Updates Given On Lonzo Ball's Injury Status This Offseason
Going from being out of the playoffs to claiming the 6-seed this past season is definitely no small feat for the Chicago Bulls. However, in order for this team to truly live up to the hype of being a real contender, they will need their starting point guard in Lonzo Ball.
Having surgery for a small meniscus tear in his left knee in January, Ball was shut down for the remainder of the 2021-22 season due to some major setbacks.
Near the end of the year, there were multiple reports citing that Lonzo’s knee was not getting better and that the team’s front-office had some genuine long-term concern about his injury.
Now, with the Bulls in the midst of Summer League with the rest of the league, an update has been given on Lonzo Ball’s status and what to expect from the former second overall pick as he looks to get ready for the 2022-23 season.
Recently, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan spoke about his point guard’s injury, stating that he “seems to be improving,” and that the team is “hopeful” that he will make his way back to full action on the floor sooner than later.
While it definitely seems like things are trending in the right direction in regards to Ball’s return to the court, K.C. Johnson from NBC Sports Chicago wrote recently that the team’s comments on Lonzo Ball’s status were “somewhat sobering.”
“He’s progressing. That’s as much as I can say. He’s getting better. Probably not at the speed that we would like. But he’s getting better,” Bulls president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said. “Hopefully, he’s going to be ready for training camp. That’s just our hopes.”
According to Johnson, Lonzo Ball’s current workout regimen has featured stars and stops, meaning Ball is still occasionally experiencing discomfort on the floor.
Having Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic, the Chicago Bulls are hopeful that they can contend for one of the top seeds in the Eastern Conference.
The problem though is that their backcourt play was very inconsistent without Ball on the floor and he was a key facilitator for the team’s stars.
Time will tell if Lonzo Ball will be ready or not for the start of the 2022-23 season, but to see him working hard to get back to where he was pre-injury is definitely reassuring for the franchise and their fans.
