NBA
Hornet’s LaMelo Ball sprained his left ankle for the third time this season
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All posts by Antonio KozlowUpdated19 Jan 2023
LaMelo Ball’s nightmare injury is back to haunt him again! The Hornet’s player had to leave the court due to another sprained ankle last night in his team’s triumph against the Houston Rockets.
It’s been a third time he’s injured the same ankle this season, as teammate P.J. Washington landed on him after jumping for a rebound mid-way through the third quarter. Almost immediately, Ball couldn’t hide his pain, trying to put the least weight on his left leg as he was guided to the locker room and out of the match.
You can see the action sequence in the following Twitter post:
LaMelo Ball left the game vs. the Rockets with an apparent ankle injury. pic.twitter.com/p23argAq2j
— ESPN (@espn) January 19, 2023
After the game Ball said he didn’t think the injury was serious, at least in comparison to his first two sprains, as he ruled out any plans to have X-rays. “I can walk and everything, so I’ll just take it day by day and see what it is,” he express post-match. “It (doesn’t) feel like them other ones so I think I’ll be straight.”
As we said before, it’s the third time he’s injured the same ankle and Ball should be worried. The first time, he missed most of the preseason and then consequently was ruled out of the first 13 games of the championship. Only three games after his return, it happened again on November 16th when he stepped on a fan’s foot late in a game against Indiana and therefore, missed eleven more games.
The Hornets finally snapped out of their five-game losing streak beating Houston 122-117. Some of our favorite sport betting sites consider Charlotte to possess the least best odds to becoming this year’s title champions, next to the Spurs, Pistons and Rockets. Do you also believe they share the worst chances in the whole league?
Ball had 13 points and four assists before exiting the game last night against the Rockets. He is currently averaging 23.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game this season and has showed the best performances of his career since the start of 2023. His best game stats were probably on January 10th against the Toronto Raptors, with 24pts, 4 rebounds and 14 assists.
LaMelo Ball Last 3 Games
29.0 PPG
10.0 APG
5.0 RPG
45.6 FG% pic.twitter.com/4PJEqBOuqv— MeloHive 🛸💕 (@Meloleague) January 15, 2023
He’s been on a roll lately, recently becoming the fourth youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 assists, as he was only 21 years, 135 days old on the day he reached the record. The third-year player reached the mark only behind LeBron James (20 years, 102 days), Stephon Marbury (21 years, 12 days), and Trae Young (21 years, 127 days).
Recently the six-foot-seven youngster has been attracting lots of attention, including some big teams opening up to add him to their roster in the future. The latest was to stir up trade speculation was his own father LaVar, who admitted he’d love to see his son play for the Lakers. LaVar’s first-born son, Lonzo Ball, actually played two years for the LA side, but was traded to the Pelicans and last year to the Chicago Bulls.
The Charlotte Hornets stand 14th in the Eastern Conference, adding 34 losses in 46 games this season. They are currently on the road for their next three games as they will face the Atlanta Hawks, Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns in the following days to come.
