Tag: Lonzo Ball

Lonzo Ball listed as questionable vs. Trail Blazers

The New Orleans Pelicans haven’t ruled out Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram out Tuesday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Coming off of a comfortable win over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, the New Orleans Pelicans will look to get their first back-to-back win of the season against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday, and they may have the reinforcements to do it.

According to the Pelicans, two of the team’s starters — Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram — have been listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game. Ingram, who leads the Pelicans in scoring with 25.9 points per game, has missed the last four games with right knee soreness. Meanwhile, Ball has missed the last five games with an adductor strain, more commonly known as a groin strain.

Frank Jackson has also been listed as questionable for the Pelicans’ matchup with the Trail Blazers on Wednesday. Jackson missed Sunday’s game against the Golden State Warriors with a neck bruise he suffered against the Miami Heat on Saturday. The second-year guard is averaging a career-high 10.3 points per game this season.

Their availability will be updated closer to tip-off at 8 p.m. EST.

The other names on the injury report include Derrick Favors, Josh Hart, Darius Miller, Zion Williamson and Jahlil Okafor. With the exception of Okafor, who is listed as doubtful with a left ankle sprain, all of the aforementioned names have been ruled out for Tuesday’s contest.

Luckily for the Pelicans, the Trail Blazers are dealing with injuries of their own, so New Orleans shouldn’t be at too much of a disadvantage. The Blazers are 5-9 on the season. The Pelicans are 4-9.

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Pelicans vs. Warriors Recap: The Good, the Bad and the Ball

Jrue Holiday and JJ Redick led the New Orleans Pelicans to their fourth win of the NBA regular season.

Despite having more than half of their roster unavailable due to injuries, the New Orleans Pelicans earned their fourth win of the regular season after beating the Golden State Warriors 108-100 Sunday at the Smoothie King Center. Here was the good, the bad and the Ball from the game.

The Good: The New Starting Backcourt

In the six games that Lonzo Ball and Jrue Holiday have started together this season, they posted an offensive rating of 106.8 and a defensive rating of 116.5 for an overall net rating of -9.6. With Ball sidelined, Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry has started Jrue Holiday and JJ Redick in the backcourt, and the two veteran guard have looked great together.

On Sunday against the Warriors, Holiday and Redick combined for 48 points on 43.5% shooting from the field. In the previous game they started together, they combined for 45 points 61.5% shooting from the field in a win against the LA Clippers. The Pelicans are 3-1 in the games Redick and Holiday have started together.

The Bad: The Warriors

The team that made the last five NBA Finals has the worst record in the league with two wins and 12 losses and much like the Pelicans, injuries are at the center of all of their problems. The bright side is that once they’re healthy, they’ll have four All-Star players on their roster in Stephen Curry, D’Angelo Russell, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, plus — in all likelihood — a high lottery pick.

The Ball

Lonzo Ball sat out of his fifth consecutive game with an adductor strain. Ball has been sidelined since Nov. 9.

He will re-evaluated on Monday.

Lonzo Ball among nine Pelicans listed on injury report vs. Warriors

The Pelicans have half of their roster on their injury report.

The New Orleans Pelicans have ruled out Lonzo Ball for the fifth consecutive game as the 22-year-old point guard continues to deal with an adductor strain. Ball has been sidelined since Nov. 9.

The Pelicans also announced that Josh Hart, Jahlil Okafor, Zion Williamson and Darius Miller will sit out of Sunday’s game against the Golden State Warriors. Meanwhile, Brandon Ingram and Derrick Favors are listed as doubtful. In total, the Pelicans have nine players on their injury report, including Frank Jackson and JJ Redick, who are both listed as questionable.

Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry has rolled out nine different starting lineups this season as a result of the team’s injury struggles. On Saturday, Gentry started Jackson, Jrue Holiday, E’Twaun Moore, Kendrick Williams and Derrick Favors.

The Pelicans have a number of problems with their roster that have led to their disappointing 3-9 start, but injuries have kept them from making the adjustments they need to fix them. Let’s hope that the team can get healthy before playoffs are too far out of reach, assuming that’s already not the case.

