MasterIchiro wrote:He's a top-5 offensive weapon in the game.
That is definitely false. Literally nothing suggests or agrees with that notion.
EmpireFalls wrote:This thread: people who actually watch the games in awe of LaMelo’s constant playmaking threat and entertaining playstyle as well as ability to elevate in clutch moments
He's got a nice handle. He clearly has excellent vision and his instincts for playmaking are top-notch.
I don't think anyone is doubting that. We've seen that sort of player before, though, and they have a fairly specific ceiling, particularly in this era. Ball is obviously an impact player on offense, but there is a limit to what he can accomplish until and unless he proves consistency with his scoring.
Now, so far this season, he's actually about +1.4% rTS (on top of the foundation he had been displaying for several years previously). Concurrently, basically all of the other stats are starting to look at him more favorably as a result. He's still got some settling out to do, though, with the way he's been shooting on his short shots.
He's kinetic and dynamic on the floor and the playmaking stuff is clearly there, but it's hard to take that and weak scoring and get a lot of accolades. And it's effectively impossible to do that and be one of the top players in the league, which is why the emphasis is there on his scoring, and why it's making such a difference early this season... and even then, holding him back. So we'll see what happens as the season progresses.
