Lonzo Ball Agrees With Dad LaVar’s Assessment Of His Bad Lakers Debut

Lonzo Ball wasn’t a big baller in his Los Angeles Lakers debut Friday night, but like his outspoken father, he’s looking toward better times.

“Only way now I can go is up,” said Ball, who scored just five points and shot 2 of 15 in the Lakers’ NBA Summer League loss to the Loa Angeles Clippers in Las Vegas.

That echoes what his dad, LaVar, told reporters right after the game: “It’s the worst you can do. You can’t do nothing but go up.”

While LaVar was his typical upbeat self despite the loss, Lonzo certainly came off as disappointed, giving reporters short answers to questions about his performance.

“I just missed shots (and) we lost the game,” he said. “Can’t do nothing about it now.”

And what was it like to play poorly in front of his family in his first NBA game, albeit in a summer league setting?

“It’s nice to have them around, but I’m sorry for the performance I put on for them,” he said. “I’ll be better tomorrow.”

That game will be against the Boston Celtics, who took Jayson Tatum No. 3 overall, one pick after the Lakers selected Ball. Based on early returns — and they’re very early — the Celtics might have the better player in Tatum, who ripped up the Utah summer league earlier in the week.