Patrick Beverley had an agenda coming into last night's season-opener against the Los Angeles Lakers: to give Lonzo Ball the royal welcome his father LaVar expected him to get.
Only Beverley had a rude awakening type of welcome in mind.
“I just had to set the tone,” Beverley said after the game, according to ESPN. “I told him after the game, due to all the riff-raff that his dad brings that he is going to get a lot of people coming at him. He has to be ready for that, and I let him know after the game. But what a better way to start than 94 feet guarding him.”
Ball's Training Day left him with plenty to wonder, as Beverley has proven to be a pest on defense throughout his five years in the league, holding him to three points on 1-of-6 shooting for the night. The new Clipper took the challenge of clamping down on the prized rookie head-on, and it wasn't any more evident than in a second quarter strip, racing up court to an uncontested layup and chanting “First Team All-Defense” on his way back on defense.
The defensive ace lauded Ball's talent, but said this opening performance would only make him better from here on out.
“He’s a great talent, but he’s got to go through the tough times,” Beverley told ClutchPoints' Ryan Ward. “He’ll be better for it.”
Guards around the league, including John Wall and Kemba Walker have noted the NBA is chomping at the bit to get the best of Ball on the court after a much-hyped offseason for the homegrown talent.
It will be up to him ultimately to rise up to the challenge and make the most of his challenge in competition throughout the season, which will only get tougher as teams battle for a playoff spot in a loaded Western Conference.
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