Hornets guard LaMelo Ball suffered a severe sprain of his right ankle on November 26 and he’ll be reevaluated in approximately one week. Ball told The Charlotte Observer’s Roderick Boone that he’s gradually progressing in his recovery from the injury.
“Just slow progress. I’m doing treatment every day, just trying to get better,” the Hornets star said. “From when it happened, it feels a little better.”
Ball is optimistic he can return to the Hornets lineup sooner than expected: “It feels way better than when it happened because at first I couldn’t even put any pressure on my foot. But now I can stand on two feet, walk a little. Still (have) a little limp, but way better than it was.”
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- The Hornets list Mark Williams (low back contusion) and Nick Smith Jr. (right foot) as doubtful for the their game against Miami on Monday. Williams, who is averaging 12.7 points and 9.7 rebounds, departed after playing 20 minutes against Toronto on Friday.
- Heat center Bam Adebayo will miss his fourth straight game due to a left hip contusion, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. With Adebayo sidelined, Orlando Robinson recorded the first double-double of his career against Toronto on Wednesday. Robinson had a rough outing against Cleveland on Friday with a plus/minus of -18 in 20 minutes. His $1.8MM salary doesn’t fully guarantee until Jan. 10.
- Jaime Jaquez played four years of college ball and he’s boosted the Heat immediately, averaging 12.2 points (on 52.2% shooting), 3.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. The 18th overall pick of the June draft is proving that experienced college players can bring more to the table than a one-and-done, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel notes. “I think the fact that he played four years of college, for sure, was viewed as a negative thing and that’s a shame right now because he was a winning player,” coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Is Jaime Jaquez Jr the new triple J?