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| LonZo Ball had a subpar debut in the Summer League; The Lakers won the tourney and Ball the MVP. [Image SI.com] |
I saw a tweet the other day, BEFORE Lonzo and the Lakers debuted last night, that read,
" that trade (D'Angelo Russell / Timofey Mozgov to BKN for B. Lopez and the no 27 pick) is the worst trade ever next to the James Harden trade."
Others were super pumped about D'Angelo's debut for Brooklyn with his 30 points on 12/22 shooting. Yes, he did well. His team lost, just like the Lakers did.
D'Angelo is a good player. He is hungry and probably bitter about the trade. He is also on a team/ roster who's other starting guard (Jeremy Lin) just went down with a season-ending injury. The roster is as putrid as Mr. Russell's (THEE) Ohio State Roster and Dee AingeRuss will have AMPLE opportunity to fill it up. How about those assists? Rebounds? Defense?
That trade had to be made and it was a good to great move for LA. To be able to unload the horrific Mozzie deal (Luol where YOU at?) , have a major upgrade at the Center position which also plays a part in next year's Cap flexibility, AND score Kyle Kuzma? UM, "that trade" was a very smart, very wise, and very good trade. Period. Unfortunately, the Lakers had to include a good player of their own. Lonzo is a better point guard.
There has been a pattern, albeit a small and short sampling, where his "debut games" at the NBA level have been, well, less than average.
Lonzo Ball's Lakers Summer Debut Game ONE:
32 minutes, had five points on 2-15 FG (13.3%), (ahem) 1 for 11 from three point range (9.1%), grabbed 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 TOs, 2 Steals and 1 block. As bad as that line is, and it is, the worst part is he got schooled by Kendall Marshall in that game.
We all know what transpired after that. The Lakers went on to capture the NBA Summer League Title and Ball won the MVP with averages of:
16.3 ppg // 34-89 FG 38.2% // 7.7 rpg // 9.3 apg // 2.5 spg // 1 bpg _ NBA.COM
LonZo Ball's NBA Pre Season Debut:
5 pts // 7 reb // 8 A // 2 Stl // 3 TO // 2-9 FG // 1-5 3pt
He only played a little more than a game and a half of the pre-season before injuring his ankle and ONLY being released to be a full participant in practice as of this past Monday, October 16, 2017. The Lakers first game was last night (4 days AFTER he was released to practice in full).
So, to anticipate a crazy debut with crazy numbers is, quite frankly...CRAZY. And that is asking way too much of a 19 year old with an ankle injury.
One nice attribute about Ball is that when his shot is not falling he will find other production to help his team. Last night Ball was second on the team in rebounding with 9, tied leading the team in assists with 4 (Ingram) and he also had a steal and a block. Similar to his "other" NBA debuts, Ball fell short in the shooting column:
3 points on 1-6 FG // 1- 3 from 3 // 0-2 FT
This team, right now, is a BAD free throw and three-point shooting squad. But watch...
Lonzo WILL help that. He has not had a lot of time to gel yet with the team (due to injury). Is anyone talking about Markelle Fultz? (crickets)
The Lakers may have selected the best player in the draft. We cannot say that about the previous draft selections at the number 2 spot. So, D'AngerGod can go out there and get his 20 points a night on 7- 21 shooting with 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 turnovers and .... lose. Meanwhile, in his first season as a pro, Lonzo Ball will hover around the top 5 in Assists and top 3 in rebounds for a guard.
The bigger issue or question for the Lakers is this:
What the fuck is Coach Walton doing playing 12 guys in game 1? Is this still pre-season?
Andrew Bogut? 11 mins? He basically did nothing but make Luol Deng look fleet-footed...
Speaking of Deng..2 points in 13 minutes. Why bother.
Ennis // Caruso BOTH? 21 mins // 4 points // 5 assists. I like Caruso and was stoked to see him get a two- way deal but he should not have been on the floor last night simply for continuity reasons.
Same for Bogut. We have seen enough. Bogut is a waste of space and cannot move. Hell, Roy Fucking Hibbert can do more than what we saw last night (and that is REALLY, REALLY, really really really....BAD).
So the issue is not Lonzo Ball's debut so much as it is that Coach Walton decided to play 12 guys, several of whom should NOT be playing at all, and also play one of his top 5 or 6 players (Julius Randle) just under 18 minutes.
This loss goes to the Coach.
ps
Nance Jr was a beast last night. His defense on Blake Griffin was absolutely superb!
