For the third time in as many games, the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns got into an altercation late in the fourth quarter. While there was a shoving match between Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Tyler Ulis, all the attention was on Lonzo Ball walking away.
While there have been debates about Ball's reaction to the altercation, head coach Luke Walton revealed a teammate talked to the rookie about how to handle the situation differently next time according to Shahan Ahmed of NBC Los Angeles:
Luke Walton said that a player did talk to Lonzo about him walking away from the skirmish, but the coach wouldn’t say who. Said he prefers the players handle that type of stuff and share what they want to publicly.
— Shahan Ahmed (@shahanLA) November 18, 2017
Although it is unclear who the teammate was, Brook Lopez personally was not bothered by the reaction:
Brook Lopez said he wasn’t bothered by Lonzo’s reaction, and Luke also downplayed the inaction because of how Lonzo gets along with all of his teammates. All that said, someone talked to Lonzo about how to handle the situation differently next time.
— Shahan Ahmed (@shahanLA) November 18, 2017
To begin his rookie season, Ball has been heavily critiqued as a result of his father LaVar Ball's comments for the past year. From the players to the media, everyone is taking their best shot at him, especially as he struggles with his shooting (30.8 percent from the field and 22.7 percent from three).
For Ball, he is experiencing growing pains but continues to receive high praise from Walton, teammates, and opponents. Through 16 games, Ball is averaging 8.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 6.8 assists in 32.7 minutes.
After a 6-10 start to the 2017-18 NBA season, the Lakers will look to end their two-game losing streak against the Denver Nuggets.