Lakers Rumors: Three lineup changes that need to happen in second half of the season

Give Lonzo Ball less minutes on the floor

Call me crazy, but hear me out first before you go there.

There’s been all sorts of reaction to what Lonzo Ball’s first season in the NBA has been like, but the numbers, in this case, only tell one story. And no, more playing time isn’t going to get the rookie jitters out of him and help the Lakers down the stretch, so hear me out.

As it stands right now, the Lakers depend heavily on their rookie point guard — more so than even their front office was probably expecting this early on in his career. This is not to say that Ball is not up to the challenge or even incapable of getting the job done, but wearing him out so young is not going to fix the problem.

As it stands right now, the only rookie averaging more minutes per game than Lonzo Ball is Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers, who plays just over 35 minutes each night. Ball averages 33.9 minutes per game, ahead of third-place teammate Kyle Kuzma who racks up the same time on the court as Jazz rookie sensation Donovan Mitchell at 31.4 MPG.

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Simmons had a year to recover from a injury and didn’t have to play his true rookie season and Kyle Kuzma got a lot of extra time to condition himself in college with the University of Utah. Ball has gone straight from Chino Hills to UCLA and then to the Lakers in less than three years and if he keeps this up, it’s not going to end well.

If the Lakers are really going to pull the trigger on a Jordan Clarkson trade, this actually makes a whole lot more sense. It’s doubtful that LA would try and make a deal involving Clarkson where they wouldn’t get a guard in return that can help grab more minutes.

Also, I am not suggesting drastically cutting Lonzo’s minutes to where he gets little to no playing time because of factors off the court. What I am saying, though, is that instead of nearly 34 minutes per game, drop it down to at least 30.

Kuzma is only getting 31.4 per game because the team has been needing him in that capacity and he’s been delivering. Same goes for Donovan Mitchell, who has to shoulder more of the offensive load in Utah while Ben Simmons can stand to play 35 minutes and change so young because he’s just that good at what he does.

Outside of the aforementioned players, no rookie is playing more than 31 minutes per game. I get the hype and everything with Lonzo, but cut the kid some slack in the second half and we’ll be guaranteed to see a different slate of results.