Lonzo Watch- 29 points 9 assists 11 rebounds

[postaboy84]

I just don't think many people care about the Lakers beyond Ball and hoping he fails because of Lavar. The Lakers as an organization are a mess. They have been awful for 4 straight years and all they have to show for it in terms of young talent is Ball. They will be bad this year and they don't even own their pick. So thst will be 5 years of bad basketball with Ball being the only reward.

LA's only hope is that LeBron decides to use their team to squad-up. Outside of that...yikes.

There are always a lot of eyes on the Lakers. Whether they're great or rebuilding, it doesn't matter. You just need to learn to accept that and a lot of your frustrations will be wiped away. The NBA and the media has a right to serve content to the largest fan base in the league, like it or not. It might irritate you that Lakers fans aren't the "bandwagoners" that you and others wanted to label us as, but regardless we're still here in large numbers.

I am not trying to troll you here but nobody where I live talks about the Lakers. I don't live out West either so I can't comment on that part of the country. All I know is that the Lakers aren't in any way relevant here.

Now if LeBron decides he wants to play for LA next year then that changes. But as of now? The Lakers just don't rate.

How do you know where you live don't talk about the Lakers? I was visiting Penn State campus during the summer and I was surprised to see customers at a local bar near by talking about the Lakers. You need to understand that the Lakers run the NBA. They were the number 1 profitable team last season by a large margin. Guess who was second? The champion Warriors. The Lakers fanbase and brand is no joke so the media got to serve them.

[NZB2323]

I thought his dad ruined his career?

[JellosJigglin]

I just don't think many people care about the Lakers beyond Ball and hoping he fails because of Lavar. The Lakers as an organization are a mess. They have been awful for 4 straight years and all they have to show for it in terms of young talent is Ball. They will be bad this year and they don't even own their pick. So thst will be 5 years of bad basketball with Ball being the only reward.

LA's only hope is that LeBron decides to use their team to squad-up. Outside of that...yikes.

There are always a lot of eyes on the Lakers. Whether they're great or rebuilding, it doesn't matter. You just need to learn to accept that and a lot of your frustrations will be wiped away. The NBA and the media has a right to serve content to the largest fan base in the league, like it or not. It might irritate you that Lakers fans aren't the "bandwagoners" that you and others wanted to label us as, but regardless we're still here in large numbers.

I am not trying to troll you here but nobody where I live talks about the Lakers. I don't live out West either so I can't comment on that part of the country. All I know is that the Lakers aren't in any way relevant here.

Now if LeBron decides he wants to play for LA next year then that changes. But as of now? The Lakers just don't rate.

Your frame of reference is just microscopic. Perhaps you only watch the local sports news and hang out with like-minded people. That's okay. The national numbers backup my argument that the Lakers have a massive following. It would make absolutely no sense for the media to serve content that no one cared about. That's not how you draw advertising money.

[clyde21]

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[Lalouie]

That is true, but the hard thing to visualize is what kind of guard plays well with that kind of style. I'm a Wiz fan and we have Beal. I think he'd be very good with a pg like Zo. In fact, I think that Zo's style fits the Wiz better than Wall's. Right now we have Otto Porter who's coming on strong but it's starting to get kind of weird with regards to who gets to be aggressive. Zo's style would really show if you had a squad like Zo (3 or 4 years from now), Beal, Porter, Morris and an athetlic big man like Thompson.

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As good as Zo is, shot creating isn't one of his strengths so the players that you surround him with will need to be able to space the floor, be solid on the fast break and create for themselves. Similar to how the Suns were built in Phoenix with Nash. It'll be fun to watch him Zo develop.

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I'm not being hyperbolic when I say Zo might be inventing a new position and maybe that's why it's so hard to visualize. Consider,,,, the days of the old pg is gone. Right now we're in the Era of the scoring pg. But even as we speak, positions are getting blurred and centers (cousins) are leading fast breaks. The open court pg, Zo, is a natural to get all these positionless multi talents involved. The result at UCLA was a bump in TEAM passing. I think that's what walton is looking for in Zo.

Eh. How is that different than what the Spurs did a couple years ago? Nonetheless, a bump in "team passing" can only take you so far. Look at what happened to those great ball movement Spurs when they played against OKC that one year. You still had players that can break down there man one-on-one. This is the most important aspect of a good offense.

I'm not savant enough to know how this all works out, but this is how Zo plays. I don't think he liked playing as he did vs phx. That's not how he grew up, but he'll do what's necessary. He's a smart dude

[Kudi]

So many Lakers haters.

DLO as the #2 was still young and played on dysfunctional teams and it wasn't his fault.....

Ball as the #2 pick should held held to a higher standard, he played the lowly suns, he ain't good, passing is overrated.

Lol.

the lakers were always my fav team growing up i even had laker in my hotmail
however the mediocrity that they have been ever since kobe's decline is just insane
so many lottery picks and still nothing to show, stupid stupid free agent signings of ageing vets
and every year hyping like crazy
at this point i think everyone has the right to be skeptical without hateing
which team is in a better position right now lakers, phoenix, or orlando?
and i love the lakers always pick them in 2k weather it be my career or gm

[Jon1798]

I like Lonzo fine. Will be curious how he does against Jrue Holiday tomorrow. Best defensive PG's last season went Chris Paul, Pat Beverly, Jrue Holiday. It's going to be another tough task.