Where does Lonzo Ball rank among the top 15 selections in the 2017 NBA Draft?

Lonzo Ball has gotten more headlines than any other player in the 2017 NBA Draft but where does he rank compared to the others in the class?

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Lonzo Ball has gotten more headlines than any other player in the 2017 NBA Draft but where does he rank compared to the others in the class?

15. Markelle Fultz

Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Philadelphia 76ers took Markelle Fultz first overall out of Washington and it did not pan out for them in any way, shape or form. He is averaging a career-best 9.8 points per game this season, which tells you a lot. Fultz played in a grand total of 33 games for the Sixers before winding up in Orlando.

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Dwyane Wade trolls New Orleans Pelicans over injury report

Dwyane Wade took a moment to toss a friendly jab at the New Orleans Pelicans over their injury report before Saturday’s game.

The New Orleans Pelicans have a growing injury report. Lonzo Ball is still out after suffering a groin strain nearly two weeks ago, Josh Hart and Jahlil Okafor recently joined him and JJ Redick was the most-recent surprise exclusion for Saturday’s game.

That quartet has joined Zion Williamson and Darius Miller, players with varying forms of long-term injuries, to form more than a starting five of injured players on the bench. Brandon Ingram also joined the parade on Saturday after being listed as questionable heading into the night.

All of it added up to a rather hilariously long list of players out on the night, which Heat beat writer Ira Winderman noted prior to Saturday evening’s game.

Dwyane Wade, who spent many, many years with the Heat on multiple stops during his long career before retiring at the end of last season, is familiar with the Miami nightlife and couldn’t resist a joke at the Pelicans’ expense.

Ironically, the injuries the Pelicans suffered may have led to a longer night out in the clubs than would be the case if the players had played in the game. It’s a similar reason, though, that the Lakers and Clippers often have success against sides who have a night off in Los Angeles prior to a contest with one of the sides.

Jokes aside, the Pelicans are in an injury crisis that only got worse on Saturday with Derrick Favors and Frank Jackson both leaving the contest against the Heat with injuries.

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Pelicans vs. Heat Recap: The good, the bad and the Ball

Despite shooting 45.7 percent from beyond the arc and connecting on 16 three-pointers on the night, the New Orleans Pelicans fell to the Miami Heat on the road on Saturday, 109-94.

Despite shooting 45.7 percent from beyond the arc and connecting on 16 three-pointers on the night, the New Orleans Pelicans fell to the Miami Heat on the road on Saturday, 109-94.

The Good: The fight

On one hand, it’s long become repetitive to blame injuries for the Pelicans’ slow start this season. But on Saturday, with JJ Redick, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson and Darius Miller all already out, Derrick Favors and Frank Jackson each suffered injuries and played eight and five minutes, respectively.

And still, the Pelicans were in the contest late because of some timely three-point shooting. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, E’Twaun Moore and Nicolo Melli all his three-pointers in a stretch of the fourth to pull the guests back into the game. Moore and Kenrich Williams each played 39 minutes and Holiday, who has battled injuries this season, played 36 minutes.

Honorable mentions: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jaxson Hayes’ alley-oop in the fourth

The Bad: Turnovers and late defense

There were a couple particular reasons why New Orleans couldn’t win on the night. One of them was mentioned in injuries. Another was the 18 turnovers that Miami turned into 21 points. The other was fourth-quarter defense.

While the Pelicans were bombing away in the fourth, hitting 8-of-12 threes in the period, Miami shot 71.4 percent from the field and hit four of their seven threes. Single-game and single-quarter defensive ratings aren’t great without context but the Pelicans finished with a fourth-quarter defensive rating of 136.0, which matches the eye test.

Honorable mentions: Injuries, injuries and injuries

The Ball: A growing injury report

While Lonzo Ball is injured, he’s being joined by a growing list of players. A host of Pelicans sat out on the night, though some may be a precaution with New Orleans playing the second part of a back-to-back against Golden State on Sunday.

