After signing a four-year, $85 million contract in the offseason, it didn’t take long for Lonzo Ball to live up to the hype.
The 24-year-old point guard was averaging 12.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists entering Saturday night’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers at the United Center while providing steadiness to a Chicago Bulls team that finds itself near the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
“As the point guard, I have to be the head of the snake most nights, especially getting this team in transition,” Ball said before the Bulls’ 114-105 loss that dropped them to 6-3. “Bringing energy on (the defensive) end of the floor was a big emphasis when I talked with Billy (Donovan) and the coaching staff in the offseason.”
The Bulls rallied in the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run to take a 97-96 lead, and the score was tied at 99 with 4:07 to play. But Furkan Korkmaz, Georges Niang and Joel Embiid hit 3-pointers as the 76ers pulled away.
Embiid finished with 30 points and 15 rebounds and hit 4 of 5 from 3-point range, while Korkmaz made 7 of 9 from behind the arc and scored 25 points off the bench.
Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 32 points and DeMar DeRozan added 25. Ball finished with eight points, five rebounds and five assists in yet another game in which the Bulls tried to overcome a double-digit deficit.
“We just have to do a better job of coming out and setting the tone,” LaVine said. “We are playing from behind almost every game right now, and when you keep living dangerously, you are going to lose some of these kind of games.”
A lot of the spotlight will shine on the scoring tandem of LaVine and DeRozan, but Ball’s impact on both ends of the floor has already done wonders. In 276 minutes this season entering Saturday, the Bulls had a net rating of 10.6 when Ball was on the court versus 0.1 when he wasn’t.
He also has caught the eye of one NBA mainstay.
“(Ball) has always been a good defender,” 76ers coach Doc Rivers said. “He has been underrated, and even in his first two years with the Lakers, that was not the greatest team, but Lonzo was always the guy, at least in my mind, that stood out defensively. He’s long, he’s athletic and has an incredibly high IQ.
“His improvement has been on the other end, shooting the basketball and playing with pace.”
The Bulls entered the game averaging 21.4 points off turnovers, the second-highest clip in the NBA and the highest mark of any Bulls team in the last 21 years. They turned 14 76ers turnovers into 23 points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Embiid, whose 20 first-half points led a depleted 76ers team to its league-high eighth win.
Offensively, the beauty of Ball’s game comes with his ability to play on and off the ball. He expressed a desire during the preseason to return to being a “traditional point guard,” which he showed Saturday, finding his teammates multiple times in transition.
“I’ve never played with a point guard who can lob the ball at the rim like he can,” said Derrick Jones Jr., who contributed a season-high 12 points. “It’s been fun (playing with him) so far.”
Ball has been effective hitting catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, an element of his skill set that opened up his offensive game after the Lakers traded him to the New Orleans Pelicans in July 2019. Heading into the Bulls’ second straight matchup versus the 76ers, he was converting 37.8% of his catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts this season.
Early in his Bulls tenure, Ball still is acclimating himself to the city. The Los Angeles native spent time checking off the go-to destinations newcomers to Chicago go through upon arrival.
“I got out a little bit when I first got here,” he said. “I took a river tour, which was cool. I learned about the old-school gangsters from the (1930s). I live pretty close to the Field (Museum), so I was there for a little bit.”
Ball did have one Chicago newbie moment when discussing his arrival.
“I went to some restaurant that was 95 floors up at some place that had a great view,” Ball said, referring to the John Hancock Center. “It was called the Signature Room. Outside of that, I’ve just been in the house, but I’ve been around.”
Zach LaVine update
The Bulls shooting guard has been dealing with torn ligaments in his left thumb he suffered Oct. 25 against the Toronto Raptors. While LaVine was seen shooting free throws without a brace during Saturday’s shootaround, Donovan provided an update on his second-leading scorer’s health.
“His hand is healing and is getting better,” Donovan said before the game. “When he gets to a point where he can actually play with (the brace) off? I am not sure.”
Donovan said he wouldn’t reduce LaVine’s minutes drastically unless the medical staff gave him new information.
“I don’t think Zach wants to do that and I don’t think the medical staff feels like he needs to do that,” Donovan said.
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