After 40 days of absence, Los Angeles Lakers rookie point guard Lonzo Ball is back in action – awkward-looking jumper and all. The 20-year-old former UCLA Bruin finally made his return to the court Friday night at Staples Center against the visiting Dallas Mavericks, and he did not waste much time announcing his comeback.
Just a few moments after entering the court off the bench, Ball received a pass from Lakers forward Brandon Ingram and immediately found the bottom of the net with a three-ball from in front of the Lakers’ bench. You like that, Lakers fans?
Lonzo back. pic.twitter.com/0K1NCnlJVZ
— ESPN (@espn) February 24, 2018
Lonzo Ball’s three-pointer inflated the Lakers’ lead to 17 points, forcing the Mavericks to call a timeout midway through the opening quarter.
Prior to the Mavs game, Ball had missed 15 straight games because of a knee injury. He last played on Jan. 13, coincidentally against the Mavericks, too, logging in 43 minutes on the floor and scoring just nine points to go with seven assists and seven rebounds in a 107-101 road win. Overall, Ball has already missed 21 games in his first season in the pros.
During the course of Ball’s absence, the Lakers managed to compile a winning record of 8-7, thanks to a few players stepping up while he was missing recovering, including rookie Josh Hart, who averaged 9.4 points and 6.2 rebounds over the previous five games prior to the Mavs game.
So far this season, Ball is putting up 10.2 points on only 35.6 field goal shooting percentage with 7.1 rebounds and 7.1 assists per contest.
The Lakers are expected to limit Ball’s minutes for the meantime, but it probably won’t take them long before giving him his usual 33.9 minutes per game average.
After playing Dallas, the Lakers will make a short trip for a road game against the Sacramento Kings this Saturday. The Lakers are just 3-7 in their last 10 games in Sacramento dating back to 2013.
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