Hornets guard LaMelo Ball set to return from injury Wednesday against Pistons
Reinforcements are on the way for the Charlotte Hornets.
LaMelo Ball will make his return to the Hornets’ lineup when they take on Detroit at Spectrum Center on Wednesday night. It marks his first game back after sitting out the past 11 nursing a sprained left ankle, initially hurt in the preseason against Washington.
“I feel great,” Ball told The Charlotte Observer, “ready to get back out there and just hopefully get it going.”
Ball re-injured his ankle at the tail end of his home debut in the Hornets’ 125-113 loss to Indiana on Nov. 16. He stepped on the foot of a fan sitting courtside while trying to chase down a loose ball in the closing minutes and hobbled to the bench before exiting to the locker room.
That was Ball’s third outing of the season after sitting out the first 13 games and it came four days after his debut in Miami on Nov. 12. Ball is averaging 19.3 points, seven assists and 3.7 rebounds and should immediately inject some life into a team that’s dropped 14 of its past 18 games and is in need of depth at point guard with reserve Dennis Smith Jr. having missed the past six games nursing a sprained left ankle.
Ball’s return will allow coach Steve Clifford to move Terry Rozier back to his starting shooting guard spot. Rozier has handled most of the point guard duties in Ball’s absence, especially with Dennis Smith Jr. also sidelined for the past eight games, and is averaging a team-high 37.1 minutes per game.
The plan is for Ball to be on the floor for short bursts.
“It’ll be shorter stints, kind of like when he came back last time.,” Clifford said. “It’ll be shorter, but he’ll still be able to play a decent amount of minutes.”
This story was originally published December 14, 2022 at 11:57 AM.
