Lonzo Ball will miss tonight’s Los Angeles Lakers game against De’Aaron Fox and the Sacramento Kings.
Lonzo Ball has been a big topic of discussion throughout the Las Vegas Summer League. The new face of the Los Angeles Lakers is as polarizing prospect as Las Vegas has this season and with good reason.
Ball was the second overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. He was someone that the fans came to see in Las Vegas this year, and rightfully so. He has supremely talented and someone that fans of basketball want to watch play.
Unfortunately, they will have to wait a while to see him take the court again. According to NBA Insider and USA Today contributor Sam Amick, Ball will be sitting out tonight’s summer league game against the Sacramento Kings with a sore groin.
Summer League letdown: I'm told Lakers' Lonzo Ball will rest a sore groin tonight & miss a faceoff/rematch against Kings' De'Aaron Fox.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) July 10, 2017
As Amick notes, this was a much-anticipated matchup between two of the top point guards in this year’s draft class. De’Aaron Fox and Ball faced off twice in their lone seasons in college.
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Ball led his UCLA Bruins into Rupp Arena in Lexington and knocked off Fox’s Kentucky Wildcats early in the regular season. Fox and the Wildcats would exact some revenge in the Sweet 16, where they knocked Ball and the Bruins out of the NCAA Tournament.
Ball had an up-and-down summer league. His debut did not go as well as hoped, as the Lakers lost in overtime to the Los Angeles Clippers. Ball had a horrible shooting night, making 2-of-15 from the field and only 2-of-11 from the three-point line.
He rebounded in a big way in his second game. Against the Boston Celtics, Ball recorded a triple-double, scoring 11 points with 11 rebounds and 11 assists. It was quite a response to the poor first game, but he will not have a chance to build off that performance.
The Lakers are not going to take any chances with Ball if he is ailing in any way. Brandon Ingram experienced cramps in the first game after spraining his ankle previously and was immediately shut down. Fellow 2017 first round pick, Josh Hart, injured his ankle against the Celtics and will also be sitting out tonight and possibly the remainder of the summer.
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The Lakers have the bigger picture in mind, which is how it should be. It would not be surprising to see Ball sit out the remainder of the summer. Even if the groin injury isn’t thought to be serious, there is no reason to push him for an exhibition game.