Lakers Rumors: Three reasons to be legitimately worried about Lonzo Ball

He is not as mentally tough as he should be

Confidence definitely plays a role in his early shooting woes, but being mentally tough and mentally sound are two of the big keys to overcoming those struggles. Instead of facing the problem head on, Ball hasn’t denied that it is “in his head”, as reported by Bleacher Report.

From B/R:

"“It’s in my head to be honest,” Ball told ESPN.com’s Jeff Goodman after the loss. “I know I can shoot the ball.” History suggests he’s right."

He is connecting on just 34.4% of his chances in the paint, which is cited in the report as the worst in the league right now. A far cry from what Magic Johnson believed he had in the rookie guard, but it’s so hard to accept when the other aspects of his game haven’t been terrible.

We’ve seen what can happen when Lonzo catches fire; he has put that on display both in Summer League and during his time with the UCLA Bruins. However, now that Ball is in the tougher phase of his basketball career, the only one that can stop this from being a worse fallout is him.

At UCLA, the way that a bad game was handled by him and his father was to simply say that it happens. However, with his poor shooting, it has developed into a trend that the team needs to be aware of at all times. It’s more than just one bad game or even a series of games — it has proven to be a consistent issue that will not be resolved overnight or at all if not addressed by Ball firsthand.

He has to start by not letting it stay in his head, or be there in the first place. It’s one thing to admit your mistakes or shortcomings, but admitting that it’s getting to you could backfire. Being a second overall pick means you have to be more than hype if you are going to get out of the worst times in your career, and a sour start definitely doesn’t help his case.