Clippers Paul George says Lonzo, LaMelo Ball have star potential

The Los Angeles Clippers recently had the chance to play both Ball brothers in the span of a week. After being routed by the Pelicans on Sunday, March 14, Los Angeles closed the week with its own blowout win over the Hornets at home on Saturday, March 20.

Lonzo had 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the 20-point win while LaMelo finished with 13 points and five rebounds in his 27-point loss. Following their win over Charlotte, Clippers guard Paul George and head coach Ty Lue compared the two Ball brothers.

“They’re both fun to watch,” George said. “When they’re playing aggressive and in the flow of the game, they’re both fun to watch. They both play hard and they’re really good passers. I think they’re very underrated passers. They have the flashiness and they’re both young so their shooting is going to come. But I think both of them have star potential.”

“Just how they push the pace,” Lue added. “I think just being 6’6”, 6’7”, the way they get the ball  (from) out-of-bounds and push and get the ball into the paint or with their advanced passes, their best I’ve seen as far as being able to get downhill so fast…Those two guys, they have similar games.

“LaMelo is a little bit more flashy but other than that, they both pretty much play the right way, pushing the pace, getting guys open shots and playing really well in transition.”

While LaMelo technically plays at a quicker pace this season than Lonzo, that’s largely attributed to the playstyles of the two coaches and teams. Interestingly, they have nearly identical assist ratios with Lonzo at 27.5 and LaMelo at 26.6.

The differences in their games come in how they score with Lonzo nearly exclusively a 3-point shooter at this stage in his career and LaMelo able to create his own shot. Both, though, bring unique aspects to their teams that make them tough to defend and, as both George and Lue noted, mirror each other as well.