It looks like Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball will be spending more time on the sidelines with his ankle injury.
Ball has been dealing with an ankle issue that has kept him out for the last four games. So far this season, Ball has played in just six games, continuing a troubling trend in his career. Ball hasn’t played more than 47 games since the second year of his career.
With this ankle issue, Ball has been trying to get healthy for the middle of the season. Charlotte has decided to be cautious with this injury. In fact, the Hornets have already ruled Ball out for Wednesday night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Charlotte Hornets Guard LaMelo Ball Ruled Out vs Bucks
Without Ball in the lineup, the Hornets have struggled. They have gone 1-3 in the four games that he has missed so far this season. Right now, Charlotte sits 12th in the Eastern Conference standings, which might be too far to fight back from.
This season, Charlotte sits 14th in offensive rating. In the last four games without Ball, they have slid to 19th. The Hornets are used to missing Ball, and the offensive rating has struggled over the years without his shot creation for himself and for his teammates.
Ball played just 47 games last season, and that led the Hornets to have the second-worst offensive rating in the NBA. Ball wasn’t the only player they were missing last season, as Brandon Miller missed most of the season with various injuries.
Miller is injured once again, dealing with a shoulder injury. Ball is much closer to returning, as he has been assigned to the G-League Swarm for a rehab start so he can return to Charlotte soon. Having Ball close to returning is good news for a team that desperately needs his creativity.
The Hornets Will Have LaMelo Ball Back Soon
There is no definitive timetable for when Ball will return to the court for Charlotte. Ball has had some major ankle injuries before, so this is nothing new for the Hornets to deal with. They want to make sure this is the last ankle injury that he suffers.
In 2022-23, Ball suffered an ankle injury that ended his season in February which required surgery to repair. Last season, he missed several games due to an ankle issue that eventually required offseason surgery. The hope was to stabilize the ankle so that he would injure it less frequently.
At this point in Ball’s career, he is labeled as an injury-prone player. He signed a five-year, $204 million extension that has the potential to reach $260 million. To this point, he hasn’t played up to his deal because of the multitude of injuries that have caught up with him.
Heading into this season, this was considered a crucial season to test if the Hornets could rely on Ball to be a superstar player for the future of the franchise. Ball must protect himself from more injuries if he wants to be that kind of player.
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