At 9-12 on the season, the Chicago Bulls are off to a slow start in what many thought would be a solid campaign. It’s still pretty early, but the Bulls’ flaws are glaringly obvious, and there have been calls for GM Marc Eversley to trade the core away and start over.
The Bulls are unlikely to take that route for obvious reasons, but it doesn’t mean the situation will get any better. In fact, according to the latest Lonzo Ball update, the Bulls may not even have the return of their starting point guard to look forward to.
In her latest piece for the Chicago Tribune, Bulls beat writer Julia Poe gave the latest news on Lonzo Ball’s recovery, and it’s not good news at all.
It has been nearly a year since Ball initially injured his left knee in a Jan. 14 game. But coach Billy Donovan said the Bulls don’t know when — or if — their starting point guard will be available this season.
“It’s been really slow,” Donovan said Wednesday before the team’s 132-113 loss to the Phoenix Suns, who got 51 points in three quarters from Devin Booker. “It’s gotten better, but is he clearly without any pain? No, he’s not. He still has pain. We’re seeing the slow, gradual strides getting better, but I just don’t have any timetable of when he could even be back.”
Nine weeks after his second knee procedure, Ball is still unable to run, jump or cut. He has returned to the weight room at the Advocate Center for moderate weightlifting and core exercises, but he hasn’t played basketball or run at full speed since January.
“He was in that mindset last year when the injury happened,” Donovan said. “I just think that’s who he is. He has got his mind, his heart, everything set on getting himself back this year. There’s no timetable, but that’s where he’s at mentally.”
“The next step is we’ve got to get him into some contact, but we’re not even close to that,” Donovan said.
It’s looking more and more like Lonzo will miss the whole season for Chicago, which is just horrible news for their chances of making a run this season. If shutting him down now will help preserve his body and game moving forward, the Bulls have to consider it.
Lonzo Says He’s Never Dealt With Injury Struggles Like This Before
Ball himself has been pretty quiet throughout this rehab process, but he has spoken up about how difficult this process has been for him.
When healthy, Lonzo is easily one of the best two-way point guards in the league, and he’s a big part of what the Bulls were planning on doing with DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine.
It will be interesting to see when Lonzo is able to take the floor again and how the Bulls navigate this extended stretch without him.
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