ANAHEIM, Calif. — In his first preseason game with the Los Angeles Lakers, Lonzo Ball struggled with his shot but still displayed his ability to rack up triple-double-like numbers.
After a summer and first week of camp (he went 6-0 in 5-on-5 scrimmages with the team) that only added to the hype surrounding Ball, the No. 2 overall pick finally made his preseason debut with five points, eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals in a 108-99 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Honda Center.
What’s on Lonzo’s feet? Meet the Lonzo Ball Sneaker Tracker
Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball has a $495 signature sneaker of his own but could switch up his sneakers from game to game. When he does, we’ll have you covered as we track his kicks throughout the 2017-18 season.
Walton: Lakers to lock arms throughout season
Lakers coach Luke Walton says the team plans to lock arms and stand during the national anthem throughout the season. Walton says he hopes the move raises awareness on “issues in this country.”
Despite the fact that Ball missed seven-of-nine shots, including shooting one-of-five from 3-point range, the rookie didn’t do anything to temper the excitement surrounding him and the Lakers for this coming season. Ball still entertained fans with his passing as he zipped balls all over the court. And he did so with the Lakers barely having worked on any offensive sets in camp thus far.
If anything, Lakers coach Luke Walton wanted to see his unselfish rookie point guard shoot even more as Ball tried to get his teammates involved and going.
“Lonzo is so gifted as far as the way he always makes everyone on the court a threat,” Walton said. “With him we have been working on that he is so unselfish that sometimes he has good shots for himself and he tries to get someone else a shot. We want him taking those.”
“We are looking for him to be a little more aggressive to score the ball, especially early on,” Walton continued. “I thought he was great the way he was moving around out there and getting people involved.”
With team president Magic Johnson, GM Rob Pelinka and Lakers controlling owner Jeanie Buss on hand, there was a considerable buzz at the Honda Center for just a preseason opener. The building was packed with 18,000 on hand.
Ball’s outspoken father, LaVar, was there and he was busy before the game entertaining fans who formed a line up the stairs from near courtside to almost the concourse just to get a selfie or autograph from the elder Ball.
“We did exactly what we’re supposed to do,” LaVar said of the attention. “Welcome to the Ball era. Everybody’s coming to the Ball era.”
LaVar stuck to his prediction that his son will win Rookie of the Year.
“I said he’s gonna be Rookie of the Year. How could he not?” the elder Ball said. “… [The hype around Lonzo is] going to keep growing. That’s what Big Baller Brand does. It grows.”
“That’s why I told him they’re going to win a championship between one and seven years because help is on the way,” he added. “My other two boys will be here in a minute.”
After winning Las Vegas summer league MVP honors with his contagious passing and triple-doubles, Ball came out in this first game trying to dazzle right away in his Big Baller Brand ZO2 Prime Remix shoes.
Ball’s first pass attempt was an alley-oop lob to Larry Nance Jr. that was broken up. Still, the excitement was there.
He admits he should have lobbed the ball higher for Nance but perhaps the rookie was trying to calm his own excitement down after realizing a childhood dream of hearing his name not only announced in the Lakers starting lineup but the last player to be introduced.
“Oh man, it felt great, especially when they called my name and the fans were cheering,” Ball said. “That is what you dream about as a kid and it is finally here and that was a great moment. But at the end of the day I got a job to do.”
The rookie registered his first assist after grabbing an offensive rebound and finding Brandon Ingram for a 3-pointer. His first two assists went to Ingram — something Johnson said he hopes to see frequently since he believes the tandem will develop Magic-James Worthy-like “Showtime” chemistry in the near future.
After missing his first two shots, Ball made a 3-pointer with 3:47 remaining in the first quarter as fans cheered on. The rookie did make some mistakes, having some passes deflected and he once jumped into the air before making a decision and turning the ball over — something Johnson had warned him about after seeing it happen during the summer league.
The Lakers have been preaching run whether it be after a miss or make and the players might’ve been fatigued, especially after a week of camp and two-a-day practice sessions. Ball wasn’t the only Laker to miss shots. The Lakers missed 25-of-30 3-point attempts.
“I think they were good shots,” Ball said. “A lot of shots I felt were great shots, guys just missed shots, including myself. It is going to take time. Playing fast like that definitely takes a toll on you. Once we get used to it we will be OK.”
