Lonzo Ball out at least a week with shoulder injury

After being injured on Saturday, Lonzo Ball will miss some time with a shoulder issue.

Lonzo Ball nearly got a triple-double on Saturday night against the Portland Trail Blazers, with 10 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds. But he did suffer a left shoulder injury late in the first half, and he underwent an MRI on Sunday to determine the extent of the injury.

The Lakers have a busy upcoming schedule, with five games from now through Jan. 1 starting on Monday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. But Ball will miss that Christmas night contest, and at least a few more games of that upcoming stretch.

Ball has been diagnosed with a sprained left shoulder, and he will be re-evaluated in one week. That timetable means he’ll miss at least the next three games, against the Timberwolves, Memphis Grizzlies (Wednesday night) and the Los Angeles Clippers (Friday night), with a possible (unlikely?) return for New Year’s Eve against the Houston Rockets or Jan. 1 against the Timberwolves.

The injury being to his non-shooting shoulder should allow Ball to return a bit faster than he may if it was his right shoulder. But the Lakers have to be very cautious too, to not only protect one of their best young players but also protect themselves from the public ire of LaVar Ball if they rush his son back into action too soon.

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Ball is still making less than 30 percent of his three-pointers on the season, but he has gone 18-for-40 (45 percent) from beyond the arc over his last six games. So this shoulder injury could easily break the positive momentum of that increase in proficiency. Ball has also had an apparent surge in confidence as a perimeter shooter, with more than 25 percent of his three-point attempts for the season (158) coming in that six-game sample, so the injury is bad timing for that as well.