Tag: Lonzo Ball

Billy Donovan likens Tyrese Haliburton to Bulls plan for Lonzo Ball

Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan said that Tyrese Haliburton’s play is how they wanted to use Lonzo Ball.

The Chicago Bulls absolutely dominated the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night, taking them down in a 125-99 win. It was the first time any team had held the Pacers under 100 points all year, as the Bulls locked in on the defensive end of the court. A big part of their success was how they mitigated the effectiveness of Tyrese Haliburton.

The Indiana guard has been having an incredible season despite his recent struggles. After the game, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan showed love to Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, noting the way he’s been able to utilize the personnel in Indiana.

Donovan even mentioned that the way the Pacers are using Haliburton is how the Bulls wanted to utilize Lonzo Ball. (H/t Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times)

“He has always come across to me as trying to use his personnel to the best of his ability,” Donovan said. “I think Haliburton is such a unique player, and it’s to a certain extent what we tried to do with Lonzo—get guys down the floor, let him throw it up, let him advance it. I think [Carlisle] has always done a great job of, ‘OK, here’s the personnel. How do we utilize it?’ ’’

Haliburton made his second All-Star Game this season, while Ball hasn’t played in an NBA game in two years while dealing with knee issues.

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Lonzo Ball’s return from injury changes everything for Bulls

The return of Lonzo Ball should change everything for the Chicago Bulls.

The Chicago Bulls have had a brutal few seasons. After going all-in on a core of DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic, they have won just a single playoff game with those three guys leading the way. A big part of the Bulls’ lack of success has been the absence of point guard Lonzo Ball.

Ball has been out of action for over two years now. When he was healthy at the start of the 2021-22 season, the Bulls were one of the more surprising teams in the East. Since he’s been out, they’ve been painfully mediocre. However, recent rumblings have indicated that he could try to return next season.

The GETLIKECOOP YouTube channel recently discussed how the return of Ball could change everything for the Bulls.

While getting Ball back will certainly help the Bulls, there should be questions as to whether or not he will be the same player he was when he first joined Chicago.

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Report: ‘Growing buzz’ Lonzo Ball will try to play next season

There has been a “growing buzz” that Lonzo Ball will try to return to the court for the Chicago Bulls next season.

According to KC Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, there is a “growing buzz” that Lonzo Ball will try to play next season. The Chicago Bulls brought Lonzo Ball on board in the summer of 2021, but after an injury in early 2022 took him out, he hasn’t been back on the court since. It’s been over two years of him being sidelined.

This year, there have been a few positive updates regarding his injury recovery process, but still no signs of him making a return. Now, it’s looking like the Bulls could potentially get him back on the court next year. The real question is, will he look like a shell of his former self?

When Ball was healthy at the start of the 2021-22 season, the Bulls were one of the most surprising teams in the league. They made the playoffs that year as the sixth seed and took a game off the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round.

Since then, Chicago has been stuck in the middle of the pack in the East. Getting Ball back should help, but he likely won’t be the same player he was pre-injury. At least, not right away.

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Lonzo Ball shows off video dunking amid quest to return from injury

Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball recently posted a video of him dunking.

For the past three seasons, the Chicago Bulls have been the same team. The same stars, the same core role players, and, for the most part, the same results. They’ve only won a single playoff game since forming their core, and ever since Lonzo Ball went down over two full calendar years ago, the Bulls haven’t been the same.

However, there have been some positive updates regarding Ball’s progress this year. Ball has supposedly been slowly improving, and while it’s still unclear as to when he could make it back out onto the court, there’s more optimism now than ever regarding when he could be back.

Ball recently posted a video of him dunking, and Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune posted it to Twitter, noting the positives of him finally being able to move in the way he is.

Getting Ball back would be huge for the ceiling of the Bulls, even if he isn’t the same as he once was.

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DeMar DeRozan on Lonzo Ball: ‘It’s always great to see him’

Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan recently spoke about his interactions with Lonzo Ball.

When the Chicago Bulls shook up their roster in 2021, the front office made a clear decision to push for competitiveness. They were sick of rebuilding and chose to add talent. At the beginning of the year, that choice paid off. They were one of the best teams in the East, but then Lonzo Ball went down with an injury.

It’s been over two full years since then, and Ball has still yet to play in a game for the Bulls since. And until now, there haven’t been many positive updates regarding his potential return. However, it was recently reported that he’s been cleared for “advanced rehab activities.”

DeMar DeRozan recently spoke about what his conversations are like with Ball, and how it’s great when he gets to see him in person. (H/t Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune)

“It’s always great to see him,” DeRozan said. “The word[s] that he comes with is such a positive, uplifting feeling that he brings, so whenever you’re around, it’s good to see him. Just a reminder [of] the type of special person he is.”

