NEW ORLEANS — There has to be more than 16 minutes a game left in point guard Lonzo Ball’s surgically repaired left knee. That’s what the Bulls are hoping, at least.
That won’t be the case anytime soon, however.
‘‘It’s going to be that way for some time,’’ coach Billy Donovan said of Ball’s minutes restriction after speaking with the Bulls’ medical staff about it one more time during the morning shootaround Wednesday. ‘‘That’s not to say the minutes can’t increase; they can. But for right now there’s going to be a period of games — how many games, I’m not sure — but they want to evaluate him at that number just to see how he responds for a period of time.’’
Ball, who’d had three surgeries on his left knee since last playing in an NBA regular-season game on Jan. 14, 2022, made his return in a game that mattered against the Pelicans. Like he did in the two preseason games he played in, however, he did so with a restriction of 16 minutes.
‘‘It is what it is right now, so try and thrive in my role and help the team win,’’ Ball said before the game.
What Donovan is counting on, not only for Ball’s sake but for the Bulls’, is that Ball slowly can climb to 18 to 20 minutes, then beyond. Sitting out a game in back-to-backs might go on all season. But as long as the knee holds up with each game, the hope is that his minutes can increase.
‘‘I think he’s been able to wrap his head around, ‘This is my new norm, this is my reality, this is what I have to deal with,’ ’’ Donovan said. ‘‘So I think he’s prepared himself for that.’’
That was evident by the fact that he made a three-pointer in his first shot against the Pelicans. It’s another reason why his teammates are awed by everything Ball has done in his comeback.
‘‘I have so much respect for him, going through what he’s been through,’’ veteran center Nikola Vucevic said. ‘‘[It has been] 2 1/2 years of the unknown, being alone, not really knowing what it is.
‘‘As a young player, you want to be out there. You miss three or four games, and it sucks. So I can’t imagine what he’s been through.’’
Kupp runneth over
During a podcast interview with quarterback Matthew Stafford, Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp was asked about his basketball days at Davis High School in Washington and the rumor that he had locked up a young Zach LaVine in a state quarterfinal game.
‘‘He ended up with 14,’’ said Kupp, who indicated that only four points came when he guarded LaVine. ‘‘I didn’t play the fourth quarter, though. I’m going to admit that I played pretty good defense that game, but all I did was not let him shoot a three-pointer. Make him drive, help defense.’’
A fish tale or the truth? LaVine, who attended Bothell High, didn’t deny it happened, although the details were still up for debate.
‘‘I had no idea who he was, a little white dude guarding me, and they straight kicked our ass,’’ LaVine said. ‘‘They doubled me. Cooper Kupp was picking me up full court. I didn’t have a good game. I think I only had 18 or 20, but, yeah, they got us.’’
When he was told Kupp said he had scored only four points against him, LaVine said: ‘‘Look, man, whatever it was, I didn’t play well. He can say whatever he wants. I remember that game like it was yesterday.’’
Deep bench
Donovan usually likes to stick with a nine-man rotation, but he said that because of the Bulls’ new up-tempo style, he will stretch that to at least 10 on most nights. By the second quarter against the Pelicans, he already had gone 11 players deep.