LOS ANGELES_Lonzo Ball didn't treat Tuesday like the watershed day in the Los Angeles Lakers' future that it might have been, and neither did coach Luke Walton.
Ball treated it like every other day. He ate his waffles and over-easy eggs, got to the Lakers facility early and prepared for his workouts.
Walton treated it like every start of all two training camps he has run with the Lakers. He began the season-long process of hammering home the unglamorous properties of playing defense well.
"We actually met before media day, talked about the goals, got everything out there, fired everybody up. ... Have a Lakers mentality. ... Basically they said it starts with defense, defensive grit. Challenge one another and then go on the court and make people fear you," Ball said.
Although not known for his defense, Ball embraced the challenge in his first official Lakers practice.
"Lonzo was good," Walton said. "He's got length too. So a lot of what we're trying to do, a huge part of defense is communicating, talking. He got louder as the day went on. He's got length to where when he jumps up and contests a shot he can make people miss. By the end of practice he was doing that so it was good to see."
Defense was Walton's point of emphasis last season too. The message never quite translated to success on the court. The Lakers finished the season as the worst defensive team in the NBA. And that's why they began again there.
Ball's hallmark is the way he can run an offense. But he understands, as the Lakers coaches constantly preach, that a competent defense can help a dynamic offense. Personally, he knows what improvements will help him there.
"I'm just trying to get stronger. ... Playing defense out here versus grown men it's physical, especially guarding Julius (Randle) when he comes down to the left; it's a lot of work but just got to put it in and keep moving forward," Ball said.