Ball had three turnovers in his 36 minutes playing a good amount against Minnesota’s veteran point guard Jeff Teague. Considering that Ball had a very similar game in his summer league debut before racking up a couple of triple doubles and leading the Lakers to the summer league title, the Lakers know their rookie point guard will only get better and more comfortable.
After the game, Ball huddled with his family in a tunnel as his father gave him some pointers and observations.
“I don’t like that we lost,” Ball said of his debut. “But I do like that we are starting to get a foundation now… we got a little tired so we got to get in shape and keep going at it.”
“Let the black women lead,” organizers shouted as hundreds of demonstrators marched up Pennsylvania Avenue. “If you are not a black woman, you should not be at the front.”
As two marches converged in the District on Saturday, protesters streaming past the Capitol toward the Justice Department sought to highlight racial injustices and the disadvantages faced by black women in particular. The March for Racial Justice and the March for Black Women held independent rallies in the morning, then met in the Capitol Hill neighborhood to march together, eventually ending on the Mall.
Farah Tanis, one of the organizers of the March for Black Women, said the timing of the simultaneous events was intentional — she heard about the March for Racial Justice and wanted to host a separate march to focus on struggles black women face. Tanis, who came to the District from Brooklyn, said she appreciated the recognition black women were given on Saturday.
“That didn’t happen in the civil rights movement, or in the women’s rights movement,” Tanis said as she marched, a quartet of drums playing in the background. “It shows we are going in the right direction.”
The March for Black Women began at 9 a.m. in Seward Park, where activists spoke for nearly three hours about subjects including domestic violence, the wage gap and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos rolling back Title IX protections.
The March for Racial Justice began at 10 a.m. in Lincoln Park, half a mile away, where speakers focused on police brutality and encouraged those gathered to engage in grass-roots activism rather than showing their support via social media.
“In order for things to start changing, you can’t just take a knee,” said activist and Rev. Stephen Douglass. “You’ve got to take a global stand.”
The marches were at least 1,000 strong by the time they merged at Lincoln Park. As they marched toward the Capitol, residents emerged from their rowhouses on East Capitol Street, offering water and high-fives of support.
The diverse crowd, which included toddlers, college students and veterans of the civil rights movement, chanted “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Donald Trump has got to go.”
At points, police urged demonstrators spilling onto the roads to stay on the sidewalks.
“I pay taxes for these streets,” activist Ana Rondon retorted. “You can’t tell me to get out of the street.”
In front of the Capitol, tourists on a double-decker sightseeing bus peered down as the marchers in colorful T-shirts, carrying “Rise and Resist” signs and waving a “Love Trumps Hate” flag, passed below.
The marches fell on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, which organizers said they had not realized was Sept. 30 when they applied for permits. Organizers for the March for Racial Justice apologized and said in a statement that their “mistake highlights the need for our communities to form stronger relationships.”
But Betsy Teutsch, a 65-year-old Jewish writer, said she did not mind marching on the holiday and wanted to show her support as a white ally to the black community.
“I find marching is a very sacred experience,” said Teutsch, of Philadelphia. “You’re with a large collective. This is a chance to express Yom Kippur in a different way.”
Teutsch, like many of the marchers, said President Trump’s election underscored for her the need to get out and protest, and to address the racism that for too long has not been acknowledged in society.
“I’ve protested more in the last year then I have in the rest of my life,” she said, laughing.
To Pamela Muir, a graduate of the University of Virginia, the deadly unrest in Charlottesville this summer following a white supremacist rally felt like a “sucker-punch in the gut” that made her all the more aware about racial tensions in the United States.
“If we are silent, then we are complicit,” said Muir, a 54-year-old substitute teacher from Fairfax County. “I used to think that being a good citizen just meant voting. Now if my representatives don’t hear from me for a week, they’re surprised.”
To protest the policies of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has rolled back Obama-era efforts to ease penalties for some nonviolent drug offenders, black women turned their backs and raised their fists in front of the Justice Department. Other marchers knelt.
In front of the Trump International Hotel, some demonstrators paused to hold a “die-in” where they lay down to honor those killed by police.
Tessa Brewer, who is white, said growing up with two black brothers meant she has long been aware that police were likely to treat her differently from her brothers, which made her aware of racial injustice from a young age.
“Most people have hobbies, like athletics and art,” said Brewer, 20. “This is what I focus on.”
She had the names of 47 black victims of police brutality written in black marker on herself. Brewer said she researched the stories behind each of the names.
“I’m wearing 47 names, but there are hundreds more,” she had written on a yellow sign.
