It is now going on Game 13 in a row that Los Angeles Lakers rookie point guard Lonzo Ball will miss tonight as the young Lakers will square off against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night at American Airlines Center. On Saturday, Lakers reporter Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet tweeted that the team's starting lineup will remain the same against the Mavs with Ball out, even with the acquisition of former Cleveland Cavaliers star point guard Isaiah Thomas coming off the bench during his first game later tonight.

According to an article written this afternoon by Chris Haynes of ESPN, Lakers team president Magic Johnson does not know when exactly Ball will come back from his knee injury but is looking forward to having the 20-year-old learn from the newly-acquired Thomas.

“He's day-to-day, [Ball] is,” Johnson said. “We don't know when he's coming back. We need somebody to come in there and lead our troops. [Brandon Ingram has] been doing a fabulous job but we've gotta get another guy in here. That's why IT was important for us to make this move. And also, a veteran that can also help Lonzo. ‘This is what you need to look for in when you're playing against this guy. This is what I've been doing in terms of my regimen of when I work out.' All those things — we didn't have anybody to teach Lonzo anything. Hopefully, IT can come in and do that.”

The Lakers continue to play it cautious with Ball's sprained MCL injury, which he suffered on Jan. 10 against the Mavs on the road. Ball has since rejoined the team for practice and is doing drills at full speed but is still not ready yet to be cleared for contact.

In another tweet on Saturday from Trudell, head coach Luke Walton and Thomas had dinner together on Friday night in Dallas and talked about the guard's role with the Lakers. Trudell also said that the exchange went great and Thomas is ready to help the young Lakers win with whatever role the team feels fits him best.

“I expect him to be a positive influence on our team and be great for us,” coach Walton said of Thomas.

The Lakers, who have won 12 of their last 16 games overall, will look for their fifth straight victory tonight.