Ball Watch
Oct. 20 @ PHX
--29 pts, 11 boards, 9 dimes, W
Game 2 of Lonzo's rookie campaign fared a lot better than Opening Night at Staples, with a stat line of 29 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists.
Here's Lonzo's take after his second professional basketball game:
"I know everybody is going to say everything game by game, so if I play bad on Sunday, it is going to go right back to he's a bust. It doesn't matter to me, I just come out and play as hard as I can to get my team wins."
He's absolutely right. There is a certain level of accountability that he can't assume, such as the defensive woes that will plague this team, as well as the youth and intermingling of a Molotov-cocktail constructed team (including aged guys who've overstayed their welcome like Luol Deng and Corey Brewer).
Lonzo Ball
Top DOG of the Night: 29, 11 & 9 dimes
The knock on Ball in his first game was the seemingly lack of fight he showed while being dogged by Patrick Beverley; for now we'll shelve that one to first game jitters. Once the bright lights shifted away from the Staples Center, and the national tv spotlight waned, Lonzo shined bright in Phoenix, literally being one assist way from making history.
There's a good chance this is less of a Dr. Jekyll and Hyde situation and more of a 'confidence needs to be built' type of thing. Coming out in your second showing with this type of performance has to be an extreme confidence booster for a rookie's psyche going forward.
Last night, the screen & roll/pick & pop game with Brook Lopez took a huge step developing in the right direction as Lopez Is quickly becoming one of Ball's favorite targets.
The ability to have the ball in his hands 90% of the time will only expedite his comfortability on the pro level. Lonzo looked a lot more poised last night against Phoenix, getting to his spots with more tactful deliberation and making really good decisions with the ball by getting Kyle Kuzma and Larry Nance Jr. involved pretty regularly.
Ball said after the game that he plans to be more aggressive, especially from the offensive end - so we'll see how his game continues to translate and evolve as time goes on. His next matchup is against the Pelicans' Jrue Holiday, a known solid defender.
He'll also have to compete with the twin towers of Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins clogging the lane, so drive-and-kick may be the preferred script for the Lakers to try and bait the bigs away from the basket.