LaVar Ball is still out here talking and we are here for it. LaVar has been extremely vocal this past week regarding son Lonzo’s first few games for the Lakers. While everyone is stat watching, the elder Ball said none of that matters because Lonzo is here to close games out for wins and of course everyone is talking about Lonzo.
Despite LaVar’s brash talking, Lonzo appears built for everything coming his way. Detractors will point to Patrick Beverly owning him in his debut, but Beverly is a grown man and a veteran in this league. Plus he gets in to every point guard in the league, routinely shouting “first team all defense” when he makes a play. But Lonzo is a 19 year old kid and while the stats didn’t show it, if you watched the game Lonzo more than held his own.
LaVar talked about Lonzo’s latest matchup against elite point guard John Wall, saying, courtesy of Bleacher Report:
You see Gortat, he put [Wall] in trouble like that. Don’t put no pressure on your point guard like that. He’s not me. Lonzo, I’ve been telling him since he’s been a baby. It’s easy to him. I already knew what was going to happen. Like I tried to tell you all, he won’t be losing two games. Even if I’m wrong or right, you know what I’m going to do? Go get me some donuts and go back to sleep.
Funny line about the donuts by LaVar but if you examine that quote the elder Ball is right. Other players shouldn’t engage in back and forth with him. While part of the reason we love hoops is the individual matchup, it’s still a team game. You could see how players could get out of the game plan going hard at Lonzo and trying to silence his dad by embarrassing the son. But that’s not going to work. Lonzo has been hyping Lonzo up since birth and he has the temperament to deal with it. He doesn’t seem fazed, and his game isn’t built in scoring points. It’s about making the game easy for his teammates. If he has 0 pts 3 rbs, 6 asts and the Lakers win, he’s happy. Even if the opposing point goes for 21 and 10 on him. Something worth watching as the season goes on.