ESPN reporter Jamal Collier said, “There’s confidence in Lonzo Ball’s camp that Lonzo Ball will be ready for the start of the 2022-23 season.” On January 14th, Ball suffered a season-ending meniscus injury in his left knee against the Golden State Warriors. During the summer league, Bulls general Manager and VP Arturas Karnisovas didn’t reveal much about his health. Ball declined to speak to the media on his status last month in Vegas. The unknown status of Ball led to the signing of veteran guard Goran Dragic, but now Ball should be ready for the season opener.
There was some optimism Ball would return for the second half of the season, but eventually, he got shut down for the season. After the All-Star break, Ball began to work out and tried to get back to 100%. But felt discomfort and pain, which led to the official shutdown in early April. Ball has played only one season where he played at least 60 games, which was in the 2019-20 season. Lonzo played 35 games in his first season in Chicago.
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Bulls missed Ball in the lineup
Before January 14th, Chicago was on top of the Eastern Conference with a 27-12 record. One of the significant reasons Chicago fell to the 6th seed during the second half of the season was no Lonzo Ball in the lineup. Ball averaged 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists. After January 14th, Chicago had a 19-23 record without Ball. Chicago’s most significant weaknesses when Ball was out were defense and offensive transition, which are two strengths of Ball.
If Chicago has plans to be in the top tier of the Eastern Conference, Ball must play and be healthy for at least 60 games for the 2022-23 season. Ball could possibly rest more during the season so he can be healthy during the postseason. Ball isn’t the only Bull to recover from an injury, don’t forget about Zach Lavine. Lavine underwent arthroscopic left knee surgery on May 24th and should be ready to start opening night in October.
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