During the fourth quarter of a Friday night game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns, a shoving match between Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Tyler Ulis broke out, causing a temporary delay.
As teammates from each side rushed to support their respective teammate, Lonzo Ball casually turned his back and walked toward the bench, drawing ire and ridicule on social media.
Lakers-Suns getting chippy ? pic.twitter.com/eghvNqWfzO
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 18, 2017
After the game, a 122-113 Suns victory, Ball defended his decision, dismissed the fight and claimed he was simply trying to avoid a technical foul.
Listening now to the Lonzo Ball audio – "It's the NBA. People ain't really going to fight. I ain't trying to get no tech."
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) November 18, 2017
Unfortunately for Ball, it was a lose-lose situation. If he had gotten involved, he would have risked picking up a technical foul and possibly facing additional discipline, not to mention drawing criticism from fans and analysts. By not getting involved, he avoided the former but not the latter.
Welcome to life in the NBA as a rookie who is both struggling and has a bullseye on his back.
