Lonzo Ball struggles with his shot in Summer League debut, a 96-93 loss to Clippers
Less than half a minute into his first game as a Laker, Lonzo Ball provided a tantalizing glimpse of the future.
He threw a lob to second-year forward Brandon Ingram, who dunked the ball, sending the heavily pro-Lakers crowd at the summer league game into a frenzy.
“Perfect play,” Ball said. “It was an easy pass. He caught it. That’s a good way to start the game.”
From there the two players’ nights diverged. Ingram, 19, showed off his growth, both physically and mentally. He scored 26 points on nine-for-17 shooting, with three assists, three steals and two blocks in 31 minutes. Ball, also 19, but a rookie out of UCLA, struggled in his Lakers debut. He made only two of 15 shots and scored five points with five assists, three turnovers, two steals, a block and four rebounds.
“He’s going to be a lot better,” Ingram said. “We know what he can do. We know how he can affect the game. Just come back, just look at film, come back here and put the work in. We’re all here for him, we’re all behind him. He’s going to get better.”
Ball concurred.
“Yeah, only way I can go now is up,” Ball said. “That [should] be the worst game I have all week. Hopefully I keep getting better.”
The Lakers lost to the Clippers 96-93 in overtime, in their summer league debut at the Thomas & Mack Center. Clippers guard Sindarious Thornwell scored 26 points, while Brice Johnson added 23. Kendall Marshall had 11 assists.
Right from the start, the attention in the arena keyed on Ball. Early on, he showed off his best skill.
“His passing was incredible,” said Jud Buechler, the Lakers’ summer league head coach. “That first half you can really see what you can do. You can see the ball in his hands. If you’re running the wing, you better pay attention because he’s going to hit you in the side of your head. He can pass the ball, he can run the offense.”
As he struggled more and more with his shot, he heard it from the crowd. A pair of fans chanted “airball” every time he touched the ball. Clippers superfan Clipper Darrell shouted at him, “Your daddy can’t help you now!”
None of it caused Ball to shy away from taking shots when he was open.
“He has not played a lot of full-court basketball since that last NCAA game [in March],” Buechler said. “We’re not going to use that as an excuse. He needs to get better. But it was a hell of an atmosphere tonight for his first game. I know he’ll be better tomorrow night.”
Buechler saw Ball getting frustrated on the court, and let him work through it.
“Just a lot different from UCLA, a lot more screens,” Ball said. “Just gotta learn how to fight over them.”
And while his disappointment showed after the game, so did his determination. His family had a section for Friday night’s game, and they’ll be there again Saturday.
“It’s nice to have them around; I’m sorry for the performance I put on for them,” Ball said. “But I’ll be better tomorrow.”
As regulation expired with the score tied, the one thing no team wants out of any summer league game happened.
Ingram fell to the court and reached for the lower part of his right leg, grimacing.
It was just a cramp. But Magic Johnson, the Lakers president of basketball operations, had seen enough and motioned for the Lakers’ coaches to get Ingram out of the game.
“Just stretched it out a little bit,” Ingram said. “[Was] ready to get back to play, but I looked over at the sideline and saw Magic telling me I can’t get back out there.”
Spectators included Johnson and Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka. Lakers coach Luke Walton and associate head coach Brian Shaw watched the game with top assistant Jesse Mermuys. Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr. attended the game, as did Corey Brewer, who wanted to see his young teammates play.
And just after the video board showed a highlight of former Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell’s game-winning three-pointer from last year’s summer league, Russell wandered into the arena and watched his former team.
Follow Tania Ganguli on Twitter @taniaganguli
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