Either Lonzo Ball has miraculously healed much quicker than anticipated, or head coach Billy Donovan led the media astray on Saturday. After calling his most promising day in the recovery process four days ago, Donovan said that Ball would begin to test the wrist injury in contact drills this week. Those drills must have occurred before Monday or went exceptionally well in the first two days of this week. After an initially estimated return date of the middle of December and then an accelerated timeline to possibly the beginning of the second week of the month, ESPN’s Shams Charania is now saying a completely shocking return date for the Bulls guard. When’s Ball due back, and what does he add to a struggling Chicago lineup?
According to Charania, Ball is expected to suit up tomorrow night against the Orlando Magic, nearly four weeks earlier than his anticipated return date. Indeed, Chicago would not risk rushing their reserve point guard back to the court, especially with his extensive injury history. Ball’s workouts and progressions must have gone smoothly this week and last, as tonight’s NBA Cup matchup versus the Washington Wizards is expected to be the last game he’ll miss. If he takes the floor tomorrow, he will have missed 16 games of action and one month due to the low-grain wrist sprain.
Barring any setbacks in the next 24 hours, Chicago can expect their bench point guard back in the rotation tomorrow night in Orlando. They’ll welcome him with open arms as he remains one of their best facilitators, transition weapons, and three-point threats. Defensively, he can help aid a group that has surrendered the most points in the entire NBA. Ball averaged nearly four assists and five points per contest through the first three games. His return will likely see Dalen Terry and Julian Philips take a dip in minutes.
Tonight’s game against the Washington Wizards is a must-win for Chicago if they hope to remain alive in the NBA Cup standings. With only two games left in the group play stage, a win tonight and an increase in their point differential will help keep them afloat. Every other team in the group has suffered a loss, so two wins in their final two matchups could secure a spot into bracket play. The defense will be the determining factor in the result tonight, as they’ve been the worst team on that end of the floor in the entire Association.
The Wizards have lost 11 games in a row and have a league-worst two wins on the year. If the Bulls were to lose tonight’s game, especially while giving up 135 or more points, the front office should seriously consider a firesale. That would mark the fifth time in seven games they’ve allowed that many points, the most in the NBA. This is as much a must-win game as the Chicago Bulls have had all season.
