Fans and analyst have been wondering how LeBron James will mesh with the Lakers’ young core all summer long, and Los Angeles will finally open their regular season Thursday night against the Portland Trail Blazers on the road.

Point guard Lonzo Ball is expected to start the season on the bench after the Lakers signed veteran Rajon Rondo, and some experts believe that Ball’s offensive shortcomings may cost him a spot on the floor late in games, as well. During a visit to ESPN on Thursday, Magic Johnson detailed what Ball has to improve as the season progresses.

“He has to learn how to attack the paint and get his floaters, and then take it all the way to the rim. He loves to pass first – and that’s fine, we want him to stay with that – but a lot of times now the defense is baiting him. ‘Go ahead and drive the lane, we know you’re going to kick it out.’ So they don’t really play him. So he’s got to take it all the way. He’s got to be able to score. And once he’s able to score… he can do everything else. He can play defense. He’s one of the best rebounding guards in the league. And he knows how to get his teammates great shots. We want him to keep the pace going, because we want to run, run, and run.”

Johnson said that he expects Brandon Ingram, not Ball, to emerge as the Lakers’ leading second option alongside LeBron this season.

“It’s got to be Brandon Ingram, because every year he’s taken a step forward, right? He’s gotten better and better. And he has the game to score 20 points a night. And we’ve seen signs of that. So if Brandon can take the step that we all feel he can take, I think that that would make us a dangerous team.”

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