The Los Angeles Lakers announced Brandon Ingram would get shut down for the remainder of the 2018-19 season on Saturday afternoon due to a shoulder issue. Because this year has been a case study in Murphy’s Law for the Lakers, it turns out Ingram isn’t the only player whose season has come to an end.
Lakers coach Luke Walton suggested that Lonzo Ball could miss the rest of the year due to an ankle injury on Friday, but made it clear we wouldn’t know for sure until after he met with a doctor on Saturday. We’re still waiting for official word, but according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Los Angeles and Ball have decided to punt on the next 17 games and get ready for next season.
Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball has been shut down for the remainder of the season, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Ball had his left ankle re-evaluated by doctors today and sides agreed on course of action.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 10, 2019
For Ball, this will be an opportunity to regain complete health and come into the offseason ready for on-court and body training. Ball has not had a full summer to work on his game, being limited from a knee injury last offseason. https://t.co/NgD9ua1WLx
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 10, 2019
The report was confirmed by Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
Lonzo Ball (ankle) has been shut down for the season after latest medical evaluation, source confirmed.
— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) March 10, 2019
Ball went down with the injury in January, suffering an ankle sprain and getting an initial timetable of 4-6 weeks before he could return. That ended up being a bit too optimistic, and a few weeks ago, it was announced that Ball could miss another six weeks due to a bone bruise on his bum wheel. Now, it appears that Los Angeles has decided to play the long game with the its second-year guard, who appeared in 47 games during the campaign and averaged 9.9 points, 5.4 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in 30.3 minutes a night.
