Recent Lakers news isn’t good for the team, as Lonzo Ball won’t be traveling with the team on their upcoming two-game road trip.
The injury bug has been one of the hot topics in recent Lakers news, as the team has seen Brook Lopez, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball all miss games this month with injuries. While Lopez had the most severe injury with the sprained ankle, Ball will now be missing at least five games with the sprained shoulder.
For Ball, the injury certainly came at a poor time. This season, there have been some ups and downs for Ball when it comes to shooting the ball. With his unorthodox style, Ball has taken a lot of criticism for his poor shooting.
However, Ball was shooting much better the past few games prior to the injury, and that is certainly unfortunate.
After missing the last three games, Ball will not be traveling with the Lakers on their quick two-game road trip.
Lonzo Ball not making the 2 game road trip with the Lakers to Houston and Minnesota
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) December 30, 2017
Not having Ball in the lineup has certainly hurt the Lakers. In the first two games with him out, Jordan Clarkson was given the opportunity to start. While his totals in those games were good, he isn’t a traditional point guard like Ball. Having a combo guard like Clarkson as the starter didn’t help get the Lakers’ offense off to a good start.
In their most recent game against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Lakers went with a very strange starting lineup that didn’t feature a point guard at all. This move by Luke Walton didn’t work, as the Lakers were blitzed rather quickly by the Clippers.
For the Lakers, getting Ball back on the court as soon as possible is very important. With neither Alex Caruso or Tyler Ennis being viable options to play big minutes, the Lakers have been without a true point guard on the court a lot.
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On the road trip, Walton might be forced to play Caruso and Ennis more, as the Lakers need to have someone run the offense. Hopefully, Ball will be back after the two-game road trip, as the team clearly is missing him.