One of the bright spots of the young season has been seeing LaMelo Ball back on the court, playing dynamic basketball while averaging a career-high 31.1 points a game with 6.9 assists and 5.4 rebounds, all while owning social media with his highlights.
We’re going to be without that for a couple of weeks (at least). Ball has been diagnosed with a strained left hamstring and is out for two weeks when he will be reevaluated, Charlotte announced. Ball was out for Charlotte’s one-point loss to New York on Friday night and now is poised to miss the team’s next five games.
The injury appeared to happen on the final play of the Hornets’ loss to the Heat.
Ball has a long history of injuries — he played in just 58 games total across the previous two seasons — so anything that sidelines him is concerning. Still, this appears minor, and Ball should return to action in a couple of weeks.
Charlotte also announced that Tre Mann is suffering from a disc irritation in his back and also will be reevaluated in two weeks. Mann already has missed Charlotte’s last four games due to low back soreness. He is averaging 14.1 points a game while shooting 40% from 3.