Los Angeles Lakers: Three things to watch for against Portland

1. Which Lonzo Ball are we going to see?

This is a question that we should be asking on a nightly basis. Lonzo Ball had an extremely slow scoring start to the season. His funky shot mechanics were being ridiculed and the Lakers’ choice to draft him second overall has been questioned.

However, Ball has completely turned around his play since returning from injury and has been a true stat stuffer. Ball is averaging 12 points, 7.3 assists and 6.8 rebounds in four games since returning from injury. His lights out 6-10 shooting beyond the arc won the game against San Antonio. In Miami, Ball had six steals in a good defensive performance.

Thus, it is safe to assume that we will get an efficient Lonzo Ball against the Portland Trail Blazers. Los Angeles is riding an eight-game winning streak with Ball in the lineup, those questions of “which Lonzo Ball” should be fading.

Against the Trail Blazers, though, Ball has had two inconsistent performances. In the first match-up of the season, Ball did not score a single point and only registered four assists and three rebounds. Granted, this did come during his early-season struggles.

In the second match-up, though, Ball scored 10 points with 11 assists and eight rebounds. Those numbers should be in line with what he does tonight. However, Damian Lillard was not playing in that game; but he was playing in zero point contest.