Lonzo Ball’s debut for the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Summer League was forgettable, to say the least. The rookie point guard went 2-for-15 from the floor and made a lot of people jump to conclusions about his future.
Fortunately, Ball completely turned it around on Saturday with an impressive performance recording a triple-double with 11 points, 11 assists, and 11 rebounds. For the moment, Ball has silenced his critics, but he has received some constructive criticism from coach Jud Buechler.
Buechler, who is the team’s head coach during Summer League, thinks the pass-first point guard needs to be more aggressive, via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Jud Buechler did also say they want Lonzo Ball to 'be a little more aggressive, get all the way to the basket and get some easy ones.'
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) July 9, 2017
Although the Lakers love Lonzo’s ability to pass and get his teammates involved, there were plenty of opportunities to score easy baskets in which Ball elected to pass against the Celtics. Ball had a great overall performance, but overpassing is something he needs to work on cutting down moving forward.
With the first two games in the books, the team will have the day off on Sunday before getting back to work on Monday to face the division rival Sacramento Kings at the Thomas & Mack Center. Ball will go head-to-head against fellow rookie De’Aaron Fox on Monday. It will be their first meeting since Fox led his Kentucky Wildcats over Ball’s Bruins in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Ball is currently averaging 8.0 assists per game which is the second-highest in Summer League behind former Laker Kendall Marshall (11.0).