Remember all the laughter from the peanut gallery a few weeks back, when Lonzo Ball‘s haters gleefully declared him a bust? They laughed at his errant jumper, excoriated him for his lack of aggression and accused him of being a byproduct of the hype that his daddy LaVar‘s mouth created.
Instead of falling back and allowing the Lakers rookie point guard to go through his early NBA education process, folks were out here prematurely writing his eulogy. And they seemed to enjoy it, with a smirk affixed to their microwaveable conclusions.
But there were others who told all that would listen that the kid had the gift. Once his confidence emerged and his jumper started falling, students of the game implored the ignorant that a special talent would emerge. And low and behold, the critics have been eerily silent as of late as the crown jewel of the burgeoning Big Baller empire has been recently balling out like Bodak Yellow.
Lonzo Ball Full Highlights vs Rockets (2017.12.20) – 16 Pts, 9 Reb
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If you haven’t been paying attention, these baby Lakers have been showing that the rebuilding project in Los Angeles is right on schedule. Last night, fellow rookie Kyle Kuzma set career highs with 38 points and seven 3-pointers as the Lake Show beat Houston, the NBA’s hottest team, 122-116.
Veteran Cory Brewer chipped in with 21 points off the bench, Larry Nance Jr. added 13 points and nine rebounds in only 22 minutes, plastic-man Brandon Ingram led the squad with six assists and Lonzo was steady, contributing 16 points, nine boards, four assists and two blocks.
Quietly, Lonzo is slowly starting to make all of those folks who hated on him so early look foolish. He’s already one of the best rebounding guards in the league, he leads all NBA point guards in blocks per game, his defense and toughness are unquestionably making noise of their own and his instincts, vision and floor game is sick like the flu as he’s a Top 10 assist man while averaging 7.1 dimes per night.
Other than his shooting, which is coming along as he’s been banging 45% from deep over his last few games, the youngster is playing at a borderline All-Star level.
The Lakers gave the world champion Golden State Warriors a run for their money on Monday night, stepping up and into the glow of Kobe’s double-jersey retirement ceremony, losing in overtime. And Lonzo gave a sincere, efficient performance, collecting 16 points, six assists, six boards, two blocks and a steal on 6-of-12 shooting, including 3 of 6 from three.
Lonzo Ball Full Highlights vs Warriors (2017.12.18) – 16 Pts, 6 Ast, KOBE WATCHING!
Become a monster. THE WORLD’S MOST ELITE JUMP PROGRAM: http://goo.gl/RctO1o —- Vintage Channel: https://goo.gl/PzMHpk My Twitter: https://goo.gl/EQbwXz My Facebook: https://goo.gl/385id5 My Instagram: https://goo.gl/1QF2zt —- All clips property of the NBA. No copyright infringement is intended. All videos are edited to follow the “Free Use” guideline of YouTube.
He’s been averaging 15.3 points, 7.7 assists and 7.3 rebounds over the Lakers last three games, and that step-back jumper, which has been so ridiculed, has been falling. He’s a menace to society in the open court, has been for years now. But he’s proving some naysayers to be foolish by showing that he can get busy and make some serious noise in the NBA’s half-court crucible as well.
It’s funny how the screaming television heads destroyed him early on, but the only noise coming out of their mouths right now is crickets.
Like Nino Brown had once said, “Money talks, and bullshit runs a marathon. So, see ya and I wouldn’t want to be ya!”
Lonzo’s game is doing some big-time talking right about now. And the bulbous-headed folks out there that giddily declared the kid a bust before the halfway mark of his rookie year? Well, I guess they’re tying up their running shoes.
