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It's no secret that Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle is fed up with the media's constant coverage of Big Baller Brand founder LaVar Ball, but he does speak very highly of his son Lonzo Ball of the Los Angeles Lakers.
According to a Friday episode of Dennis and Cowlishaw on ESPN Radio Dallas, coach Carlisle joined the show and had a lot of praise for Lonzo ahead of the Mavs' matchup with the Lakers.
“I think Lonzo is a terrific player. I've been watching him all week. I usually watch three games headed into our game with that team and he's just been tremendous this week. He takes the point guard position to a unique art form. He's not as much of a scientist as much as he is an artist out there,” Carlisle said.
Before the Lakers ended up winning their fourth game in a row on Saturday with a 107-101 overtime victory over the Mavs at American Airlines Center, coach Carlisle went on to say that Dallas had Lonzo as the highest ranked player on their 2017 draft board and compared him to the likes of legendary point guards Jason Kidd and Magic Johnson.
“This was no secret. We had him rated as the top player in the draft. It was a little surprising to us that he didn't go No. 1, but there was a lot of stuff going on with the Lakers and him being home,” Carlisle said. “He's one of these guys that has such a great sixth sense for the game. A little bit of Jason Kidd, a little bit of Magic Johnson, a little bit of some of these other magician-type guys. He has a real sense for his teammates and exactly what they can do. I think he's a tremendously exciting young player for this league.”
Lonzo, who will not play today against the Memphis Grizzlies due to a mild left knee sprain, is currently averaging 10.2 points, 7.1 assists, 7.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game in roughly 33.9 minutes of action per contest.
