The Los Angeles Lakers won’t have rookie point guard Lonzo Ball for their Christmas Day matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves. In fact, per Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum Sportsnet, Ball has a shoulder sprain that will keep him out at least a week.
MRI exam on Lonzo Ball’s left shoulder reveals a sprain. Ball will miss the Christmas Day game vs. Minnesota and get re-evaluated in a week.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) December 24, 2017
Ball injured the shoulder on Saturday playing against the Portland Trail Blazers. He was in obvious pain leaving the court, and now we know why. After the game, Ball assured reporters he’d play on Christmas Day, but now it appears the decision’s been taken out of his hands.
https://twitter.com/DanDuangdao/status/944808716875862016
Before being injured in the game, Ball has tallied a double-double with 10 points and 11 assists. It was a continuation of a recent trend in which Ball has been improving his play, especially as a distance shooter. Hopefully for his sake, this shoulder injury won’t derail that progress.