When Lonzo Ball tweaked his left knee on Jan. 13, he didn’t think much of it. The discomfort quickly went away and he continued playing as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Dallas Mavericks in overtime.
But there was soreness and swelling in the knee the following morning, and Ball was sent for an MRI. The results of which revealed what the Lakers deemed a minor knee sprain. More recently, the team specified Ball sustained an MCL sprain.
That provided more of an explanation as to why the rookie point guard had progressed and recovered slowly from the injury. With that, team has maintained Ball would not be rushed back onto the court.
He was ruled out for Wednesday’s game against the Orlando Magic, marking an eight in a row Ball will have missed, and 14th overall this season.
While the 20-year-old is not due to play, Ball did some work during shootaround at Amway Center, via Tania Ganguli of the L.A. Times:
Shootaround in Orlando pic.twitter.com/oSRO48mCBE
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) January 31, 2018
The Lakers lost their first eight games without Ball, then won four in a row before the streak was snapped by the Toronto Raptors.
Considering head coach Luke Walton’s preference to see injured players participate in a practice prior to returning, it’s reasonable to suspect Ball will not suit up in any of the remaining games on the team’s road trip.
Next for the Lakers is matchup Friday with the Brooklyn Nets, and a game on Super Bowl Sunday against Oklahoma City. The schedule is such that the team will not have a day to hold a full practice prior to either contest.
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