The hype initially driven by Lonzo’s dad Lavar Ball—from wild antics on national TV to creating his own expensive sneaker brand—has not gone unnoticed by the basketball media and fans. But while the attention is laudable from a business perspective, it’s ultimately about how the first of the Ball brothers will do in the professional league.
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| Image source: nba.com |
Lonzo did well during the pre-season games and the summer league, taking the MVP trophy and wowing the crowd with crisp, Jason Kidd-reminiscent passes and playmaking. But he has been erratic at best since the season started, turning in stellar stats in one game and shooting bricks in others. Everyone in the sport is quick to pounce on his misgivings, the given consequence of the hype.
The buildup has not been lost of NBA players, too. Most of them have publicly declared that the young Lakers player will not have things handed to him on a silver platter. On opening night, Patrick Beverley of the Clippers harassed and shackled Lonzo on the defensive end, leading to an anemic 1-6 shooting for the second overall draft pick.
As of this writing, Ball’s accumulated stats are not pretty. He is 34.4% in the paint and 25% outside, the worst and second worst in the league, respectively. But to be fair with the rookie, he is currently fourth in the NBA with 2.2 assists per game and has a solid 1.1 steals average. All in all, though, Lonzo Ball has to work on his atrocious shooting if he’s to live up to the hype and bring the Lakers back to the map. Entertainment value can only do so much for a team.
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| Image source: bleacherreport.com |
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