Hold to your seats Los Angeles Lakers fans, it’s going to be a wild ride this season with highs and lows and the new face of the franchise Lonzo Ball, let’s give him time.
The Los Angeles Lakers front office has not signed any free agents yet, and there aren’t many left as Jamal Crawford goes to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The focus from Lakers fans is almost solely on rookie Lonzo Ball.
Dean Oliver, NBA analytics guru, spoke at the SMWW NBA Conference in Las Vegas last weekend. He stressed that almost none of the one-and-done players will look good right away. “A lot of these rookies playing in that gym, over there it’s going to take them a few years to be good,” said Oliver.
Oliver also explained that analytical solutions suggested by problems still may not be correct because players are human. He explained that a player had just broken up with a girlfriend, and that affected his shot percentage.
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For the Lakers, Ball is under a huge amount of scrutiny and pressure. Some generated by his father LaVar’s predictions and some by Magic Johnson stating he is the new face of the Lakers.
Add to that a fan base which is hungry for a winning season and he is their newest savior. But if you think back, wasn’t that the same expectations they had for Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell, and Brandon Ingram when they were all drafted in the lottery?
Give it time folks! In just one day, Ball went from making 2-of-15 shots, including 11 three-point attempts, in his first game to logging a triple-double the next day (11 points, rebounds, and assists).
Ball recorded 10 rebounds first, then 10 assists, then fans started getting excited but not sure they realized he needed three points to make a triple-double. Having the stats in front of me, I’m not going to lie, I started to get excited too.
LONZO BALL ONE POINT AWAY FROM A TRIPLE DOUBLE @LAKERS FANS pic.twitter.com/TQv2VbGRVY
— Shereen Rayan - Sports Broadcaster/Writer (@SportsCrazee) July 9, 2017
After a couple missed shots with a few of minutes to go, Ball hit the shot that gave him a stat he never garnered at UCLA, a triple-double. He didn’t do it with Brandon Ingram, who has cramps in his leg the day before and was shut down.
Ball had a ton of help with former Pac-12 opponent Kyle Kuzma, who scored huge 31 points. Kuzma made 50 percent of his three’s and 46.1 percent of his field goals overall. Add to that nine rebounds, two assists a steal and a block.
David Nwaba made several exciting dunks in his 13-point, eight rebound performance. And Josh Hart impressed with his 15 points and five rebounds before going down with an injury.
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Lakers fans, who helped sell out the game, were much happier during and after game two. If they could have just shut up this Celtic fan who screamed like a dying goat every time the Lakers faltered and eventually won the game, then the experience would have been fantastic! In time Lakers fans, in time, we will need to show a lot of patience again this season, so get ready.