Lonzo Ball of the Chicago Bulls is expected to miss four to six weeks. The Chicago Bulls guard will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. Ball suffered a torn meniscus back in January, which forced him to miss the rest of the year. While he has been rehabbing, the discomfort in his left knee has not waned. This will not be the first time his left knee will be operated on. Throughout Ball’s career, he has already had two other procedures done to the same knee. The good news is that Lonzo Ball should be ready to go by the start of the new regular season.
Lonzo Ball Expected to Miss Four to Six Weeks
Lonzo Ball: His Role on the Chicago Bulls
The former UCLA Bruin has carved out a nice role for himself after a rough start to his career. After a rocky start with the Los Angeles Lakers and not quite fitting with the New Orleans Pelicans, he seems to have found a true home with the Chicago Bulls. Ball is one of the more desired role players in the league. He is a good facilitator and an even better perimeter defender. He and Alex Caruso form one of the best defensive back-courts in the league and the Bulls sorely miss them when either of them happens to be out.
Chicago’s star trio of DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic are all great offensive weapons but struggle defensively. As a result, Lonzo Ball helps pick up the slack on the end of the defensive end of the floor while allowing the stars to flourish on the offensive end. Last year, Lonzo had what many considered a career year for him. He finished with numbers of 13.0 points, 5.1 assists, and 1.8 steals per game. Ball also had a defensive win share of 1.4 to go along with a defensive box plus/minus of 1.6, his best in this regard since his rookie year.
Concerns for Ball Going Forward
The Bulls really missed Ball’s defensive presence after being sidelined in January. Chicago was in the top four of the Eastern Conference for months but fell down the standings a bit once they lost Lonzo. There is reason to be concerned going forward. It is no secret that Ball will never be a superstar in the NBA, as his father once predicted. However, he has become a great role player who is willing to guard the opposing team’s best perimeter player on any given night.
If knee injuries continue to plague Lonzo, then there is a serious risk of him losing his ability to keep up with the quicker guards which would result in a loss of effectiveness on the defensive end of the floor. A trait that is arguably his best. It may behoove the Chicago Bulls to have a minutes restriction on Ball when he returns to avoid any reaggravation of his left knee and allow Alex Caruso to be the starting point guard until Lonzo is 100 percent healthy again. Hopefully, this knee surgery will be the catalyst for Lonzo Ball to return to full health.