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Pelicans vs. Heat Preview: Sprains and strains and soreness, oh my!

With JJ Redick, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart out for Saturday, the Pelicans’ depth will be tested once again against the Miami Heat.

Who: New Orleans Pelicans at Miami Heat

When: Saturday, Nov. 16, 8:00 p.m ET

Where: AmericanAirlines Arena

How to watch: Fox Sports New Orleans

Each time the injuries seem like they have reached the endpoint with the Pelicans, another name mysteriously finds its way onto the injury report at the last minute. Against the Clippers on Thursday, Josh Hart was ruled out last-minute and on Saturday, after not appearing on the injury report prior to Friday, JJ Redick will join the growing list of players to miss a game this season after being ruled out with a sprained toe.

Redick joins Jahlil Okafor, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart as scratches for Saturday’s game, further testing the Pelicans’ depth. Without Redick and Hart, one of the young guards in Frank Jackson or Nickeil Walker-Alexander will likely start alongside Jrue Holiday with E’Twaun Moore anchoring the other wing spot.

In Miami, the Pelicans will face one of the best sides in the Eastern Conference. The Heat are 8-3 on the year, tied with the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors for the third-best record in the East. Their net rating of +5.8 is fifth in the league with a defense ranked third overall.

It’ll be as difficult a task as any for the Pelicans, who have proven to be a tough out for virtually every opponent regardless who is active. Saturday may present the toughest challenge, though.

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Lonzo Ball will sit vs. Miami Heat, miss fourth straight game

The New Orleans Pelicans will be without Lonzo Ball once again, this time against the Miami Heat. Ball has missed the last four games.

The New Orleans Pelicans announced that Lonzo Ball will not play against the Miami Heat on Saturday. Ball was previously listed as questionable.

Ball has now missed four consecutive games spanning over the last week with an adductor strain — more commonly known as a groin injury. While it’s possible that Ball will play on Sunday — the second night of the team’s back-to-back — there has been little-to-no update on his progress, or how close he is to returning.

Ball’s status will be updated on Sunday morning.

Jahlil Okafor and JJ Redick will also sit out of Saturday evening’s matchup with the Heat. Okafor is dealing with the left ankle sprain that kept him out of Thursday’s game against the LA Clippers, while Redick is nursing a toe sprain,

Brandon Ingram — the team’s leading scorer— is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game. Ingram has missed the last two games with right knee soreness.

While starting lineups haven’t been announced yet, it’s likely Frank Jackson will start in the backcourt alongside Jrue Holiday with E’twaun Moore, Kenrich Williams and Derrick Favors rounding out the starting five, assuming Ingram doesn’t play. Official updates on the starting lineup and Ingram’s status will provided closer to tip-off.

The Pelicans and Heat will tip-off at 7 p.m. CT.

Lonzo Ball listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against Miami

After missing the last three games with a groin strain, Lonzo Ball is listed as questionable for Saturday’s contest against Miami.

Lonzo Ball may be closer than ever at returning to the court for the New Orleans Pelicans after his recent injured stint. Ball was listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against the Miami Heat on the official injury report released by the Pelicans on Friday.

It’s the first time since Ball sat out against Charlotte last Saturday that he has been listed as anything other than “out” in the injury report released the day before the game. Ball has missed three games with a groin strain.

Ball suffered the injury against the Nets on Nov. 4 and initially played through the injury in the next contest against the Raptors on Nov. 8. However, Ball sat out in the next contest against the Hornets one night later on Nov. 9 and has not been on the court since. The Pelicans have noted they don’t expect Ball’s injury to lead to a long-term absence.

In his absence, the Pelicans have gone 2-1 with wins over Charlotte and the Clippers and a loss to the Rockets. Interestingly, Jrue Holiday had his best game of the season on Thursday with Ball out, finishing with 37 points, four rebounds, seven assists and six steals.

Brandon Ingram, who was a late scratch against Houston and sat out against the Clippers as well, is listed as probable for Saturday. Josh Hart, who suffered a sprained knee and ankle against Houston and sat out against the Clippers, will be out on Saturday.

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