Written by Colin Ward-Henniger at CBS Sports.com
The highly anticipated NBA debut of Lonzo Ball is in the books, and it was … well … at least it’s over. The Lakers were blown out by the Clippers, 108-92, in the season-opener for both teams Thursday night.
Ball had a rough start to his NBA career, finishing with three points, nine rebounds four assists, a steal and a block in his first game. Here are some takeaways from his performance.
It can only go up from here
Lonzo probably came into this game with the most unrealistic expectations of any rookie in NBA history. This isn’t LeBron James, a 6-foot-8 powerhouse who looked like he was 30 when he was 18. Ball isn’t the type of player who can go out and physically dominate a game with his athleticism, so it’s going to take a while for him to find his place in the league.
That being said, the debut was rough. Three points on 1-of-6 shooting just isn’t going to cut it if this team is going to be successful — he needs to be at least somewhat of a scoring threat. The low assist number was as much a product of his teammates not making shots as his lack of vision. He also didn’t really get a chance to showcase his talent in transition, where he tends to thrive.
Lonzo’s first points
Considering how poorly he shot from deep in the summer league and in preseason, it was a bit surprising to see Lonzo connect from 3-point range for his first (and only) NBA points with just under five minutes left in the second quarter.
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