Lakers' Lonzo Ball starts fast, then struggles in rough NBA Summer League debut
No. 2 overall pick starts off with a bang, but quickly fizzles in a loss to the Clippers in Vegas
Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball made his much-anticipated NBA debut Friday, a 96-93 Las Vegas Summer League overtime loss to the Clippers, and the 19-year-old got off to a scintillating start by throwing an alley-oop to Brandon Ingram on the first play of the game.
Unfortunately for Ball, it went downhill after that.
Lonzo finished with five points, five assists and four rebounds in 32 minutes while shooting 2 of 15 from the floor, including 1 of 11 from 3-point range. Probably not the debut he sought. Here are a few takeaways:
Fans already love Lonzo
The game was played in Las Vegas, relatively close to Los Angeles, so it's possible that there were a lot of Lakers fans in the house. But no Laker caused more of a frenzy than Lonzo. From the time he entered the arena to the time he walked off the court, the crowd was buzzing. Every time he touched the ball there was a crescendo from the fans.
On Friday, however, the swell of cheers usually culminated in a disappointing, "Awwwwww."
The Lakers play again Saturday (against the rival Celtics, no less), and according to ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk, it was the first time in Las Vegas Summer League history that the Saturday session was sold out by noon Friday. The people have spoken, and they love Lonzo.
It's contagious
From the second he touched the ball, Lonzo was pushing the pace and looking for teammates. That's exactly what the Lakers want, and it clearly led to unselfishness from Ball's teammates, including Brandon Ingram, who had a sweet no-look dish to rookie Thomas Bryant.
Brandon Ingram drops a no-look dime to Thomas Bryant for the jam! 👀#NBASummer pic.twitter.com/dZ04Cg2bqV
— NBA TV (@NBATV) July 8, 2017
It may be annoying when people describe Ball's style of play is contagious, but that's really the best way to put it. You can see everyone on the court looking for the open man and pushing the tempo, which is only going to look better when Ball gets real NBA players as teammates in the regular season. For as much as he passed the ball, finishing with only three turnovers was solid.
News flash: LaVar keeps talking
For those wondering whether LaVar Ball would take a back seat once his son started playing NBA games, the answer is no. At halftime the father doubled down on his guarantee that the Lakers will make the playoffs this season, then said that it's a "done deal" that Lonzo will win Rookie of the Year. After his son's disappointing performance, LaVar called it Lonzo's "worst game ever" but said it's OK because they still only lost by three points.
LaVar Ball on Lonzo Ball's debut: "His worst game ever... [but] he changed the Lakers' culture." pic.twitter.com/u8g4OYJiey
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) July 8, 2017
Are we sure Lonzo can shoot?
OK, it's one game. On top of that it's his first game. But if we're going to overreact to the good, we have to overreact to the bad. He missed 10 of 11 from beyond the arc, an area which is supposed to be one of his strengths, and most of the shots weren't close. The questions about Ball's unorthodox shooting form were always answered by something like, "it's not pretty, but it goes in." It could be an anomaly, but Friday's game at least has to raise the question of whether his shooting numbers in one year at UCLA (55.1 FG pct, 41.2 3-point pct, 66.8 effective FG pct) will translate to the NBA. It should be noted he shot a pedestrian 67.3 percent from the line. If Lonzo continues to shoot like he did Friday, it's going to be a long season for the him, the fans ... and Magic Johnson.
Magic's reaction to Lonzo's shank 😭 pic.twitter.com/BUdsov8yRg
— Las Wobgas (@World_Wide_Wob) July 8, 2017
Lonzo's first poster ... not the good kind
Ball struggled on defense occasionally, as do many -- if not most -- rookies, but he was never more exposed than when he found himself mismatched on 6-foot-9 Clippers forward Brice Johnson. On the low block, Johnson -- who had a tremendous game with 23 points -- made a quick spin move to the baseline which left Ball in the dust, then flushed it home with his left hand.
Poster time! Brice Johnson spins off Lonzo for the big-time finish#NBASummer pic.twitter.com/4KeFz9Pszg
— NBA.com (@NBAcom) July 8, 2017
Hey, Lonzo was bound to get dunked on sooner or later. Might as well get it out of the way in the first game.
















