Written by Ben Golliver at SI.com
Lonzo Ball showed progress in his second Summer League game on Saturday, registering the event’s first triple-double in at least seven years while drawing oohs and aahs from a record crowd with his dazzling touch passes.
But his 11-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist effort in the Lakers’ 86-81 loss to the Celtics left his outspoken father LaVar Ball unimpressed.
“There’s always going to be progress on each game, he’s going to keep going up,” LaVar told SI.com. “You [media] guys will look at it now, and say, ‘Wow, he had a triple-double.’ That don’t mean nothing to me. You’ve got to win. It don’t mean nothin’. Wins only matter. Point guards ain’t judged on stats, they’re judged on victory.”
LaVar Ball: Lonzo’s triple-double “don’t mean nothing” in a loss. “Point guards ain’t judged on stats, they’re judged on victories.” pic.twitter.com/ltfm7SuuAO
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) July 9, 2017
The Lakers, who were without 2016 No. 2 pick Brandon Ingram, fell to 0-2 in Las Vegas. As a precaution, Ingram was shut down for the rest of the event after sustaining cramps in a Friday loss to the Clippers, leaving Ball as the roster’s lone headliner. According to the NBA, no player has registered a triple-double at Las Vegas Summer League since at least 2010.
“I definitely felt better, better game,” Ball said. “But we didn’t get the win so that’s all I really care about.”
Although he looked more settled on Saturday than he did one day earlier, Ball struggled from the field again, shooting just 5-13 overall and 1-5 on threes. Through two games, he’s 2-16 (13%) from downtown after shooting 41% from deep as a freshman at UCLA.
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