Three times John Wall tried to show Lonzo Ball 'no mercy' against Lakers, and failed
Things did not go to plan for Wall and the Wizards Wednesday night in Los Angeles
By
Jack Maloney
•
2 min read
Heading into Wednesday night's matchup with Lonzo Ball and the Los Angeles Lakers, Washington Wizards point guard John Wall was taking the Patrick Beverley approach.
Talking to the media ahead of the game, Wall said he would show Lonzo "no mercy," and scoffed at LaVar Ball's assumption that the Lakers would win the game. Via the Washington Post:
"Nah, no mercy," Wall responded when asked if he would show leniency to the 19-year-old rookie point guard despite his braggadocious father.
"Certain matchups you really get up for. Like when you play [Golden State Warriors guard] Steph [Curry], you definitely want to have a good game," Wall said. "I'm playing against [Ball]. [Gortat] said what he said about me. I didn't say anything. His dad has been talking. ... That makes me want to go out there and lead my team and play the best I can play.
"We didn't say nothing about him, nothing to him, and he says, 'The Wizards better be ready because he don't ever lose two in a row,'" Wall continued, then scoffed at the absurdity of the father's boast. "Like, this is the league now. It's a different ballgame."
Unfortunately for Wall, things did not go as planned. He shot just 7-of-22 from the field, turned the ball over four times, and had a personal plus/minus of -14 as the Lakers came back from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter and stole a 102-99 overtime victory.
Losses happen, of course, but it still makes Wall look a bit foolish to make the claims he did before the game and then come up empty. On a few occasions, even, he tried to go right at Ball to show him "no mercy," but came up woefully short.
Just a few minutes into the game, Wall was already trying to prove a point. He took the ball straight at a backpedaling Ball on the fastbreak even though the Wizards did not have numbers. The lanky Lakers point guard quickly reached in and poked the ball away, causing the first of Wall's turnovers on the night:
A similar play happened in the second quarter, as Wall tried to take the rookie one-on-one at halfcourt, only to have Ball knock the ball out of his hands and off his leg for another turnover:
Wall, as you can see, was not pleased.
Lastly, after the Wizards had squandered a 10-point lead to start the fourth quarter, and were facing a do-or-die possession in the closing seconds of overtime, Wall seemed intent on getting the better of Ball.
Needing a 3 to tie the game, Wall tried to jump into Ball and draw a foul for some reason instead of just taking a normal shot. They didn't need an and-one 3-pointer in the situation, and the weird double clutch certainly didn't make things easier. Unsurprisingly, the difficult shot clanged off the rim, and the Lakers won.
Adding to the evidence that Wall was not playing his normal game was the fact that as he rose up for that odd attempt, his teammate Bradley Beal was wide open in the corner. Yes, time was running down, but that's a pass Wall can make in time for Beal to get a look:
Ball, for his part, did not have a good shooting night either, going 2-of-11 from the field, though he did finish with 10 assists and eight rebounds. Plus, him and his Lakers got the W, which is what matters most -- and, of course, is what LaVar predicted would happen.
