On Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Houston Rockets. In the loss, it didn’t appear like Lonzo Ball was 100 percent healthy.
After the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night, it was revealed that rookie point guard Lonzo Ball was dealing with a bit of a calf issue. Coming into the game against the Nuggets, it was just one calf that was bothering him. However, at the end of the game, it ended up being both.
While there isn’t any concern that this is a serious injury by any means, it is something that Ball has to deal with. Despite it being a back-to-back against the Rockets on Sunday, Ball went out there and gave it a go.
Clearly, Ball wasn’t his quick and explosive self in the loss. He ended up playing just 22 minutes and didn’t do much other than a few nice blocks. After the game, Ball didn’t use the calf issue as an excuse. Here’s what he said to Corey Hansford of LakersNation.com.
"“I went out there and played, so I’m not going to blame it on that. I just need to do better next time.”"
Even though Ball said the calf had nothing to do with his quiet night, his head coach disagreed. Walton noticed rather early on that Ball didn’t have his normal bounce.
"“He didn’t seem to have that same bounce, that same push that he’s been giving us. If the game was closer I would’ve given him another chance down the stretch,” Walton said. “Where it was and with the calve stuff, it just felt right to keep him out.”"
Seeing Ball fight through a bit of an injury certainly shows his desire to help his team, but he probably should have sat out Sunday with how he looked. In the loss, Ball totaled just two points, three assists, and one rebound. While the low scoring night isn’t anything new, seeing Ball grab just one rebound might be the best indication that he wasn’t 100 percent.
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Luckily for Ball and the Lakers, they will have a few days off before playing the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night. With the team being in the middle of an extremely challenging stretch, having Ball healthy is going to be very important.