While Los Angeles Lakers rookie point guard Lonzo Ball continues to struggle, his father LaVar decided to blame the team for his son’s poor performances. Speaking for Bleacher Report, LaVar Ball said that the Lakers don’t know how to coach his son and that he does.
“They’re soft. They don’t know how to coach my son. I know how to coach him,” LaVar said. “I tell him to go get the victory. Stop messing around.“
Although his rebound and assists stats are more than respectable (more than 7 per game) Ball was shooting awfully in his first 19 games of the regular season. His 31.5% from the game and 25.0% for 3 points are among the worst in the entire league. LaVar’s solution for this is simple. The Lakers need to have less patience with Lonzo and go hard on him.
“What I mean by babying [Lonzo], ‘He’ll figure it out,‘” Ball said. “It ain’t about that. ‘Be patient with him?’ Ain’t no patience if you’re winning. They’re letting it go too easy, saying they’re a young team. Forget about that! Put the [onus] on them. Say, ‘You guys need to win. You’ve got enough talent. Win some games.‘”
It isn’t strange for LaVar Ball to freely speak out his mind and give comments like these. During the time Lonzo was a freshman on UCLA, Ball didn’t hesitate to criticize the coaching alongside giving bold statements like the one that his son is “better than Stephen Curry.”
Lonzo, on the other hand, will probably find some consistency in his game and his shot as well, considering he is a rookie in a very competitive league. He might not be the next Jason Kidd or Magic Johnson, which Lakers hoped him to be when they drafted him 2nd overall in 2017 NBA draft, but he will be good enough.
