LaMelo Ball ruled out vs. Warriors

The Charlotte Hornets have an All-Star caliber guard in LaMelo Ball, who was among the top vote getters by fans for the All-Star Game. The one issue the Hornets seem to have though is keeping LaMelo Ball injury free. Ball was recently ruled out for the Hornets’ game against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday due to injury.

LaMelo Ball has been dealing with a right ankle injury this season, but it appears as if he is sitting out the Hornets’ game against the Warriors as part of the team’s efforts to manage said injury. The team officially listed Ball on their injury report as out due to injury management.

Tuesday’s game against the Hornets is the second night of a back-to-back after the team played against the Sacramento Kings on Monday. Ball also sat out the second game of a back-to-back last week when the Hornets traveled to Denver to face the Nuggets following their win against the Los Angeles Lakers.

During that win against the Lakers, Ball was brilliant in the clutch, including a sick crossover on Luka Doncic that went viral. He finished that game with 27 points, five rebounds, six assists and one steal.

While Ball has dealt with the ankle injury this season, he’s on pace to appear in the most number of games he’s played since the 2021-22 season, which coincidently, was his All-Star season. He suited up in 75 games that year en route to his first All-Star appearance.

This year, Ball has played in 36 games, with 26 games remaining including Tuesday’s matchup against the Warriors. He was limited to only 22 games last season, and 36 in 2022-23. Barring any unforeseen shutdown, he should surpass those game totals.

He’s been averaging a career-high 26.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.3 steals with splits of 41.1 percent shooting from the field, 33.3 percent shooting from the three-point line and 83 percent shooting from the free-throw line.