No Conley?

Lonzo is a special player, he ain't a bust

I was just going by defensive real plus minus. I think Jrue is a better defender than Conley, and I think Conley is on another level offensively than Jrue. Jrue is talented but way too inconsistent. His defense however is as good as they come.

[Frank Dux]

The scrutiny this kid gets is unreal. If any ever rookie ever put up that stat line in their second game this board would explode. He’s an incredible talent, it’s ridiculous how much hate he gets just because his pops doesn’t shut up. Lonzo is by all accounts an incredible teammate, guys really love playing with him. He’s one of the most unselfish players I’ve ever seen.

[KobeBryant24]

So let me get this straight when Westbrook puts up these numbers 29 on 27 shots he gets crucified but Lonzo does it, and its a bounce back? PLEASE not going to say hes a bust or anything like that but...

One of those players is a rookie

His second game

[NPZ]

Lonzo's been a low usage player in UCLA, which is why he was so efficient. He's not gonna be at 32%, but he'll be high usage on the Lakers because nobody else can do anything with the ball worth a damn.

That's the beauty of the way Lonzo plays. Kept telling people that all summer. He isn't going to pound the rock for 20 seconds and dump it off. He gets his assists without really dominating the ball. He's a unique talent in that way and it's why he was an analytics marvel at UCLA. He puts up numbers on a low usage.

But last night he did what the team needed. If he got the free throws he deserved it would've been a 33-36 point game for him. Instead we have box score nerds in here going "29 points on 27 shots heheh *snort*"

Good post, Jellsey!1 What haters or even observers who don't hate, but didn't watch the game didn't see was the context of many of those shots. He took charge of the offense where he didn't vs LAC. He did the oldest school trick for the best players on rosters. He emptied his barrels when the team needed it. He was not afraid to shoot at all despite the stats, which he doesn't give a sh about. That's the same ethos that Kobe had. Member that 2002 gm at Smelts where he shot only 17/47? Well, that came without Shaq after they tied their then-record low 70 franchise points at Cleveland in a loss the night before. He knew he had to shoot even if they weren't goin in. Why? Because his teammates then were utterly effin feckless save for Shaq, but also in the attempt to carry them out of nasty opening slump where many of his teammates were too tentative to shoot cus they sucked. Magic also took over games when his passes weren't resulting in assists. Seen him do it many a time both to break the team out of losing streaks and to seal games where only he could hit the clutch shots. And like Zo, he wasn't thought of as a "scorer" (though he avg'd 20 career). An example was the 2-3 gms in 1987 where Kareem got hurt and they got blown out twice and then Pat told him to shoot more. Next two gms he put up 46 (his career high) and 39 the next night. End of slump. I'm glad to see that Zo has this instinct. All he needs to do is hone it further and further. He's gonna NEED to score sometimes not only to keep the D honest, but to carry the franchise. Like Kobe and Magic, he's gonna be the only superstar on this team in couple'a-three years. He's good already, but I'm a strict constructionist as far as using that term until it's consensus.

[NPZ]

The scrutiny this kid gets is unreal. If any ever rookie ever put up that stat line in their second game this board would explode. He’s an incredible talent, it’s ridiculous how much hate he gets just because his pops doesn’t shut up. Lonzo is by all accounts an incredible teammate, guys really love playing with him. He’s one of the most unselfish players I’ve ever seen.

The criticism of his 29/11/9 game was like Chong Li telling Frank, "Very good...but brick don't hit back..."

[LakersDynasty14]

Looks like game one was a total fluke and the real Lonzo Ball was on display last night, nearly notching a triple double.

Lakers look like they have a legit shot to take a big step forward this year.

The Warriors will be number 1 in the West, but after that it’s wide open. CP3 is already hurt in Houston, Butler looks like a total bust in Minnesota, Melo is the consummate loser, which takes OKC out of the mix, Clippers are trash this year etc...

If he can lead the Lakers to a top 3 seed in the West, and average something like 25ppg, 10ast, and 8reb, would he pretty much be a shoo in to win MVP?

Do you think MVP voters would be hesitant to vote for a rookie?

[clyde21]

[Lazy Faizy]

Or maybe this game was a fluke and the first game was the real Lonzo. But really, its been 2 games. Can we wait at least until mid-season to make it thread like this?

[-G-]

...because enough people don't hate the Lakers and Lonzo.

[_Game7_]

No, game one was not a fluke, game two was not a fluke. He is somewhere in between.

[Jazz9]

Top 3 seed in the West? The Lakers?
Do you actually watch your team play?

[Dupp]

Wonder why people don't like the balls and lakers....


I know it's a joke thread but he'll never be an MVP candidate. Maybe he can become and all star.

[Sark]

Yes, if he can play Phoenix 80 more times this year.

[7r5ur]

This is a parody account, right?