Prior to Sunday night's loss to the Utah Jazz at STAPLES Center, Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton effectively ruled out both Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram for the remainder of the 2017-18 season, i.e. the final two games.
Walton shared that the injury to Ball, a knee contusion, being of the physical variety versus the injury to Ingram, a concussion, being more of the mental variety offerred different approaches to reintegration into the team.
"The fact that neither one of them has played basketball for a while would be a little concerning, but if those were the two scenarios in the middle of the season, then, yea, we'd feel much more comfortable throwing the one, once he got cleared, from concussion back on the court."
Considering the team is down to the final two games, Walton immediately faced the question of whether the coach was "not comfortable" with Ingram and Ball returning for the final two games considering the team is not in the middle of the season.
Walton answered, "No, I would not be very comfortable with the fact that there's one day left without a game and then a back-to-back."
Though he may not have explicitly said so, Walton effectively ruled out both Ingram and Ball for the final two games of the 2017-18 season.
For the 2017-18 season, Ingram played in 59 games, with 59 starts. The 20-year-old averaged 16.1 points on 47.0 percent shooting from the field and 39.0 percent shooting from three. Ingram also averaged 5.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists in his sophomore season and often featured as a point forward.
The Kinston, North Carolina native improved in every traditional metric and also popped out on the eye test when exploding to the basket. Durability will obviously continue to be a question considering his slight frame, and Ingram's inability to feature in even three-quarters of the season will even bring up more concerns.
However, Ingram's improvement, skill level, length and overall talent are undeniable.
In his rookie season, Ball played in a total of 52 games with 50 starts. Ball shot 36.0 percent from the field, 30.5 percent from three and a stunning 45.1 percent from the foul line. Following an awful start to the season, Ball's shooting seemed to find a hot streak in the middle, but ultimately, his long range shot fell apart late in the season.
Whether or not the team looks to change Ball's unorthodox shot should be a discussion entering the Chino Hills native's first summer as a professional.
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Despite the poor shooting, the Lakers will likely view Ball's rookie season as a success. Ball's talents are far better highlighted by the point guard's two triple-doubles, 13 double-doubles and season averages of 7.2 assists and 6.9 rebounds per game. Ball's 1.7 steals per game and 0.8 blocks per game also serve as a reminder that the 20-year-old is a two-way player.
Like Ingram, durability is bit of question for Ball due to the number of missed games. Also like Ingram, one should keep in mind that Ball is still only 20 years old, so both players should naturally grow stronger over the coming years.
Beyond Ingram and Ball, Kyle Kuzma missed Sunday's game with an ankle sprain. Theorhetically, Kuzma could return to the court for the final two games since he only missed one game. The time off isn't a concern for Kuzma like it is for Ball and Ingram. However, Kuzma had already been toughing out a right ankle sprain sufferred on Mar. 13 when he sufferred the left ankle sprain on Friday.
While Kuzma could return for the final two games on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Lakers probably don't need to crawl past the finish line on "two bad tires," which is what Kuzma called his injured ankles.
