Hours after Luke Walton came to the defense of his rookie PG Lonzo Ball, saying he didn't play as poorly as everyone thought he did in his debut, the hometown kid backed up his coach’s words and nearly became the youngest player in NBA history to post a triple-double with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists in a win against the Phoenix Suns 132-130. However, he did put up 29 shots, going 12-29 from the field.
On Friday night, Zo showed the country and fans why the Lakers picked him with the #2 overall pick in this year’s past draft. Ball displayed the kind of passing that caught people's attention at the Las Vegas Summer League, and he knocked down four treys in total.
"This happened before. It happened in summer league," Ball said of getting off to a slow start in his summer league debut before racking up two triple-doubles and earning MVP honors in Las Vegas. "It's happened before in my career. So, I am used to it.”
"Today I had to do what I had to do to get the win. Today I had to shoot more shots so that is what I did. It doesn't take me long to learn," Ball said. "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," Ball added.
The Lakers are now 1-1 on the season and will play again this Sunday at home against the Anthony Davis-led New Orleans Pelicans.
Check out Lonzo’s highlights from Friday night in the clips (below). Do you think Lonzo will be a bust or star in the league? How ‘bout rookie of the year?
https://twitter.com/_/status/921618690373705728
https://twitter.com/_/status/921620724078460928
