Lakers’ Lonzo Ball is sidelined against Kings by groin injury
Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball will not play in tonight’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings as a precautionary move because of a sore groin, according to a source who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Ball’s injury is not a long-term concern, but the Lakers coaching staff chose to err on the side of safety. Last week, Lakers summer league coach Jud Buechler said Ball suffered a minor injury in practice, but did not specify what the injury was.
The Lakers are also sitting rookies Kyle Kuzma (cramps) and Josh Hart (right ankle sprain) for their third Summer League game. Second-year forward Brandon Ingram played in their opener in Las Vegas on Friday, but suffered leg cramps at the end of regulation. The Lakers then decided to shut down Ingram for the rest of Summer League.
Ball’s absence means the basketball world will have to wait until the regular season to see a rematch between Ball and Sacramento point guard De’Aaron Fox. Fox and Ball faced off twice last season, once during the regular season and once in the Sweet 16. Ball’s UCLA beat Fox’s Kentucky in the first meeting. Ball scored 14 points with seven assists and six rebounds. Fox scored 20 points and had nine assists and two turnovers.
In their second meeting, Fox outscored Ball 39 to 10. Ball later told The Times he was playing through a hamstring injury during the latter game.
The Lakers drafted Ball second overall in June, and the Kings drafted Fox fifth overall.
After USA Today first reported that Ball would miss the game, Fox posted an image on Twitter of a person slapping his own forehead. He later deleted the tweet.
Follow Tania Ganguli on Twitter @taniaganguli
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