Lonzo Ball continues to be comeback story of year for Bulls
Guard Lonzo Ball turned in another five-minute stint Tuesday against the Pelicans.
He scored six points on 2-for-3 shooting from three-point range, had an assist and played his usual solid defense to help the Bulls hold down a first-quarter lead.
It’s easy to start taking that for granted, which is crazy, considering that Ball — who finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists in 25 minutes in the Bulls’ 119-113 loss to the lowly Pelicans — missed 2œ seasons and went through a procedure on his left knee that no pro athlete previously had come back from successfully.
Now he’s becoming a mainstay off the bench, and his minutes slowly are rising into the mid-20s.
What won’t change in the immediate future, however, is the restriction on him playing in back-to-back games. Coach Billy Donovan let it be known before the game against the Pelicans that Ball will sit out Wednesday against the Hawks.
Still, it has been a pretty remarkable story.
‘‘I didn’t know what to expect [of Ball] because a lot of the workouts that I watched were one-on-one, and I didn’t see him play five-on-five,’’ Donovan said, reflecting back to the beginning of training camp. ‘‘I got pretty optimistic when training camp started. I was able to see he was running and doing the things he was doing. He [just] needed to get his timing back.
‘‘I really felt . . . ‘If this guy continues on the path he’s on right now and he gets his timing back, he can be a very productive player for us.’ That gave me a lot of hope.’’
What has been even nicer for all involved is that Ball has been an active participant in practices, walkthroughs and shootarounds between games.
There was some speculation Ball might be someone who would play in a game, then be completely shut down between games to get in his rehab work and his regular maintenance. Donovan, however, said that hasn’t been the case.
‘‘When we’ve had practices, he’s been a part of the self-regulation, but he gets into the five-on-five,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘He stays on the maintenance part — the things he has to do with his lifting, keeping the legs strong — but it’s not like he’s playing in the game and we’re like, ‘Oh, my God, we’ve got all this maintenance to do just to get him back on the court.’ That has not happened. With the back-to-backs, we certainly don’t want to get him to that place.’’
Happy returns
Guard Ayo Dosunmu missed his 10th game with an injured right calf, but he has made enough progress the last two days in scrimmages that he should return Wednesday against the Hawks.
‘‘His ramp-up over these last four or five days has been good, and he’s responded really well,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘He was a full participant in shootaround [Tuesday], but he’s responded very well. The feeling is he’ll play if everything continues on the path it’s on right now.’’
Dosunmu averaged 14.2 points on 51.5% shooting from the field in nine games in December.
Captain Obvious
Forward Patrick Williams understands the Bulls are a different team when he plays well. The issue remains him getting to a point where he’s playing well consistently, not just in flashes.
‘‘It makes us a better team,’’ Williams said when discussing the solid games he has put together this season. ‘‘I think we all kind of feel that, and I think you guys [the media] feel that, too. That’s why you keep asking me about it. I’m trying to figure it out, too.’’