It was a feel-good story at the Smoothie King Center on Wednesday as the Chicago Bulls headed on the road to play the New Orleans Pelicans. No, the Bulls did not win, falling by the score of 123-111. What the game did have though was the long-awaited return of point guard Lonzo Ball.
It had been a lengthy absence for the soon-to-be 27-year-old (birthday is October 27) from the basketball court. Ball’s last regular season game action prior to Wednesday took place way back on January 14, 2022. Wednesday finally ended a 1,013 day stretch where Ball did not appear in a meaningful game.
Bulls head coach Billy Donovan wants to do his best to ensure that Ball can remain available for Chicago throughout the season.
Minutes Restriction To Remain ‘For Some Time’ For Bulls Guard
Ball’s First Regular Season Game In More Than 2.5 Years
In Chicago’s loss to New Orleans, Ball played 14 minutes. The 6-foot-6 guard finished with five points (2-4 from the field, 1-3 from three-point range), two rebounds, and four assists. He would sit out the first half of a back-to-back on Friday, a 133-122 Bulls win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Ball is expected to play the second game of the back-to-back on Saturday, a home outing against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Chicago is smartly taking it easy on Ball after such a lengthy time being sidelined from play. He has a current minutes restriction of around 16 a game, and that doesn’t seem as if it will change anytime soon. According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times, Donovan has stated that the minutes restriction will remain in place for a while.
‘‘It’s going to be that way for some time,’’ Donovan said about Ball’s minutes restriction. ‘‘That’s not to say the minutes can’t increase; they can. But for right now there’s going to be a period of games — how many games, I’m not sure — but they want to evaluate him at that number just to see how he responds for a period of time.’’
It’s going to be a change for Ball, although it’s certainly better than not playing at all. Prior to the long time off the court, Ball averaged more than 30 minutes each of his first five seasons.
Three Knee Surgeries Before Returning
It was a long and strenuous rehab for Ball to once again be able to don the Bulls jersey. Back on January 14, 2022, he sustained a meniscus injury in his left knee which prematurely ended his season. Ball still wasn’t feeling right, so at the start of the 2022-23 season, he underwent his second knee surgery. Things still weren’t correct in Ball’s left knee, so he once again needed surgery on it in March 2023.
Ball was injured about halfway through Chicago’s 2021-22 season. The Bulls owned a 27-13 record at the time of the injury. They went just 19-23 throughout the rest of the regular season. After one season at UCLA, Ball entered the 2017 NBA Draft and was selected second overall by the Los Angeles Lakers. He spent his first two seasons with the Lakers, and his next two with the Pelicans before joining the Bulls.
