Lakers News: Lonzo Ball ruled out vs Phoenix Suns
Recent Los Angeles Lakers news involving Lonzo Ball isn’t positive, as has been ruled out for tonight’s game against the Phoenix Suns.
Recent Los Angeles Lakers news involves rookie point guard, Lonzo Ball. Ball has been sidelined with a left knee strain, missing the previous 10 games because of it. That number will be increasing after tonight’s game.
The Lakers are set to host the Phoenix Suns at the STAPLES Center tonight. It is the first time they will be playing in front of the home crowd in almost two weeks, as they just wrapped up a five-game road trip. Fans will be happy to see their Lakers back in town, but they will not be seeing Ball.
Ball has been ruled out for tonight’s game against the Suns. It will be the 11th consecutive game that Ball misses.
The Lakers were hopeful that Ball would be able to get back on the court for tonight’s game, as he has not played since January 15th.
However, Ball was not able to practice on Monday, so there was no way the Lakers were going to let him play. Ball has to at least show he is healthy in practice before the Lakers allow him to get into some game action.
It makes sense for the Lakers. They are not going to take any chances with their rookie point guard. Pushing him for games in January with the playoffs being unlikely would make no sense. He shouldn’t return to the court until he is 100 percent healthy, even if that means sitting out through the All-Star break.
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The Lakers can also take their time in bringing Ball back because the team has improved when playing without him.
The first time that Ball missed time this season with a shoulder injury the team suffered greatly. Los Angeles lost all six games, and they weren’t close. The team looked lost offensively and were a mess defensively.
The team went on a four-game winning streak without Ball, before he suffered this knee injury. Again, things started rocky as their losing streak ran to eight games without him on the court. However, in recent games, they have begun to figure things out without Ball in the lineup.
The Lakers have won six of their last eight games without Ball playing. Head coach Luke Walton has made some lineup adjustments and they are paying off.
Instead of starting Tyler Ennis at point guard, Walton has moved Josh Hart into the starting lineup for Ball. With Hart in the lineup, the Lakers have a strong defensive backcourt with him and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Without a traditional point guard, the lead duties have been handed to Brandon Ingram. The Lakers tried having Ingram play point forward last season, but as a rookie that was too much on his plate and he struggled. The results this time have been much improved.
In two games as the initiator of the offense, Ingram has 15 assists compared to five turnovers. He is still producing elsewhere, averaging 16 points with 7.5 rebounds per game as well.
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Had the Lakers continued to struggle without Ball, the team could have pushed his rehab to try and get him back on the court. With the improvement of his teammates around him, the Lakers are now afforded a chance to let Ball take his time and not accelerate his rehab process.