Will Lonzo Ball and Kyle Lowry Lead the NBA in Assists This Season?
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The NBA season is underway and there are already some early contenders for the assist crown. Lonzo Ball and Kyle Lowry are both off to hot starts, averaging over 10 assists per game Will they be able to keep up this pace?
Assists Leaders
The NBA season is underway and the race for the assists title is heating up. Who will come out on top? Lonzo Ball and Kyle Lowry are two strong contenders.
Ball, a rookie point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, is averaging 7.6 assists per game He’s been likened to Magic Johnson and is already one of the league’s most exciting players Lowry, an All-Star point guard for the Toronto Raptors is averaging 7.4 assists per game He’s a savvy veteran who knows how to running an offense.
With both players putting up big numbers, it’s going to be a close race to the Finish Line Ball has the edge right now, but Lowry isn’t far behind. It’s going to be a fun battle to watch all season long!
Lonzo Ball
Lonzo Ball is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Ball was selected with the second overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Lakers. He played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins where he was named a consensus first-team All-American and was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.
Kyle Lowry
Entering his 13th season in the NBA, Kyle Lowry is fresh off another strong year in which he averaged 19.2 points and 7.2 assists per game. The 34-year-old point guard is showing no signs of slowing down and figures to be in the mix for the league’s assist crown once again this season.
Other Assist Leaders
Assists are a very important part of basketball, and usually the point guard is the one leading the pack in assists per game. However, there have been other players who have led the league in assists per game. Here are some of those other leaders:
– Magic Johnson (10.5 assists per game in 1981-82)
– John Stockton (10.5 assists per game in 1989-90)
– Jason Kidd (10.8 assists per game in 1999-00)
– Steve Nash (11.6 assists per game in 2005-06)
So, will Lonzo Ball and Kyle Lowry be able to lead the NBA in assists this season? Only time will tell!
Why Assists are Important
In basketball, an assist is defined as a pass that leads to a basket. Assists are important because they are a key part of the game and can be used to measure a player’s offensive contribution.
There are a few different ways to look at assists. One way is to simply compare the number of assists a player has per game. Another way is to compare the assist percentage, which is the percentage of a team’s baskets that a playerassisted on while he was on the court.
Lonzo Ball and Kyle Lowry are both currently averaging over 7 assists per game. Ball is averaging 7.2 assists per game and Lowry is averaging 7.4 assists per game. In terms of assist percentage, Ball ranks fourth in the NBA at 36.1%, while Lowry ranks sixth at 34.6%.
So, who will lead the NBA in assists this season? It’s hard to say for sure, but both Ball and Lowry are certainly in contention.
How Assists are Measured
In order to understand who might lead the NBA in assists this season, it’s important to understand how assists are measured. An assist is a pass that leads to a basket, and is awarded to the player who throws the pass. A player gets credit for an assist only if the recipient of the pass scores a basket, regardless of whether or not he was fouled in the process.
What Ball and Lowry Need to Do
For Lonzo Ball and Kyle Lowry to lead the NBA in assists this season, they’ll need to average at least 9.4 assists per game. That’s the career-high mark set by John Stockton in 1988-89.
To put that into perspective, Ball averaged just 7.2 assists per game as a rookie last season, while Lowry averaged 7.3 assists per game. So, they’ll need to significantly improve their playmaking abilities if they want to reach the top of the leaderboard.
There are a few things that Ball and Lowry can do to increase their assist totals. First, they’ll need to play more minutes. Ball averaged just 26.7 minutes per game last season, while Lowry averaged 32.2 minutes per game. If they can get up to around 35 minutes per game, that would give them a few more opportunities to rack up assists.
Second, they’ll need to be more aggressive in looking for their teammates. Neither Ball nor Lowry is afraid to take a shot, but sometimes they could be more assertive in finding open teammates rather than looking for their own shot first.
Lastly, they’ll need some help from their teammates. Both Ball and Lowry are great passers, but their teammates also need to be able to convert on the opportunities that they’re given. If teams focus too much on stopping Ball and Lowry, it will open up opportunities for other players on their respective teams.
If everything goes according to plan, there’s a good chance that we could see Ball and Lowry leading the NBA in assists this season.
Other Notable Assistants
Assists are a key part of basketball, and the leading assist-getters are often among the league’s best players. This season, two point guards look poised to take the lead in assists: Lonzo Ball of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors But they’re not the only ones worth watching.
Other notable assistants include Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder Chris Paul of the Houston Rockets and Rajon Rondo of the New Orleans Pelicans All three have been among the league leaders in assists for several seasons and are sure to be near the top again this year. It will be interesting to see if any of them can challenge Ball and Lowry for the lead.
The Case Against Ball and Lowry
There’s no doubt that Lonzo Ball and Kyle Lowry are two of the best passers in the NBA. But will they lead the league in assists this season?
There are a few factors working against them. First, both players are better scorers than passers. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that they’re more likely to look for their own shots than to set up their teammates.
Second, Ball and Lowry play on teams with other strong passer. The Lakers have Rajon Rondo and Lebron James while the Raptors have Marc Gasol and Pascal Siakam. That means there are other options for their teammates to choose from when they’re looking to make a pass.
Finally, neither Ball nor Lowry is known for their speed. And while that’s not necessarily a hindrance to passing, it does mean that they’re not as likely to rack up assists on fastbreaks or in transition as some of the other top passers in the league.
All that being said, Ball and Lowry are still two of the best passers in the NBA. They have the vision and creativity to find their teammates even when there seems to be no one open. And if their teams do happen to get out in transition, they have the passing skills to make something happen.
So while they may not be the favorites to lead the league in assists this season, don’t count them out just yet.
Assists and the NBA
In the National Basketball Association an assist is defined as a pass that directly leads to a basket. Assists were first recorded in the 1984-1985 season, and since then, the league has seen some great playmakers. In the 2017-2018 season Russell Westbrook led the league in assists, averaging 10.3 per game. That year, he also became the first player in NBA history to average a triple double for an entire season.
While Westbrook is certainly one of the best point guards in the league today, there are several other players who are also great at setting up their teammates for baskets. Lonzo Ball and Kyle Lowry are two such players. In the 2018-2019 season, Ball averaged 8.7 assists per game, while Lowry averaged 8.7 assists per game.
So far in the 2019-2020 Season Ball is averaging 7.8 assists per game and Lowry is averaging 7.6 assists per game. If they can keep up their level of play, it’s not out of the question that either player could lead the league in assists this season.