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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – Lonzo Ball will be back on the pitch and will play alongside LeBron James for the first time this preseason Wednesday night against Golden State.
Ball, who was released after an operation for a torn left meniscus, said he would leave the bench.
The ball could play between 10 and 30 minutes when the Lakers and Warriors meet in Las Vegas, according to coach Luke Walton. If all goes well, Ball expects to play again in the Lakers' playoff final, also against Golden State, in San Jose on Friday.
Second-year goaltender Josh Hart, who hit a hamstring on Monday, is scheduled to play Wednesday.
"It's been a long time," said Ball before the Lakers left for Las Vegas on Tuesday. "So I'm very happy to finally get back on the ground and everything starts with tomorrow.
"It's frustrating to play basketball all your life, then we take it off a bit, but I'm happy to be back."
Ball has not played in a basketball game since March 28 against Dallas. He missed the last eight games of his rookie season because of a left knee injury, and then rested his knee for a good part of the start of the offseason. Ball also underwent platelet-rich plasma injections to strengthen his left knee and avoid surgery, but the leader finally underwent arthroscopic surgery in mid-July.
Ball participated in early contact practices at the training camp, but he prepared for conditioning while the team played safely at his recovery. Walton and James marveled at Ball's appearance in contact practices early in the camp, despite the long layoff period.
"We see him on the ground and he does not seem to have done anything with his knee during the off season," said James, recalling what he had said earlier in the camp when Ball had participated for the first time contact practices.
Ball said that he had added about 15 to 20 pounds to his steep 6 foot 6 inch frame after spending much of the summer in the weight room and in the movie theater while rehabilitating his knee.
"You can feel a big difference," Ball said of his added strength. "Last year, I was 190 years old, I am now at 205, 210. It helps a lot, just go to the basket more easily, you can change better, keep the big ones. [going to be a] Switch 1-to-4, so it helps me a lot. "
"Just to be more consistent, hit open fire and be able to keep those who want me to keep them," added Ball, who explained what will be different in his game this season.
Ball will participate in the pre-season in circumstances quite different from those of the previous pre-season, while the No. 2 choice of 2017 had just made its sensational debut in the Las Vegas Summer League. Ball entered the final season as the most excited rookie in the NBA, thanks in part to his coaching role, playing for the Lakers in his hometown and the attention his father, LeVar, gave him. -speak.
If anyone understands the critical eye and the spotlight that Ball faced early in his career, it's James, who was also selected by his team in his hometown, Cleveland, and who had to playing with huge expectations as first choice in 2003. Ball's Instagram photo surveying James in a Monday practice with the caption: "It's about this time, Young King. Get it, you were born for this moment! "
"When you're enlisted this way and you're a kid, people have seen you grow up all your life, so they're expecting you to be awesome every night," said James. "So, in that sense, I understand [what Ball has experienced coming into the league]. "
Ball is eager to play alongside James, who was his basketball idol.
"I'm looking forward to having a lot of fun and winning a lot of games," Ball said. "He is the best player in the world. [I’ll] do what I can to help him.
"We're going to play fast, I'll give him the ball often, he can do the same thing, go out and push him, so it's a very interesting dynamic."
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