On Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers will get their 2017-18 campaign underway at the Staples Center as the home team against the division rival L.A. Clippers. Rookie Lonzo Ball will make his NBA debut while going head-to-head with defensive-minded guard, Patrick Beverley.
After practice on Wednesday, Ball talked about his mindset heading into his first official NBA game and what it'll be liked to take on Beverley.
“He's going to play hard,” Ball said of Beverley. “I've been watching the NBA for a long time now. Picks up full court. Plays hard. Like I said, it's going to be a lot of fun. He's going to go at me. I'm going to go at him.”
Beverley is considered to be one of the best perimeter defenders in the league and will not be holding anything back against the highly-touted rookie. The veteran point guard will replace the recently traded Chris Paul while Ball will start his first season as arguably the new face of the storied Lakers franchise playing alongside Brandon Ingram.
Both the Clippers and Lakers will be debuting revamped rosters on Thursday. The two Los Angeles franchises made blockbuster trades in the summer as well as saw players leaving the team in free agency. Starters J.J. Redick, D'Angelo Russell, Timofey Mozgov, Luc Mbah a Moute, and Paul have all ended elsewhere in one way or another.
Ball will take over the leadership role at the point guard position with the departure of Russell to the Brooklyn Nets. Beverley will attempt to fill the void in the backcourt left by Paul as these two teams try to get the season started off with a win.