The Los Angeles Lakers haven't considered removing Lonzo Ball from their starting lineup despite his inconsistencies. 

“The benefit is he gets the game experience,” Luke Walton said this week. “Whether it’s close games, it’s blowouts, it’s playing against top elite point guards that do different things. John Wall, as good as it gets at getting to the rim, a [Russell] Westbrook, a Steph Curry. So he gets all that in-game experience on the go and gets to learn from it all.”

Ball has mainly struggled with his shooting and defense.

“Being a rookie you usually have more time to adjust to NBA life. You get little opportunities here and there and you grow from those. You have vets that kind of take you under their wing and show you how it’s done at this level and it’s more of a patient process,” Walton said.

“He’s handling it well so I think this way is working for him because I think it’s going to accelerate his timetable as far as taking steps in his own personal game, but it’s got its give and take.”