Too many Balls on the court for Lakers
The worst performance of the NBA’s opening week didn’t happen in Chicago, where a costly fight broke out in practice, or in any particular game. The honor goes to ESPN and its absurdly fawning relationship with LaVar Ball.
First rule with the Ball family: When you see LaVar coming, you either duck or turn off the camera. Don’t let him on the air. He’s not only a crashing bore, spewing utter nonsense, but he’s doing a terrible injustice to his son, Lonzo ,ashe tries to make his way as an NBA rookie.
You’d think everyone would get it by now. But no, as the Lakers opened their season at home Thursday night against the Clippers, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and Neil Everett did a lengthy, isn’t-this-hilarious interview with LaVar, as if it was some kind of treat for the national audience. In fact it was self-serving drivel, yet another proclamation of his family’s superiority, capsulizing the exact reason so many NBA players want to humiliate his son.
As it happened, Lonzo was facing one of the league’s ferocious and arrogant defenders, Patrick Beverley. He spent the entire evening in Lonzo’s grill, bullying him at every opportunity, and the kid had a very rough night in a 108-92 Lakers loss. “I told him, due to all the riff-raff his dad brings, he’s going to get a lot of people coming at him, and he has to be ready for that,” Beverley said after the game. “It’s not only going to be me. It’s going to be a lot of people trying to go at his head.”
Right. And there’s Dad, just across the way, pouring copious amounts of gasoline on the fire.
Be clear on two things: LaVar raised his son well, producing a quiet, stone-faced athlete who plays as unselfishly as anyone in basketball. And whatever comes down in the realm of father-related revenge, this 20-year-old (as of his birthday next Friday) can handle it.
In a refreshing contrast, Lonzo’s next game was against the remarkably bad Phoenix Suns. Making a point to be more assertive, he came up with 29 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists — and considering his erratic shooting (12-for-27) and high-risk, Stephen Curry-like turnovers, it’s safe to say he can get a whole lot better.
Afterward, as always, the kid said basically nothing to the media. He’s very consistent that way, just as LaVar can’t help but offend every team on the Lakers’ schedule. Advice for the dad: Find a seat where you can marvel at your handiwork alone. Perhaps that will happen someday. There’s no hope for ESPN.
The critics arrived early
Chris Paul got in 33 minutes of playing time with his new Houston teammates (in Oakland on Tuesday night) before leaving with a knee injury that could sideline him a month. Without Paul, who prefers a deliberate attack, James Harden played to his strengths — a rapid-fire tempo and dismantling defenders in isolation — to lead a thrilling victory.
Now you wonder: As the Rockets seek to acquire an emergency point guard, will they target someone in Paul’s mold, or someone who loves the transition game? In any case, the critics didn’t waste time questioning the effectiveness of a Paul-Harden tandem.
“It’s not going to work,” Shaquille O’Neal said on TNT.
“I don’t know (whether) you can play a certain way for 12 years,” said Tracy McGrady on ESPN, “and then switch it up, at a faster pace, at 32 years old.”
Added Scottie Pippen, alongside McGrady: “Chris don’t want guys taking early shots, because it takes the ball out of his hands. That’s not his game. And it will catch up to him. Farther down in the season, he’s gonna want to slow it down and play CP style. And that’s not gonna work out.”
It’s pretty clear that Paul and Clippers coach Doc Rivers couldn’t wait to take separate paths. Paul was thoroughly disenchanted with the L.A. roster, Rivers’ refusal (as general manager) to develop young talent, and the coach’s insistence on acquiring his son, Austin, whose game leaves something to be desired. “If you ain’t trying to contend with the Warriors, then what are you doing?” Paul said on ESPN.
“Listen, when you leave, you should just leave,” Rivers retorted. “I don’t think you have to try to burn the house down to justify why you left. I didn’t think our culture was as good as it should have been last year because we had guys thinking about leaving.”
Around the NBA
Kyrie Irving returned to Cleveland in a Boston uniform for the season opener Tuesday night, and a video tribute was planned for the pregame festivities — only to be scratched because a number of Cavaliers didn’t like the idea. Never mind that most of these guys greeted their former teammate with hugs and elaborate handshakes before the game. No big-screen plaudits for the man who, let’s see, hit the biggest shot in frachise history (the three-pointer that clinched the 2016 title in Oakland) and provided many wondrous moments over the years. Weak.
Once people got over the shock and heartbreak surrounding Jeremy Lin’s seasonending injury, a different theme emerged: Lin’s Brooklyn Nets could easily be the worst team in the league, again, and Cleveland owns that draft pick. This looms as a significant factor as LeBron James weighs his future options.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo is off to a fabulous start, and that’s no surprise to Kevin Durant. “I like long, athletic guys, and the Greek Freak is a force,” Durant said on his YouTube channel. “I’ve never seen anything like him. He could end up being the best ever to play if he really wanted to. That’s pretty scary to think about. He’s by far my favorite player to watch.”
It may not be long before De’Aaron Fox, the first of Sacramento’s two first-round draft picks this year, supplants George Hill as the starting point guard. The fifth overall pick is fearless, drives the lane with abandon, and he can .Is he suddenly the fastest player in the league? “John Wall will probably argue with me about it, but I’m faster,” Fox told reporters before the season. Exactly what makes him special? “Man, I couldn’t even tell you,” Fox said. “I was born in New Orleans, grew up in Houston. I’m a certain breed.”