UPDATE (Nov. 27, 7:15 p.m.): Lonzo Ball warmed up and was on the court to start the third quarter.
The Los Angeles Lakers went into Tuesday’s matchup with the Denver Nuggets not quite 100 percent as Josh Hart continued to be bothered by pain stemming from a sprained ankle tendon and Rajon Rondo was out while recovering from surgery to repair a fracture in his right hand.
Injury concerns became more prevalent in the second quarter when Lonzo Ball collided with Nuggets guard Malik Beasley and fell to the ground. Ball was slow to get up and limped his way up the court before being asked to check out of the game.
Ball immediately went into the locker room with Lakers trainer Marco Nuñez and was diagnosed with a left ankle sprain that may prevent him from returning to action in Denver, per
Mike Trudell:
Lonzo Ball is questionable to return with a left ankle sprain.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) November 28, 2018
Ball previously tweaked his left ankle during a Nov. 10 game against the Sacramento Kings but continued to play and started the following night.
Ball dealt with multiple cases of knee trouble throughout his rookie season and it eventually led to offseason surgery. While the procedure aimed to get him healthy, it severely hindered Ball’s ability to work on improving heading into his sophomore year.
The Lakers eased him into training camp and it wasn’t until the team’s fifth preseason game that he made his debut. Ball appeared off the bench in that contest and started in the Lakers’ final exhibition game.
To no surprise, he was relegated to coming off the bench in the regular season, but was pressed into starting duty when Rajon Rondo received a three-game suspension. Ball has started every game since.
If Ball does not return against the Nuggets, he’ll finish the night with 7 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist in 16 minutes.
