Lonzo Ball's start to life in the NBA hasn't gone the way he or the Los Angeles Lakers would've hoped as he has struggled hugely in the early part of his rookie season.

Despite recently becoming the youngest player to post a triple-double in NBA history, it was just one of a few highlights from his opening 16 games.

Ball is in a horrible shooting slump as he's posting a field goal percentage of 30.8 percent and a disappointing 22.7 percent from three-point range.

Unsurprisingly, many are pointing to his unconventional shooting stroke as the reason behind his struggles but having shot 40 percent in college, the Lakers are not willing to tinker with his mechanics and are hoping he works through his.

Veteran Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jamal Crawford recently weighed in on Lonzo's shooting style and believes the Purple and Gold are right not to change it.

"No, I wouldn't (change his shot). He's done it his whole life. Even if he struggled, I'm sure he's struggled, but when he makes 10 in a row you won't change it then so I'd just keep it consistent," Crawford said on CBS Sports' Flagrant Two Podcast.

The 20-year-old is also struggling from the free-throw line as he's hitting just 50 percent of his attempts at the charity stripe.

In a 122-113 loss at home to the Phoenix Suns on Friday night, he didn't show any signs of improvement as he put up six points, six rebounds and six assists on 3-of-7 shooting.

Head coach Luke Walton has benched him for the entire fourth quarter on multiple occasions in some of their most recent outings but despite all of this, Crawford still sees something special in the point guard.

"Star. Absolutely a star. I love watching him play. He plays the right way. He doesn't play for stats," he said. "He'll give the ball up early when he could easily hold it to get an assist. He's making the right play if it was a hockey assist he'd get 20 a game cause he's always passing up early. He seems like a great teammate."

Even though he's finding it tough to shoot the ball, the rookie is still producing some decent numbers in other categories as he's averaging 6.9 assists and 6.6 rebounds.

Crawford is the latest player to come to the defence of the UCLA product as he's also had ringing endorsements from LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in recent weeks.

The media attention that has surrounded the young guard for much of the year has certainly put him under increased pressure and playing in one of the largest markets and biggest franchises mean everything is magnified.

The talent is clearly there so all he can do is continue to put to work in and believe in his shot and hopefully, things will start to look up for him.