At the time of Lonzo Ball’s injury with the Lakers last season, the initial belief and hope was that he could return before the end of the season to help the Lakers playoff push. In reality, though, not only did Ball never come close to returning but his injury carried into the summer.
Ball wasn’t able to return to the court until late August or early September, essentially missing the entirety of his off-season. Aside from the obvious effects of not having a summer to work on his game, Ball also was unable to get back on the court to shake off the rust of not playing for multiple months.
On his podcast appearance with JJ Redick recently, Ball talked about his injury and whether the difference in him turning the corner this season was mental or physical.
“Nah, it really was just my body, bro. I mean, I was still kind hurt from last year with my ankle so I was kind of just waiting for that to come around. And like you said, around that time my game started opening up. I could run a little faster. I remember after that dunk in Portland, that tip jam, I knew I was starting to feel a little better. That’s when it started to turn around for me.”
Since that referenced Portland game on Dec. 23, Ball has not missed a game for the Pelicans and is averaging 13.6 points, 8.1 assists and 7.2 rebounds per contest while shooting 40.9% from three-point territory.
Ball has indeed turned the corner as a player this season and his health certainly has been a factor. His improved health has been something he’s pointed out as a reason for his improvement multiple times this season.
It’s been the first time in a long time Ball has been fully healthy in his NBA career. While a lot of factors have gone into Ball’s improved play, perhaps none has been more influential than his improved health.
