Less than 24 hours after moving back into the starting lineup, Lonzo Ball has sustained yet another injury that could keep him sidelined for at least one game. On Wednesday, the New Orleans Pelicans announced that Ball has been listed as questionable for Wednesday night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves with a hip contusion.
If Ball isn’t cleared to play, it will be the ninth game he’s missed in 29 games this season. For his career, Ball has played just 61.9% of his games.
Ball has struggled to be more than a replacement level player through his first 20 games with the Pelicans, posting a career-low VORP of zero. For context, a replacement level player has a VORP of -2.
A large part of his struggles can be attributed to his fluctuating role, which can be traced back to the nagging injuries he’s sustained throughout the season. Ball started the first eight games for the Pelicans this season, but then he missed seven of the next 10 games with an adductor strain. Since then, he’s started 5-4 of the game he’s been available.
There was optimism among Pelicans fans and NBA fans alike that a healthy summer is what Ball needed to have a breakout junior season, but that hasn’t been the case so far for the former No. 2 overall pick. Hopefully Ball can put together a string of healthy and, most importantly, productive games for New Orleans sooner rather than later.
