Ball could miss rest of preseason
LAS VEGAS— Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball did not play against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday at T- Mobile Arena. It was the second consecutive preseason game that the second overall pick in the 2017 draft missed because of a sprained left ankle.
Lakers coach Luke Walton said Ball is still having difficulty moving side to side and did not rule out the possibility of Ball sitting out the remainder of the preseason, according to ESPN.
Walton said that Ball is considered day- to- day, adding that “I assume he will be back” by the season opener against the Clippers on Oct. 19.
“I hope not, but, yeah, that’s a possibility,” Walton said about the chance that Ball could miss the rest of the preseason. “It is different with every player. He is new to the team, so we’ve got to see how long these types of injuries take him to come back from. We’d like to have him back, but= again, we are not going to rush him back just to try to get him out there.
“Even before practice he was working with [ assistant coach Miles Simon] and he was just limping around. It made no sense to try to have him play. If you can’t run and jump, there’s no reason to fight through that. We are just going to keep giving him treatment, and he will be day to day.”
Ball injured his ankle Monday when he landed on the foot of Denver Nuggets point guard Emmanuel Mudiay near the end of the first half. He started the second half but only played briefly.
Walton said Ball’s injury has not regressed but that the Lakers are taking a cautious approach.
“If he is not ready, he won’t [ play],” said Walton of the opener. “Again, it is day to day so I assume he will be back by then. If he’s not ready to play basketball and really cut and move and do everything that you need that ankle you need it to do for you, we are not going to play him.”