After sitting out of Wednesday’s practice to receive treatment on his ankle, Lonzo Ball was a full participant during Thursday’s practice, according to Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton. However, a decision on whether or not he will suit up and play against the Indiana Pacers Thursday night has yet to be made.
According to Walton, Ball will be a game time decision. He is currently listed as questionable on the team’s injury report.
Ball hasn’t missed a single regular season game due to injury this season, although he’s had a few close calls. Last season, Ball missed 30 games for the Lakers, including 15 consecutive games at the start of the new year.
With Rajon Rondo expected to miss at least a few more weeks, the Lakers need Ball to be healthy, mostly because their options are limited at point guard beyond Zo and ‘Do.
Here is the list of players on the Lakers’ roster that spent more than five percent of the season playing point guard last season:
- Lonzo Ball
- Rajon Rondo
That’s it. That’s the list.
Isaac Bonga and Alex Caruso could have been options for the Lakers, but they won’t be with the team on Thursday, which might indicate that the training staff feels Ball will be good to go.
It’s also evident that Walton is confident in his team’s ability to perform without a traditional point guard. Here’s what he had to say about the possibility of not having Ball following the Lakers’ loss to the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday (via Spectrum SportsNet):
“It hurts. We have other guys that we trust. Brandon, LeBron, that can play that for us, but they do other things for us too so it’s not ideal.”
Ingram had some success playing point guard in his rookie season, but he’s been unable to replicate that success since then. LeBron James can play some de-facto point guard as well, but he’s best suited at one of the forward spots.
Coming off of back-to-back losses, it’s hard to imagine the Lakers can bounce back if Ball can’t play. Here’s to hoping we get good news out of the locker room before tip-off.
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