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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – After a few practices together, LeBron James said that Lonzo Ball looked like a person who has not missed most of the summer because of a knee injury.
"I did not know he was going to go so fast," James said after training the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday. "He has had live drills for the past two and a half days, his rebound is here, his speed is there."
"So I do not even know he's even had surgery," James snapped.
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After Ball underwent surgery on a torn left meniscus in mid-July, the Lakers slowly brought in their leader. He will not play in the pre-season debut against Denver on Sunday in San Diego.
However, James said it was hard to say in recent practice that Ball was not able to play his basketball game on the field for much of the off season.
Ball attempted to sit back from his knee and strengthen him early in the off season, including treating him with platelet-rich plasma injections, before opting for surgery in mid-July. He spent much of his off-season working in the weight room and in the movie theater until his knee recovered, returning to training on Thursday.
Coach Luke Walton said he was "shocked to see how much he looked" over the last few days, considering that he had not played since the end of his rookie season in April.
Ball, who modified his shot by not carrying the ball as much on his left side as he shoots, admitted that he was rusty on his first contact. But the most important thing, Walton said, is that Ball suffered no setbacks after this Thursday session.
"We will be patient," said Walton. "No need to rush right now, we're going to impose minute restrictions on him, because he's starting to come back in the pre-season, and everything will be," How are you feeling? "The next day, how are you feeling?" That night, as long as we continue to check them and it's fine, the minute restrictions will increase until we decide to get rid of them. completely. "
"[There’s] nothing with the injury now. It's just the fact that he has not played for a long time. We want to make sure to bring it back slowly. "
As Ball gets back on track, the Lakers will have no choice in the first round for Moe Wagner throughout the pre-season. Wagner, Michigan's 25th pick, came out with a left knee bruise. The Lakers said the center would be re-evaluated after the end of the pre-season in mid-October.
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