Lonzo Ball hoped to be back on the court this week. The Chicago Bulls guard stayed home for the entirety of the team’s six-game road trip on the West Coast to rehab a sprained right wrist.
But with six games remaining in the regular season, Ball still hasn’t been cleared to return. The Bulls, however, still don’t have any plans of shutting Ball down — even if he is still working through recovery in the postseason.
The issue is pain. Ball has never been fully pain-free since sustaining the sprain in an October game against the Memphis Grizzlies. And although he may be cleared to play if his swelling and discomfort is alleviated enough, Ball’s injury will not heal fully until the offseason.
“This is not gonna resolve itself for months,” coach Billy Donovan said ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Toronto Raptors.
Donovan said there is no risk of Ball’s sprain being upgraded from a Grade 2 to a Grade 3, which would require surgery and a six-month recovery window. And according to Donovan, the Bulls are not concerned that Ball will need surgery at any point, even if he is unable to return by the end of the season.
Although Ball has avoided the worst, his shooting form and ability to sustain contact is still significantly inhibited.
“There’s no problem medically — from what I’ve been told by the people that have been dealing with his wrist — of him going out there and playing,” Donovan said. “Whenever he does get back to playing, if he falls on it wrong, he’s going to be right back to where he was. If he can get back and play to a point where he feels comfortable that he can be productive out there, we’re gonna play him.”
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This was supposed to be a comeback year for Ball. He completed an almost miraculous recovery from an unprecedented cartilage transplant, earning clearance for his playing-time restriction to be lifted to 28 minutes shortly before he reaggravated his wrist.
But Ball has still played in only 35 games this season. At most, he will feature in 41 regular-season games. Despite the success of his knee recovery, this injury will only contribute to a career-long trend of averaging fewer than 50 games per season.
Ball’s return will be crucial for the Bulls, whose defense has been increasingly inconsistent without its anchor on the court.
“It’s just a long, long healing process,” Donovan said. “But he wants to play. He’s trying to do everything he can to get in between the lines.”