Lonzo Ball's Struggles Continue as Lakers Rally to Beat Bulls

The first month of Lonzo Ball's NBA career has been defined more by its valleys than its peaks, and that trend held steady as the Los Angeles Lakers rallied from 19 points down to top the Chicago Bulls 103-94 at Staples Center on Tuesday night. 

Two days after Ball posted his second career triple-double in a win over the Denver Nuggets, he was bottled up to the tune of eight points on 3-of-13 shooting (2-of-8 from three), 13 rebounds and four assists.  

The No. 2 overall pick has now scored 10 points or fewer while attempting at least 10 shots in nine of his 18 appearances this season. 

Needless to say, Tuesday's performance didn't help boost his season-long splits. 

Ball entered the evening shooting 31.3 percent from the field and 22.8 percent from three, and he once again failed to find a rhythm as a spot-up marksman. 

Beyond the long-range shooting struggles, Ball was noticeably shaky in the paint and finished one of his four looks from point-blank range. That conversion came in the form of a nifty lob from Brandon Ingram in the first quarter, as the NBA documented on Twitter: 

"My shot isn't going, and the only way to fix it is to keep working on it," Ball told the Sacramento Bee's Ailene Voisin in an interview published Tuesday. "But it's in my head, for sure. Usually when I play, I just shoot and don't worry about whether it goes in or not. That's not happening now."

Ball was also uncharacteristically quiet in the playmaking department and managed four assists after he handed out 11 dimes on Sunday. 

If there was a positive for Ball, it was that he continued to crash the glass with impressive aggression and has now collected 29 boards over his past two games. 

StatMuse noted Ball currently resides in impressive company when it comes to his rebounding prowess: 

"He's a very good rebounder, and we needed that," head coach Luke Walton said after the win, according to Lakers.com's Mike Trudell. 

Now winners of two in a row, the Lakers will try to rip off three straight victories for the first time this season when they head on the road Wednesday night for a meeting with De'Aaron Fox and the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center.