Brandon Ingram and Rajon Rondo were at practice Sunday as they and the Los Angeles Lakers awaited ruling on their involvement in a fight with Houston Rockets point guard Chris Paul. That came down hours later, with Ingram receiving a four-game ban, Rondo suspended three games, and Paul for two.
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As suspensions loomed for Ingram and Rondo, all accounts suggested they were hardly affected by the forthcoming reality. “He was normal,” Lonzo Ball said of Rondo. “Like I said, it was in the past. Happened yesterday. Tempers were high.”
Ball stands to gain from the time Rondo will be out. Although he’s only appeared in four games (including preseason) since undergoing knee surgery, Ball voiced confidence in being healthy and capable of playing without the minutes restriction that’s been in place thus far.
Lakers head coach Luke Walton wasn’t prepared to commit to any sort of tentative plan while Ingram and Rondo would be suspended, explaining he preferred to first learn of the severity and length of their respective suspensions.
In the meantime, Walton was pleased with what he saw from Ingram and Rondo. “They both practiced today, they were both great in practice, and we got better,” he said.
Other practice news on Sunday pertained to LeBron James, who took some of the session off. “LeBron did the first part of practice and then I told him I wanted to rest those legs of his,” Walton said. “We’ve got three (games) in four nights coming up, so he was on the sideline watching practice.”
