NEW YORK – They weren’t accurate, they looked far from pure, but there was Lonzo Ball before the game with the Knicks on Wednesday, testing out his sprained right wrist by getting shots up.
Not bad for a guy that just started dribbling drills with the injury the last few days.
“He’s obviously (dribbling), no setbacks,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said of his point guard. “I wouldn’t say that he’s pounding it all over the place, he’s slowly working through it, but he’s progressing. The hard part is going to be throwing the ball to him, catching, and then obviously defensively using his hands when someone tries to drive.”
Hurdles for another day, but ones that Ball seems anxious to try and clear. If it was up to Ball he would try and give it a go by Sunday.
Donovan was taking a more realistic approach.
“I know he was optimistic and hopeful to get back this upcoming weekend,” Donovan said. “I don’t know if that’s realistic. That’s what he was shooting for. We’re not ruling that out, but a lot of that is going to depend on how he progresses in those areas. He starts shooting threes, how does that respond?
“Because they’re going to make him do some things live in guarding the ball, and how does it feel when he’s all of a sudden hand-checking a guy. We haven’t gotten to those places yet, but those are markers he needs to get through, hurdles he needs to get through before he can take the next step in terms of getting on the floor.”
Ball has only played in three games so far this season, missing the previous two-and-a-half years in the wake of three left knee surgeries. He injured the wrist in the Oct. 28 win over Memphis and has missed the last eight games since.
Agent of chaos
Third-year guard Dalen Terry finally feels like he’s carved out a role in the rotation and it is a very defined one: Cause havoc.
“It’s not about scoring to impact the game,” Terry said. “Just watching (Alex Caruso) for two years, it really wasn’t that hard where I could be like, ‘OK, no matter what I believe I can do for whatever basketball team it is, I think for this team this is what I’ve got to do to be in the rotation, to get more minutes, to win games.’ “
That means deflecting passes, dive for 50-50 balls, and defend the best backcourt players out there.
“Make them all feel uncomfortable,” Terry added. “I feel like it’s a sign of respect when I see some of the best players, like I’m guarding them, and they’re calling for a screen. Last two years those same guys would just try and go at me.”
Terry has been averaging 13 minutes per game and has appeared in all 12 games played.
Talkin’ practice?
The November schedule has limited the amount of practice time for the Bulls and Donovan can definitely see it.
“It’s not good. It’s not,” Donovan said of the lack of practice time. “I’m not trying to make an excuse. That’s just the reality of it. Everybody is dealing with it.
“The thing to me where I think practice is important is guys like Zach (LaVine) and Vooch (Nikola Vucevic), that have been in the game a long time, right, like they need their reps, they need their stuff, but when you’ve got a guy like Matas (Buzelis), you got Dalen, they don’t need one-on-O skill development. They get enough of that 12 months a year. They need five-on-five, three-on-three, one-on-one, live contact where there is a competitive situation.”