Ball may not be able to play yet, but his spirits are high.

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Reacting to ‘the best Lonzo Ball news’ since his injury two years ago

The Chicago Bulls have finally gotten some positive Lonzo Ball injury news.

At the beginning of the 2021-22 season, the Chicago Bulls were one of the most exciting teams in the NBA. Their hot start had them as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, and Lonzo Ball’s play was a big part of that, as the point guard was one of the best 3-and-D guards in the NBA.

Unfortunately, an injury has sidelined Ball since 2022, and he’s now missed over two years of NBA action. After bad update after bad update, there was finally some positive injury news regarding Ball. He has reportedly been cleared for “advanced rehab activities” and is making progress toward a return.

The Bulls Central YouTube channel recently discussed the news, calling it the best news regarding Ball since he went down with the injury two years ago.

Getting Ball back would completely change the way the Bulls look on both ends of the court. To be at their best, they need him.

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Report: Lonzo Ball cleared for ‘advanced rehab activities’

Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball has been cleared for advanced rehab activities.

According to KC Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, Lonzo Ball has been officially cleared for “advanced rehab activities.” The Chicago Bulls point guard hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since 2022. He’s undergone multiple surgeries since then, and there has even been some speculation that he may never play again.

However, Ball has continuously worked toward a return, despite an overall lack of progress. But now, it’s looking like he’s inching closer than ever to a return. When Ball was on the court, the Bulls were one of the most intriguing teams in the league, but since he’s been out, they’ve been painfully average.

Head coach Billy Donovan spoke about the progress Ball has been making.

“Some of the workouts have been really, really positive and he has progressed,” Donovan said. “He has responded well. Some of the things that medical guys have shown me is he looks good moving. I’m just really happy for him personally for his progress. He has worked hard to put himself in this position. And hopefully, he can continue to progress.”

Getting Ball back next season would be huge for Chicago.

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New video surfaces of Lonzo Ball working toward Bulls return

A video recently surfaced of Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball working toward a return from injury.

The Chicago Bulls were all in on their new core after the 2021 NBA offseason. And through the first couple of months of the season, things looked like they were going well. The Bulls were one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. However, an injury to Lonzo Ball completely derailed their season.

Since then, Ball hasn’t been back on the court. It’s been over two years now since he last played a game for Chicago. Some people have begun to speculate whether or not he’ll ever stop foot on an NBA court again. But he’s still putting in the work toward a return from injury.

A recent video surfaced of Ball getting in some work on the court, and he looks like he’s trying his best to get into game shape.

Whether or not Ball gets back on the court for the Bulls is yet to be seen, but he’s definitely trying his best.

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Should the Chicago Bulls give up on a Lonzo Ball return?

We have been down this road before, only to see ourselves be disappointed with yet another setback.

Should the Chicago Bulls give up on a Lonzo Ball return to the court? Once again, we are hearing rumbles and seeing videos that hint that the Bulls floor general is trending in the right direction with regard to his longtime knee injury issues.

But we have been down this road before, only to see ourselves be disappointed with yet another setback. At this point, it is probably only safe to say that Ball is back when we see him on the court playing at a high level. But how does Chicago deal with this level of uncertainty about a player that takes up so much of the Bulls’ cap space?

The hosts of the “Locked On Bulls” podcast, Haize and Pat The Designer, weighed in on Ball’s current status and potential to return to the organization.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear their thoughts in full.

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NBA analyst throws cold water on Bulls’ Lonzo Ball returning to form next season

This is not to say that he will be a useless player, either — but if Ball does make it back on the court next season, it’s likely best to cut him a whole lot of slack.

Fans of the Chicago Bulls holding out hope that star Bulls floor general Lonzo Ball might finally return to form after an extended, multi-season absence due to knee injury won’t be pleased to hear that NBA Dot Com’s Sam Smith has reservations about such an outcome.

“I’m not optimistic about Ball, though we all hope he can play again,” wrote Smith on the Chicago point guard’s prospects to return to the court at a high level next season. “But if he can come through yet another surgery, it’s actually unfair to expect him to return to a high level of play after basically not playing for three years.”

“And the way it’s sounded almost learning to walk again,” added Smith. “I do believe he will play in the NBA again, but it seems a lot to expect it to be next season to the point you look at it like him in 2020.”

This is not to say that he will be a useless player, either — but if Ball does make it back on the court next season, it’s likely best to cut him a whole lot of slack in the early going.

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