Lonzo Ball is slowly making progress toward returning to the court for the Los Angeles Lakers.
According to Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times, Ball is already walking under his own strength and has even started running in a controlled environment:
Ball has been progressing well in his rehabilitation. He’s begun running on an underwater treadmill and is progressing toward being able to run on an Alter-G anti-gravity treadmill. He was on crutches for less than a week and was able to remove his walking boot shortly thereafter.
This is all great news and backs up the report by Brad Turner that stated Ball is expected to return following the All-Star break. The question is, just how soon after the All-Star break could Ball return?
The Lakers’ first game back from the All-Star break will be against the Houston Rockets on Feb. 21. Ironically, Ball suffered his ankle injury against the Rockets last month.
Given his initial 4-6 week timetable, it wouldn’t be totally out of the question for him to make his return then, but it would be unlikely considering it would be almost exactly four weeks since his injury.
It’s more likely that Ball will make his return at the beginning of March. After that, Ball will have a full month to return to full strength before the postseason, assuming the Lakers make it.
Until then, the Lakers will just have to “hold the fort”, to borrow a phrase from LeBron James.
