NBA Power Rankings: What exactly is wrong with the Clippers?

23. Los Angeles Lakers

What haircut Lonzo Ball got, what is going on with his brother, his dad and the president and whether or not he should have gotten involved protecting his teammates are not the most pressing concerns for him. Seventeen games into the season, Ball is (understandably) still adjusting to the NBA, and it’s going to continue to be a journey for him. As long as he’s shooting 31.3  percent from the field and 22.8 percent from 3, the circus that follows him doesn’t matter. And as he goes, so do the Lakers. Maybe it’s not in terms of wins and losses directly this season, but their future is tied to him being worth it.

Ball, though, did have one of his best games on Sunday. In the Lakers’ blowout win over the Nuggets, Ball recorded his second career triple-double by scoring 11 points,11 assists and a career-high 16 rebounds with just two turnovers. In the game, he looked like the player the Lakers drafted him to be, and while Nikola Jokic’s ejection helped Los Angeles, a good performance from Ball did the Lakers a lot of good.

Also of note from Sunday: Ball recorded his second triple-double was the exact same age (20 years, 23 days) as LeBron James was when James recorded his second triple-double, per ESPN. This comes Ball broke James’ record for youngest triple-double ever.