Of all the criticisms of LaVar Ball -- and there's no shortage of valid ones -- the most relevant to NBA fans is this: you can't discuss his son, Los Angeles Lakers rookie point guard Lonzo Ball, without putting LaVar in some sort of context. Ball did wonders to promote his son as the Next Great Thing. He helped raise Lonzo's draft stock, mesmerized reporters into buying in not only to Lonzo, but also to the very idea of "Big Baller Brand" as a thing that needs to exist. He pushed his son toward the Lakers and helped create a buzz around the franchise that has not been present since the ill-fated 2012-13 season. 

Here's the thing, though. If you raise someone's profile enough in a league where attention -- and the benefits that fame provides -- is a currency of finite resource, the sharks are going to come calling. 

Queue the Jaws theme and get Patrick Beverley a dorsal fin.

After the Los Angeles Clippers had thumped, walloped, smacked the Lakers and all the hopes that L.A. might be finally "back" in the mouth with a 108-92 victory that wasn't nearly as close as the final score indicated, the stories surfaced: "Magic Johnson passes the torch to Lonzo Ball," "Magic Johnson has faith in Ball." The narrative was pre-designed, a hedge against the previously established hype as well as a continuation of it.

It's possible Thursday night was the worst game Ball will have all season -- or in his career. It's very likely he puts up a performance in the next week that shows all the actual basketball talent that created his hype, beyond whatever nonsense came out of his father's mouth. After all, the Lakers play the Suns next. 

But Ball was discussed as having "just something about him," a transformative element. There were comments made on social media that literally attributed passes made by other Lakers to the mere presence of Lonzo, even when he wasn't on the court. 

Few players have been set up to fail expectations in their rookie debut more than Ball. Not only is his shot release low, slow, and wonky on both jumpers and layups. Not only is his defensive ability, even for a rookie, effectively nil, but he was facing one of the most rabid on-ball defenders in the NBA, with a point to make against the rookie, and a Clippers defense flanked with veterans who have played together and one of the game's best rim protectors, DeAndre Jordan, waiting inside. Ball never had a chance. 

Some of Ball's problems are just purely physical. It's easy to brush past them when it's summer league or college, because you just can't see the difference in NBA athleticism. But watch Ball's release point on this transition layup which was defended by known super-stopper (sarcasm) Lou Williams:

You can say he's leaping off his left to finish with his off hand, and he can for sure jump higher. But compare that release point to De'Aaron Fox: 

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And you see this over and over again. It's going to be a problem on floaters vs. seven-footers and on open looks vs. hard closeouts. 

Strength is a problem as well. Here Beverley just flat-out pushes Ball away from the play ... then beyond the arc ... then toward halfcourt ... then presumably down the tunnel, out past Culver City and into the Pacific Ocean. 

These are all things that will be tough for him to overcome. He's slow, lacks explosiveness, has a low release point and has a target on his back. 

It's not all bad. He finished with four assists, and passes like this one to Brook Lopez were really crisp:

There were so many factors working against Ball last night. A tough opponent for starters. Beverley is a vicious one-on-one defender (he can space out off-ball if he's focused on trying to take advantage of opportunities for steals). He's physical and unrelenting. Ball scored his first points on a simple catch-and-shoot 3-pointer when Beverley got lost chasing him over screens and decided to commit to guarding Lopez. On the next Lakers possession, this happened: 

The Clippers have smart, long defenders everywhere. This pass to Kyle Kuzma would be a bucket with a better shooter, a more experienced player, but Danilo Gallinari stays tethered enough to disrupt it. (Also note how high Ball does get on rebounds; he's going to be an excellent rebounder, making him a triple-double threat a lot of nights.)

But here's the big thing: Ball was talked about, not by his father or the media, but by the Lakers, as having a transcendent quality that was going to put him ahead of the curve. He's still very much a rookie, and will be for some time. Hence, plays like this:

Maybe it really was a single bad game, with Ball still dealing with a bad ankle, a legitimate reason for his struggles. He should get up above six assists vs. the Suns with how miserable Phoenix's defense is, even if Eric Bledsoe attacks him. He'll have good games this season, and looking at the whole picture is correct. What does need to happen is everyone needs to let him be a rookie. 

First-game stats are not an indicator of anything. Michael Carter-Williams had 23-12 with nine steals in his debut. Damian Lillard had 23 points and 11 assists, and he's All-Star worthy. Mario Chalmers had 17 points and eight assists. Chris Paul? Thirteen points, eight rebounds, four assists on 3-of-7 shooting. 

This game proves nothing about Ball's career prospects, good or bad. It does show that he's got a ways to go before he reaches "transcendent," and that the road will be as hard for him as it is for all players, and it will be more difficult for one specific reason: his father. Beverley actually spoke with the kid after the game, and relayed this message: 

"I told him, due to all the riff-raff his dad brings, he's going to get a lot of people coming at him and he has to be ready for that," Beverley said. "He has to perform on a stage like this every night. It's not only going to be me. It's going to be a lot of people trying to go at his head."

via Lonzo Ball Gets Rude Welcome to the NBA in Lakers Debut | SI.com. 

LaVar has engaged in feuds with LeBron James, said that his son was already better than Stephen Curry, the list goes on and on. That was all fun and engaging when it was pre-draft. But this is the NBA. Guys are prideful, and to opponents they can be vicious, because that's what they experienced when they were coming up. Ball has a target on his back and doesn't have James' otherworldly athleticism to get by on. The best thing for Ball would be for his dad to stop making noise, but that's not going to happen. 

Other guys will read what LaVar said about Beverley. Other guys will make it a point to not be the one who winds up on highlight shows or social media clips because they were the one to make Ball look good for the first time. 

This is what it means to be set up to stumble out the gate. That said, Ball also benefits from the fact that he is, in many ways, too big to fail. The Lakers have tailored everything to make him successful, including telling good rim runners like Julius Randle not to push and instead to give it to Ball to make sure he gets opportunities (which is a colossal mistake). Magic Johnson, who has infinite credit on file with the organization, has invested himself fully into Ball. Everyone in L.A, wants him -- needs him -- to succeed. 

That will give him the resources and opportunities to find his game in ways other rookies won't have. Until he gets there, though, expect more nights like Thursday, where the NBA lets the kid know that no matter what his father tells the camera, no player, especially a rookie, especially this rookie, is bigger than the league.