It was a rough Opening Night for both the Lakers & Lonzo Ball.
Matched up w/ (defensive bulldog) Patrick Beverley in his first game as a pro, Ball (and LA's offense) struggled to get going & never found a groove in terms of pace & flow.
Beverley's defense played a large role, as he worked hard to both deny Lonzo the rock & force LA's bigs into moving picks. However, Ball also wasn't able to adapt to Beverley's "overplay D" and attack the midrange area.
An aspect of his game that needs improvement, Lonzo's mastery of a soft floater and dribble pull-up should do him wonders. Until then, defenses will sit on Lonzo's three ball & force him to either make a play at the rim or kick out to an open teammate.
lonzo ball
9 boards, 4 dimes in debut
• Only attempted 6 shots, wasn't as aggressive driving the lane
• LA was on the unfriendly end of a blowout but Lonzo was right around the 30-min. mark (played 29:21)
• Showed a few flashes of floor game - threw a couple lookahead passes, tried to rip & run off any miss he could corral
Rebounding (and pushing the break) was the most encouraging takeaway from L. Ball's NBA debut. Establishing a better continuity (heavy ball movement, making the extra pass) at the outset of games should be a point of emphasis for Coach Walton's young group.
Discovering where teammates prefer looks/getting teammates easier looks will come w/ added game experience.
Lonzo and the Lakers get after it again in PHX on Friday (Oct. 20th).