Los Angeles Lakers rookie guard Lonzo Ball has had to face a lot of adversity as he begins his NBA career. Ball has received tons of criticism in the media for his shooting struggles, and has additionally had to deal with the stress of his brother LiAngelo Ball getting detained in China for shoplifting this week.
All of that would be hard for a 19-year-old to deal with, but according to Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson, Ball is more equipped than most to handle tough times (via Bill Oram of the O.C. Register):
“He’s got a lot of support,” fourth-year Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson said. “It’s definitely good for him, though. I feel like he needs that. People around the league, they want to take shots at him, all kinds of (stuff). Just having that whole support system I feel is good for him.”
Paradoxically, the reason the players around the league who want to take shots at Ball that Clarkson mentions probably want to do so because of that same support system.
Lonzo’s father, LaVar Ball, seems to hype his eldest son up in the press out of genuine love and support for him, but how much he’s trash-talked has already gotten under the skin of numerous NBA players, most notably LA Clippers guard Patrick Beverley and Washington Wizards guard John Wall, so far this season.
Ball did plenty to quiet a lot of his doubters on Saturday night as he became the youngest player in NBA history to ever record a triple-double. He also hit three of his five three-pointers, but because the Lakers lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, Lonzo couldn’t care less about the milestone.
Of coure Lonzo won’t be able to do this every night, but at least when Ball does have some more struggles, Ball has a good circle to fall back on for support.
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