“Christmas miracle? I’d hold off on that” — Bulls.com writer Sam Smith on Lonzo Ball’s return date

Sam Smith shares the latest update on Lonzo Ball’s knee injury.

© Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Bulls’ inconsistency continues; they’re 2-2 in the last four games, beating the Celtics and Bucks, the two best teams in the NBA, and losing against the Magic and Thunder.

The Bulls need their starting point guard Lonzo Ball back on the court to have a chance to make a deep playoff run, but they don’t know when he could be part of the lineup and start contributing.

When will Ball come back?

Bulls.com writer Sam Smith answered a fan’s question about Ball coming back this year in his last mailbag, and he wasn’t optimistic about Ball’s return timeline.

“Christmas miracle? I’d hold off on that. I’ll say to start I have no idea, and based on previous experience I’d have to say no one who says they have an idea has an idea. Because last January’s surgery came with a two-month return to playing. So they don’t know. The general word around the Bulls is he might be able to play in January, maybe by the All-Star break,” Smith wrote.

Smith recalled how the speculation about Ball’s injury status reminds him of the chatter after the Derrick Rose injury in the 2012 NBA Playoffs.

“I worry about the Derrick Rose syndrome,” Smith explained. “For those who recall, the season after Derrick was injured in the 2012 playoffs, the media and fans became obsessed with Rose’s return to the point he was blamed for not returning, and before long the media and the community turned on him with the belief he didn’t want to play. Which was as erroneous as could be because no one in basketball ever returned from his injury in less than a year, and now especially players take a year for lesser injuries. But because Derrick never said much, the media speculation went into overdrive and carried the public along with it.”

Ball’s importance

Ball has been in the league for five years, and he’s played at least 60 games in a season just once. The talented point guard averaged 13 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.8 steals in 34.6 minutes over 35 games with the Bulls last season. He had career-bests of 57.5 percent true shooting and 42.3 percent from three-point range before going down with a meniscus tear in his left knee.

The Bulls went 22-13 with Ball in the lineup last season and 24-23 without him. Per StatMuse, Ball posted a defensive rating of 111 last year. This squad needs Ball, but they’re taking their time to evaluate the next steps with him before we finally see him in action wearing a Bulls jersey again.