Lonzo Ball gave a blunt assessment of his performance inside the NBA’s bubble.
“I feel like I let the team down,” Ball said. “I know I'm a big part of it. Usually when I play well, we win. Obviously, I didn't play well this trip. We're going home early, and I have to live with that."
The Pelicans have gone 2-4 and Ball’s averaged 5.6 points per game in Orlando compared to the 18.2 points he posted in the team’s previous six games.
"Like I said, we had a long stop,” Ball said. “We couldn’t get things back to how we had it before the stop, and I think that was a problem. I think a lot of guys were just out of rhythm. We haven’t played together for a minute, and I think it showed on the court.”
Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said he isn’t worried about Ball and expects the guard to bounce back.
"I know it’s frustrating for him because everyone wanted to come down here and play well, and it just didn’t work out that way in some situations,” Gentry said. “I think the effort was there, and he’s very good at trying to get everybody else involved. He’s disappointed, but I don’t think it’s anything that I would spend any time worrying about because I think he’s going to be fine.”
Despite the team’s bubble struggles, Ball still sees several positives the team can build on heading into next season.
“I think we made a lot of growth,” Ball said. We’re fortunate to be here after losing thirteen in a row, so the fact that that we were here showed our fight towards the end. I’m proud of that.”
Ball also said he felt he made some strides as an individual player and is looking forward to sharpening other aspects of his game this offseason.
“I think for sure my shooting, just changing my shot,” he said. “When I was rolling, it felt a lot better.
“I feel like once I get back in the gym, it’ll be fine and [I’ll] just go from there. Definitely work on my in-between game, finishing at the rim. I think those are two of the main things that stick out for me. Defensively, I’m not too worried about it, so mostly just offensive stuff.”
