After suffering a sprained left ankle during a preseason game last week against the Denver Nuggets, Lonzo Ball may already be done in this year's preseason. The 19-year-old missed his second consecutive game on Sunday when his team faced the Sacramento Kings in Las Vegas.

Head coach Luke Walton did not confirm whether Ball will see action on Tuesday against the Utah Jazz or not, but he admitted that it's possible that they will opt to give him the night off, to allow his ankle to fully heal. He then added, via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN, that rushing him to get back on the court is not part of their plan, although he did practice with the team on Saturday.

“I hope not, but yeah, that's a possibility,” Walton said when asked if 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.”

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Lonzo Ball
Ringo H.W. Chiu/The Associated Press

Ball is expected to be the Lakers' starting point guard, and with the strong showing he had during the Summer League and two preseason games he played in, expectations in him are continuing to grow. As early as now, many are already thinking of him as a difference maker for the franchise, and will lead them to the playoffs once again. That said, it's very understandable that Walton and his staff are taking a cautious approach on his injury, and not risk seeing him get hurt again.

It remains to be seen when he'll be back on the court, but with his injury only considered a mild sprain, he could return as early as their season opener. If he does play by then, it would mark the start of a new era in Lakers basketball, and will definitely give their fans more reason to cheer for their team.