Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball’s injured left shoulder is set to be reevaluated on Tuesday. However, he is still unlikely to return to the lineup for their next game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, per the Los Angeles Times’ Tania Ganguli.
Ball has missed the team’s last five games due to his troublesome shoulder. The Lakers have lost all five of those games, four of which have come by double-digits. They are coming off back-to-back defeats against the Houston Rockets and the Minnesota Timberwolves as they now have sole possession of the worst record in the Western Conference at 11-25.
Lakers head coach Luke Walton has bemoaned Ball’s absence, saying their rookie point guard makes them a better basketball team.
“Whether he’s making shots or not, the way he plays the game of basketball makes us a better team. Tyler and Josh [Hart] did a great job last night but, yeah, we missed him last night too.
“Zo’s someone that we believe makes big plays, makes winning plays, whether it’s a steal or throw ahead to end the run — whatever it is — he’s constantly making those throughout a game.”
Ball is averaging 10 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 7.1 assists while shooting 35 percent from the field and 30 percent on 3-pointers in his rookie season. However, he’d finally shown major strides offensively as he put up 16 points on 44 percent shooting and 45 percent from downtown in the six games prior to his injury.