When Luke Walton became the Los Angeles Lakers head coach prior to the 2016-17 NBA season, he emphasized ball movement and playing for one another. The roster has changed, but Walton’s message has not.
For the second consecutive season, the Lakers are a top-10 team in assists through 18 games. However, in the 90-83 win over the Utah Jazz, they finished with only 10 assists.
As James was the only player with at least one assist (7) for most of the game, Lonzo Ball (2) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (1) eventually contributed. Some of it was a result of the Lakers struggling to shoot, but Walton also felt the team’s play was a factor.