Lonzo Ball's NBA debut was not ... good.
The much-ballyhooed Lakers rookie shot 1-6 from the field and finished with 3 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists as the Lakers fell to the Clippers 108-92 in a home game.
A big part of Ball's problem was Clippers point guard Patrick Beverley, who hounded Lonzo for 94 feet. Ball was so thrown off by Beverley that he kept quickly passing the ball once he got past midcourt.
After the game, Beverley was heard screaming "weak ass motherfucker. Bring him out on the court with me and I will tear his ass up."
Lonzo Ball's outspoken basketball dad LaVar had something to say about that.
"Yeah, you shut the mother fucker down," LaVar Ball told ESPN after the game. "And your check still ain't going to go no higher than what it is. Yeah, you shut him down. OK ... Who is Patrick Beverley? He played all last year and nobody said nothing about him. Now we are looking at your first game. Why? Because Lonzo's name is attached to it. "So you got to be [all hard]," Ball added, as he slapped his fists together. "Let's see what you do the next five games, if you are going to be pumped up toward everybody like that and go back to your 0-for-5 shooting and your two or three rebounds. Nobody is going to care about you. But you put my son's name in it, and you put my name in it, now you got some action and you got some people talking."It is true that Beverley seemed excited about the matchup. He tweeted this out last month:
But imma guard him the first game and we will see about that!!! @Lavarbigballer https://t.co/FXSIXjHGHP
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) September 15, 2017
What did you think about Lonzo's debut?
And do you think what looks to be a pretty awful Lakers team will be able to stomach LaVar's antics?
[Related: LaVar Ball comes for Michael Jordan.]