Los Angeles Lakers: Reaction to Lonzo Ball’s Summer League debut

Lonzo Ball made his NBA Summer League debut for the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night, and let’s just say it wasn’t his best night.

Lonzo Ball played in his first game with Lakers printed across his chest and it will be a game he will try to forget. The second overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft had a dreadful shooting night, ending 2-for-15 from the field and 1-for-11 from three.

I had planned to write a reaction piece to Lonzo Ball’s debut, because, of course, this is what Summer League is all about: getting a first glance at one of the top prospects we’ve been talking about in mock drafts since forever.

But the night quickly turned into a former No. 2 overall pick’s night, that is Brandon Ingram.

If Lakers fans feel discouraged by Lonzo Ball’s debut, they are probably the same people who have been disappointed in Ingram’s professional development. Ingram brought his A+ game on Friday, hitting turnaround jumpers, playing aggressively on defense, and driving to the hoop with sick handles.

The sidebar on Brandon Ingram is a reminder that Summer League, and the upcoming Lakers season, is about the development of many young players (Thomas Bryant also had a strong game), and not just a nightly barometer of Lonzo Ball. The rookie had a tough night, and many more will come, but Lakers fans need to see the forest from the trees.

In his Summer League debut, Lonzo Ball struggled the most with his perimeter shot, which allowed the Clippers to sit under screens and dare him to shoot.

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The problem wasn’t with Ball taking those shots, as he will need to do if the defense gives them to him, but once he realized his shooting touch wasn’t there, he needed to attack the defense more often, drive to the hoop, set up the offense through movement rather than stagnant shooting.

By the end of the fourth quarter and overtime, he was launching threes from several feet beyond the three-point line, not a swoosh to be found, only iron and groans from the rabid Summer League crowd.

Lonzo was strongest passing the basketball (he had five dimes), as expected, and particularly in the first half. There were several outlet passes made by Ball from 60-70 feet down court that should get Laker fans excited. By pushing the ball up the court, the offense is initiated faster and it allows for easier baskets. From outlet passes to pick-and-pops, Lonzo showcased his ability to make football (long distance) passes and hockey (thread the needle) passes.

On defense, the Clippers ran a lot of high pick-and-rolls against Ball. Initially, he chased the ball-handler around and through the pick and found mixed results doing so. When Ball’s man dribbled toward the middle of the court, usually from the right wing, it made for an easy escape from Ball trapping, resulting in a few easy baskets.

Then there was this Welcome to the NBA moment:

https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/883518128855973888

Overall, Lonzo’s defense was adequate, also considering his rebounding effort (he picked up three defensive boards). He was active on his man and rarely drifted too far away on help. It didn’t appear that he let his offensive troubles impact him on the other end of the court.

Lonzo’s dad, LaVar Ball, might make some easy friends in the Lakers locker room. A media scrum immediately found him after the game. This could be a constant distraction or a great decoy, as there are only so many reporters and maybe LaVar takes some of the pressure off the young Laker players from answering questions immediately after the game. Ok, maybe not, but it’s Summer League, so let’s have fun with it.

One Summer League game is in the books.

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Lonzo Ball made his Laker debut and played his worst game ever. It’s only up from here!