High precision LHC data on lepton angular distributions in inclusive Z-boson production have revealed a large violation of the Lam-Tung relation. Using an intuitive approach we show that the violation of the Lam-Tung relation, as well as the main features of the kinematic dependencies of the angular distributions coefficients, can be well understood. Implications of this approach on the rotational invariance of the angular coefficients, the behavior of the coefficients for Z plus jets events, and on other hard processes will also be discussed.