Lonzo Ball, Rookie of the Year?

Photo taken from clutchpoints.com

     Lonzo Ball made his rookie debut last night in Los Angeles with his Lakers team facing the Clippers. Lonzo had almost little to no impact on this game, mostly due to Patrick Beverly’s in-your-face defense. Lonzo went 1/6 from the field with only 3 points and a mere 4 assists. Obviously these numbers won’t support a Rookie of the Year campaign, but there are still 81 games to go.
   
     “He played safe today,” NBA great Shaquille O’Neal stated last night. Maybe this game can push him to work even harder this season and be able to take the competitive NBA players. Lavar Ball, Lonzo’s outspoken father, had not much to say last night after the game. With sayings like “Someone’s gotta run the ball up the court,” (Lavar Ball), perhaps his father was simply trying to cover for his son. It is still obvious though that Lavar believes in his son stating, “Lonzo did good,” and “It ain’t nothin’ but a little teaser,” (Lavar Ball). Stephen didn't seem to be too supportive of Lavar as you'll see if you take a look at the video linked below.

     So the question still looms, is Lonzo Ball going to win rookie of the year? Personally, I believe Lonzo is the most talented rookie out of the 2017 draft, but the Lakers need to win games as a team to meet his expectations. Lonzo needs to make some adjustments to the release on his shot to not only get it off quicker, but possibly see better percentages from the field. He also needs to be able to penetrate defenders, because if that was only Patrick Beverly guarding him what’s he going to do when he starts getting double teamed? One thing that Lonzo has excelled at is his passing. If he continues to work on his court vision he may just become one of the best passers the game has ever seen. So perhaps it was first game jitters for the rookie everyone has their eyes on. We will see in the next few months what Lonzo will evolve into.

Quote from Shaq taken from their Inside the NBA segment, watch it here or below.

Courtesy of Youtube and NBA on TNT

For Lavar's interview with Stephen A. Smith after the game click here or watch below.

Courtesy of Youtube and ESPN