On Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers will be facing the New York Knicks. For Lonzo Ball, this will be his first professional game in MSG.
After winning two straight games on the road, the Los Angeles Lakers will be facing the New York Knicks on Tuesday night. Playing against the Knicks on the road means getting to play in the Mecca of Basketball.
Madison Square Garden certainly has a lot of basketball history, and with the stars and celebrities always sitting courtside, there is always a lot of excitement in the building. With the Knicks playing pretty well and the Lakers coming to town, The Garden will surely be rocking on Tuesday night.
For Lonzo Ball, this will be his first game as a professional in MSG. Generally, players always tend to rise to the occasion in the Garden, as one of one Bryant’s best games was against the Knicks in MSG. For Ball, he is very excited to get out there. Here’s what Ball had to say about playing in MSG to Bill Oram of the OCRegister.
"“I think every kid dreams about playing there,” Ball said Monday following the Lakers’ practice at Baruch College, “just because of all the history there and all the battles that go on there.”"
With the Lakers seeking a three-game winning streak, they will, of course, be relying on Ball to set the tone for their pace in this game. Recently, Ball has played well the past two games for the Lakers. Even though he isn’t scoring a lot, he has dished out 17 assists and has only turned the basketball over twice in the last two games.
Cutting down the turnovers for the Lakers is certainly an important thing, and their starting point guard has done well at limiting mistakes the past two games. In addition to his great assist to turnover ratio, Ball has also helped out on the glass, as he has grabbed 13 rebounds during the two-game winning streak.
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Ball hasn’t taken a lot of shots on the road trip so far but has been more efficient with a field goal percentage over 40. An efficient Ball that is limiting turnovers and setting up his teammates is certainly a reason why the Lakers have won the past two games. Now, we will have to wait and see if Ball is able to have a big game in MSG for the first time as a pro.