LaVar Ball clapped back at L.A. Clippers point guard Patrick Beverley after he shouted an expletive as he walked into the locker room, one that was presumably about his son, Lonzo Ball, who made his NBA debut with the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.
The Clippers throttled the Lakers 108-92 and Beverley had a major part on holding Ball to a mere three points, four assists and nine rebounds in his debut. The often-spirited defensive ace was heard screaming, “Weak ass m*****f****r. Bring him out on the court with me and I will tear his ass up,” as he made his way off the court and into the locker room.
LaVar didn't take the comments kindly and responded in a similar fashion.
“Yeah, you shut the m*****f*****r down,” LaVar Ball told ESPN after the game. “And your check still ain't going to go no higher than what it is. Yeah, you shut him down. OK… Who is Patrick Beverley? He played all last year and nobody said nothing about him. Now we are looking at your first game. Why? Because Lonzo's name is attached to it.”
“So you got to be [all hard]. Let's see what you do the next five games, if you are going to be pumped up toward everybody like that and go back to your 0-for-5 shooting and your two or three rebounds. Nobody is going to care about you. But you put my son's name in it, and you put my name in it, now you got some action and you got some people talking.”
Beverley has been hounding opposing point guards for longer than Lonzo has been watching real pros go at it on the hardwood and his disruptive, trash-talking, hard-chasing, fast-charging energy bolt on the court has given floor generals nightmares throughout his last five years in the league. The fact that Lonzo has been so hyped throughout the summer without having played a lone NBA game gave him even more ammunition for a rude awakening.
The Arkansas native hounded Ball, limiting him to a 1-for-6 night from the field, totaling only three points and often hesitant to go at Beverley throughout the contest. It wasn't any more evident than in the second quarter when Beverley stole the ball from the Lakers rookie and raced up court for an uncontested layup, chanting “First Team All-Defense” on his way back.
LaVar wasn't done ranting, as he didn't care if Beverley didn't mention his son's name while mouthing off toward the locker room.
“You ain't got to say it by name because I saw the way he looked at me when he was on the side of the bench,” LaVar said. “He was going to see if I can get eye contact. I just looked at him like I looked right past him because he's nobody. You talking to Big Baller.”
“One game. OK, you still don't have your own shoe, you are still not your own boss,” he continued. “I know why you are looking at me. And you want to tell me that I got your son! Well I got two more you can try to get some of, too. They will be here, don't worry about it. I don't worry about one game.”
This will be a growing process for both the Lakers and Lonzo Ball as winning in this league doesn't come easy and neither does a debut against one of the best perimeter defenders.
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