Lonzo Ball's Struggles Continue as Lakers Fall to Raptors 101-92

Lonzo Ball's scoring struggles continued Friday night as he mustered five points on 2-of-7 shooting in the Los Angeles Lakers' 101-92 loss to the Toronto Raptors at Staples Center. 

Ball added seven rebounds, six assists and two steals to his final line, but an inability to find the bottom of the bucket proved problematic as the Lakers let a 17-point first-half lead evaporate. 

It was essentially a carbon copy of Ball's last two games, which both featured single-digit efforts in the scoring column and impressive rebounding and assist figures. 

Now five games into his NBA career, Ball has scored in double-figures once (Oct. 22 against the Phoenix Suns) and made three or more shots in a game twice.  

Perhaps most troubling is that Ball has been incapable of finding a rhythm from beyond the arc—even when he's had plenty of air space on catch-and-shoot opportunities. 

After making one of four attempts from distance on Friday, Ball is now shooting 6-of-26 (23 percent) on three-point attempts for his young career. 

But despite those struggles, head coach Luke Walton has been adamant that the team won't try to tinker with Ball's mechanics. 

"I'd tell them to go study Reggie Miller's career," Walton said Wednesday, per the Los Angeles Times' Tania Ganguli. "It doesn't look great. It can be an issue, yes. But if the ball goes in the net, which he shot over 40% from three in college, he has a track record of being a really good shooter. So for us to try to mess with it would be silly."

Lonzo and the Lakers will try to get back on track Saturday evening at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City when they square off against the Utah Jazz.