Los Angeles Lakers rookie forward Kyle Kzma stood up for head coach Luke Walton in response to LaVar Ball’s comments.
The Los Angeles Lakers haven’t riled up many positive feelings recently. Prior to Sunday’s victory over the Atlanta Hawks, all the Lakers were doing was a lot of losing.
Heading into Sunday’s game, the Lakers were riding a nine-game losing streak. They had not won a game at the STAPLES Center since November 21st. Things were not looking good, as players and fans were frustrated.
When there is losing, the blame is usually placed on the head coach. This time was no different. Luke Walton was getting hammered by plenty of people who questioned if he should be the coach any longer.
The criticism didn’t effect Walton, who went about his business and said he wasn’t worried about his job security. However, some of that criticism made national headlines as it came from LaVar Ball.
Ball has been critical of Walton in the past. Earlier in the season, he said that Walton didn’t know how to coach his son, No. 2 overall pick Lonzo Ball. The Lakers and LaVar had a meeting, asking him to tone down his criticisms with hopes that a more positive environment could be achieved.
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LaVar toning things down didn’t even last a month. While in Lithuania with his younger sons LiAngelo and LaMelo, Ball was critical of Walton once again, saying that he has lost the team.
It drew a lot of attention and is reportedly annoying Walton. The last thing the team needs is more distractions, especially from LaVar. It has been a topic of discussion, with Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle ripping ESPN for publishing what LaVar said.
It is anyone’s guess as to whether or not the Lakers believe in Walton. However, it would seem they do. In the first game after LaVar’s comments, the Lakers blew out the Atlanta Hawks 132-113, snapping their nine-game losing streak.
Maybe LaVar was trying some reverse psychology, saying something outrageous to get the team back on track. Whatever his reasoning for saying what he said, it didn’t sit well with some players.
One of the players who went to bat for Walton was rookie forward Kyle Kuzma. Kuzma said that Walton is his guy and that he loves playing for him. He also added that the team stands by Walton.
Kyle Kuzma says it was “upsetting” hearing what LaVar Ball said about Luke Walton; “Luke is my guy, I love playing for him. I’m sure most of us love playing for him too... We stand by Luke.” pic.twitter.com/PvVBEVcRXI
— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) January 8, 2018
It is nice to see the players stick up for and get behind their head coach. The game against the Hawks was arguably the best one the Lakers have played all season, and it came once their head coach came under fire.
Like Kuzma, there are plenty of youngster on the Lakers. They are one of the younger teams in the NBA and probably haven’t dealt with something like this previously. The easiest way to quiet things down and get people off their backs is to continue playing with energy and effort.
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The Lakers may not win as many games as people had hoped for, but if they are competitive and show growth, it will get a lot of people off Walton and their backs.