hey, Ball just did something fun again:

https://t.co/9osCU4PjNo


For years we've heard about the importance of layups, free throws and 3-pointers, but one knock on Ball's game is that he doesn't try to do anything else. That sounds counterintuitive: if those are all the best shots, and he only shoots the best shots, that should be a good thing, right? Well, sure, in a vacuum. But NBA defenses will do a better job of taking away the No. 1 option; all the best point guards have tricks to score from the midrange. It's jarring that the floater featured above was Ball's first this season, according to a UCLA reporter. His commitment to efficient shots is admirable, but the inefficient ones sometimes came in handy, too.

-- As I'm writing about Ball's floater, he grabs an offensive rebound and throws a nonchalant pass to a teammate at the arc. Even the way Ball flings the ball out to the perimeter looks cool. I don't know if this dude will become an NBA star. He's not very strong. His shot's so funky. But he sure knows how to pass with aplomb.

-- Score update: 27-13, UCLA. I will stay away from the beers in my fridge, I swear.

-- The announcer has a thing to say: "Maybe Markelle Fultz didn't get the memo about how hyped this game would be." Or maybe his team is no good, his defense can't get stops, and he's struggling to create his normal opportunities in the halfcourt because UCLA decided not to play man-to-man defense on many possessions. I will say this: when Fultz dribbles into a contested long 2 - and drills it like he doesn't even notice the hand near his eyeballs - I wonder why he doesn't just shoot the ball every time down the court, regardless of the circumstances.

-- (Because that would be nuts, Jay. A willingness to share the ball should be considered a positive trait, and Fultz should learn more ways to combat junk defenses once he's, like, old enough to drink and stuff.)

-- We have heard Lonzo Ball compared to Jason Kidd all season, but apparently that's not enough anymore. The broadcast goes with Magic Johnson instead. I wish everyone would just relax, take a few deep breaths, and enjoy this kid's wonderful court vision without heaping on all the comparisons to first-ballot Hall of Famers, but oh well, here we are.

-- What does Ball's shot look like? Glad you asked.

https://twitter.com/Tom_NBA/status/828102819236425728
Follow
Tom Westerholm ✔ @Tom_NBA
Lonzo’s form in slow mo is … something.
8:47 PM - 4 Feb 2017
 324 324 Retweets   427 427 likes


That kind of looks like Charles Barkley's golf swing, but the shot goes in regularly, so whatever. For the record, this one went in, too.

-- Fultz's shot does not have the same "haunt you in your nightmares" quality. It's actually quite pretty, and he doesn't need much space to get it off, as he shows by canning two long jumpers in a hurry. The announcer is so excited by the second one that he vows he would average 40 points per game if he could score so easily.

First: No, bro. You wouldn't. Nobody averages 40 points per game. Please stop.

Second: I think the announcer actually meant to insult Fultz with his comment. He has spent some time dogging Fultz for his lack of aggression in this game. It seems to me this is the better insight:

Follow
Chad Ford ✔ @chadfordinsider
Shame Markelle Fultz is on such a bad team. He'd look better & more engaged w/ more talent around him. Most NBA folks still think he's No. 1
9:35 PM - 4 Feb 2017
 86 86 Retweets   168 168 likes


But I'm not the announcer for the Pac-12 network who could average 40 points per game if he had Markelle Fultz's skill set, so who am I to judge?

-- Anyway, Fultz is up to 12 points before halftime even though A) the zone defense has limited his dribble penetration, and B) his team hasn't gotten any stops to provide him opportunities in transition. The kid is smooth. He probably should be taking more shots just because his team is doomed otherwise, but it's hard to fault him when his club is so overmatched.

-- I almost forgot to include this. Another Ball alley-oop:

https://t.co/qSoj7lqk3L


-- Score update: 50-32, UCLA. As great as Fultz is, this Washington team irritates me to no end. Maybe don't stand there and watch the other team throw a lob pass to the man wide open at the rim, guys.

-- It's early in the second half now. Fultz just drilled a long 3-pointer to cut his team's deficit ... to 58-37. I feel bad for all the NBA scouts and executives who thought they might have such a beneficial trip to Washington, but fell into a mud pit instead.

-- The announcer just credited Ball for a pass one of his teammate's made. As far as I can tell, the theory goes like this: the player would not have thrown the pass last year, but Ball's contagious so now all of the UCLA players are John Stockton or something.

-- For the record, I do not believe in this theory fully. But Ball does seem like an awesome guy to play with, and it's clear his abilities have helped change things at UCLA. He doesn't have Fultz's scoring package, but there's something to be said for whipping the ball ahead in transition so a teammate can make a play, too.

-- While Fultz still seems like the frontrunner for the No. 1 pick, it must be tough to decide between such drastically different point guards who are both great in totally dissimilar ways. The Celtics would be thrilled to get the option, of course.

-- I mostly decided not to write about the second half because you didn't want to experience that even in a second-hand fashion, I promise. But here's one more neat sequence:

https://t.co/D9MmSiSBfX


And here are the final stat lines from the game:

Follow
Derrek Li @DerrekLi
Final of Lonzo Ball vs Markelle Fultz.

Fultz: 25 pts, 5 ast, 6 reb, 3 stl in 38 min
Ball: 22 pts, 5 ast, 6 reb, 4 stl, 1 blk in 30 min
9:31 PM - 4 Feb 2017
 5 5 Retweets   3 3 likes


As close as the numbers looked, Ball won the matchup on this night - and not just because UCLA won, 107-66.



bob
MY NOTE:  Didn't watch the game.  Can any board members provide their insights?  There is an excellent chance, almost overwhelming even if the pingpong balls bounce wrong, that one of these two kids will be in green next year (barring Danny doing what Danny does).


.

I did not happen to see this game, but have seen both of these guys on two other occasions. No question that they are both exceptional college players, and also that they are ranked so highly relating to the NBA draft in June. Getting either one will likely turn into a very nice addition to the Cs roster in two or three seasons.

Rarely have I watched so many college games in one winter, but the Cs having the Nets pick must be the reason.