Bulls guard Lonzo Ball is back, for 16 minutes per game anyway

NEW ORLEANS — There must be more than 16 minutes to play as a point guard Lonzo Ball’s surgically repaired left knee. That’s what the Bulls hope, at least.

That won’t be the case anytime soon, though.

”It will be like this for a while,” coach Billy Donovan he said of Ball’s minutes restriction after discussing it with the Bulls’ medical staff one more time during Wednesday’s morning session. ”This does not mean that the minutes cannot increase; they can But right now there’s going to be a period of games, how many games, I’m not sure, but they want to evaluate him in that number just to see how he responds over a period of time.”

Ball, who had three surgeries on his left knee since he last played a regular season NBA game on Jan. 14, 2022, made his comeback in a game that mattered against the Pelicans. As he did in the two preseason games he played, however, he did so with a 16-minute restriction.

“It is what it is right now, so try to thrive in my role and help the team win,” Ball said before the game.

What Donovan is counting on, not just for Ball’s sake, but for the Bulls’ sake, is that Ball can slowly work his way up to 18 or 20 minutes, and then beyond. Sitting out a game in two can continue throughout the season. But as long as the knee holds up with each game, the hope is that his minutes can increase.

“I think he’s been able to come to terms with, ‘This is my new norm, this is my reality, this is what I have to deal with,”’ Donovan said. ”So I think he’s prepared that’s why”.

This was evident by the fact that Ball made a 3-pointer on his first shot against the Pelicans. He finished with five points, four assists and two rebounds in 13 minutes, 39 seconds.

”I have a lot of respect for him, going through what he’s been through,” veteran center Nikola Vucevic he said ”(It’s been) 2 and a half years of the unknown, being alone, not really knowing what it is.

”As a young player, you want to be out there. You miss three or four games, and it sucks. So I can’t imagine what happened.

Kupp gets run over

During a podcast interview with the quarterback Matthew StaffordRams wide receiver Cooper Kupp he was asked about his basketball days at Davis High School in Washington and the rumor that he had shut down a junior Zach LaVine in a state quarterfinal game.

”He ended up with 14,” said Kupp, who indicated that only four points came when he guarded LaVine. ”But I didn’t play in the fourth quarter. I’ll admit I played good defense that game, but the only thing I did was not let him shoot a 3-pointer. Make him drive, help the defense.”

A fish tale or the truth? LaVine, who attended Bothell High, did not deny it happened, though the details were still up for debate.

“I had no idea who it was, a white guy watching me, and they kicked our ass,” LaVine said. ”They doubled me. Cooper Kupp was picking me up all over the track. I didn’t play a good game. I think I was only 18 or 20, but yeah, they got us.”

When told Kupp said he only scored four points against him, LaVine said, “Look, man, whatever it was, I didn’t play well. You can say whatever you want. I remember that game like it was yesterday.’ ‘.

Deep bank

Donovan generally likes to stick with a nine-man rotation, but said because of the Bulls’ new up-tempo style, he’ll stretch it to at least 10 most nights. In the second quarter against the Pelicans, 11 players had already entered.