Lakers draft rumors: 3 reasons to go with Dennis Smith Jr.
By Keith Rivas
He’s a better scorer than Lonzo Ball
Most of the hype surrounding Lonzo Ball has been in his passing ability as well as his scoring potential. However, in their respective seasons at NC State and UCLA, Dennis Smith Jr. out-performed Ball in the scoring part of the stat sheet.
The PAC-12 Freshman of the Year averaged 14.6 points per game, while Smith Jr. managed 18.1.
For the Lakers, this is important for a few reasons. First off, they’ll need a point guard that can score as much if not more than just facilitate. They don’t need the flashy passing that could come with Ball if the points aren’t part of the package.
Additionally, Smith Jr. is within one and a half rebounds per game of Ball. Depending on how the UCLA phenom’s athleticism translates to the NBA, that’s a very easy gap to close.
Ball averaged 7.6 assists per game, while Smith Jr. was able to dish out just over six. That, like the rebounding, is a close enough margin for the Lakers to decide to pass on Lonzo Ball.
For D’Angelo Russell, this is also big news. Los Angeles will need much more scoring from the third year guard in his assumed transition to shooting guard.
Not to mention that while in college, Smith Jr. also scored more points in a season than Ball and did it all in less time on the floor. The gap for that is 580-524 in favor of the former Wolfpack point guard.