With Lonzo Ball’s father, LaVar, constantly making statements regarding his son, it has given his opponents motivation to go after him in games. Most recently, LaVar’s warning to the Washington Wizards prompted a response from big man Marcin Gortat, who said point guard John Wall would ‘torture’ the Los Angeles Lakers rookie.
Ball has never been one to worry about his father’s antics and proclamations, preferring to let his game do the talking. That being said he is a competitor who wants to win every night, and his teammates are right with him every step of the way.
Following Lakers practice on Tuesday, Brandon Ingram said Lonzo and the rest of the team saw Gortat’s tweet and didn’t take it too well via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Ingram: “We def saw it. The competitor in Lonzo, he didn’t take it so well & w/ his teammates behind him, we didn’t take it so well.”
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) October 24, 2017
The competitiveness and fire is definitely good to see from Ingram and Ball as the two leaders of the team. The fact that the Lakers are behind Ball, ready to back him up every step of the way is a sign of the continuity this team has already established.
Ball outplaying Wall, one of the NBA’s truly elite two-way point guards, is a tall task. Though Ball will likely not guard Wall, that job will probably fall to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Wall will undoubtedly hound Ball up and down the court defensively. A good performance against Wall would silence any detractors about whether Ball can hang with the NBA’s best.
The only thing that matters for Ball, however, is a win and it sounds as if the team will be motivated even more to make Ball look good on Wednesday night. With the Lakers bringing out their throwback jerseys, the team hopes to have a throwback performance and upset one of the East’s best teams.