A Tale of Two Balls
SteemSports Presenter:@hogan22
SteemSports Editor:@scottybuckets
The most hyped player in the history of the NBA is Lakers guard Lonzo Ball. He will play his third NBA game tonight when the Lakers host the New Orleans Pelicans. What will the season look like for the talented rookie? Let's first take a look at how he got here.
Lonzo Ball was a very highly recruited high school player and ended up at UCLA to play his college basketball for head coach Steve Alford. It was the perfect fit for Ball as Alford ran one of the highest pace offenses in the country. Ball was encouraged to run the fast break offense and feed the ball to Bryce Alford and TJ Leaf who were two of the best 3 point shooters in the country. Ball also had the green light to pull up and shoot the deep ball as well. UCLA scored a ton of points, played little defense and had a good season and Ball played a major role in that.
As the NBA draft was nearing, Lonzo’s loud mouth dad was stealing all of the headlines. He not only said his son will be better than Steph Curry, but he also said if the Lakers draft him, they will make the playoffs in an extremely tough Western Conference. Is there any truth to these bold statements or is Lonzo’s dad just a blowhard?
Well, this season has been a tale of 2 Balls. In his first game of the season, the Lakers played inner city rival, the LA Clippers. Ball struggled and looked completely overrated and overmatched. He played 29 minutes, had 3 points and shot 1-6 from the field. Ball did have 9 rebounds but only had 4 assists in the loss. Was this what his rookie season was going to look like?
Ball got his second opportunity to play the next night against the Phoenix Suns. Wow, what a difference a day makes. Ball played 37 minutes, had 29 points, and lead the Lakers to their first win of the season. He also had 11 rebounds, and 9 assists as he just missed a triple double. Ball was MUCH more aggressive as he took 27 shots including 4-9 from the 3 point line.
So which Ball is the real one? It is probably going to be a little of both. A lot of it will depend on the teams he is playing each night. Will he be able to guard Steph or Klay and still be as effective on offense? How will he do against Westbrook and George? Tonight he will have his hands full with Jrue Holiday and won't be able to drive to rim with Anthony Davis and Demarcus Cousins protecting the paint.
One thing is for certain, the world will be watching. Thank you for following @steemsports and you can find me @hogan22 Let us know what you think of Lonzo Ball!
Very nice write up. You covered Lonzo's history without going on too long. I personally can not stand Lavar Ball but can see that Lonzo could become a talent in this league. Being a Sixers fan myself, I hope he struggles also trying to life up to the hype his loud mouth father put on him. Only time will tell for sure though.
I'm a Lakers fan so I'm excited about the potential but I know that it's gonna be a bumpy road along the way to possible success. Here's to a fun season either way! Nice write up :)