After being sidelined by a knee injury for over three years, the Chicago Bulls are eager for point guard Lonzo Ball to return to action. On Wednesday, he will play with the team in a preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Ball is expected to play in the final two preseason games, according to coach Billy Donovan’s remarks on Monday. Before opening the season at New Orleans on October 23, the Bulls will host Cleveland on Friday.
Before the Bulls’ game against Milwaukee, Donovan stated, “We kind of targeted him playing this next preseason game.” “Whether it was tonight or off and then go the next game, we really felt like we wanted to try to get him to play two games before the regular season.”
The club is still trying to determine how much exercise makes Ball’s knee suffer, and he had some setbacks with COVID last month.
He hasn’t played since January 14, 2022, and last year, after multiple surgeries failed to resolve the problem, he underwent a cartilage and meniscus transplant in his left knee.
Ball has said he intends to be prepared for the start of the season. He won’t play in games on consecutive days and will have a cap on the number of minutes he may play.
Donovan clarified, “He doesn’t have to be the same kind of athlete he was because he relies so heavily on passing.”
“He sees things with his eyesight that are unrelated to his athletic status. Having regained his rhythm and timing, I do believe he has shot the ball at a level that is likely closer to what we have seen in the past. He doesn’t spend much time in the lane. He doesn’t spend much time at the rim.
Prior to the 2021–22 season, the Bulls signed a sign-and-trade agreement with New Orleans to acquire Ball. Prior to his injury, he had a great start in Chicago, averaging 13 points and 5.1 assists over 35 games while shooting 42.3% from three-point range.
In March 2023, Ball underwent his third knee surgery in less than a year, receiving a cartilage transplant at the age of 26. In May of last year, he revealed on his podcast that the operation was more difficult than anticipated.
Ball said that in addition to the cartilage transplant, he was given a new meniscus. Additionally, he received a bone allograft, meaning that someone else provided the new bone. Ball claims that when playing for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018, he tore his meniscus, which sparked the start of his issues.