EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — LeBron James will make his Staples Center debut as a Los Angeles Laker on Tuesday, but Lonzo Ball will continue to be held out.
After making his Lakers preseason debut Sunday against the Nuggets in San Diego, James will play limited minutes, possibly in the same range as the 15 he logged in his first game, when he faces Denver again Tuesday.
Ball, though, will miss his second consecutive preseason game as the Lakers continue to ease the point guard back from offseason knee surgery. Forward Michael Beasley is expected to be available after being cleared for practice following a precautionary MRI that came out negative. Beasley suffered a laceration to the head during the 124-107 loss to the Nuggets but did not suffer any concussion symptoms, according to the team.
While Ball has participated in contact practices and, surprisingly, looked better than expected after his long layoff, according to head coach Luke Walton and James, the Lakers are sticking to their plan to be cautious with their second-year prospect.
“Just doing more of that, getting comfortable with it,” Walton said when asked what the difference is between Ball scrimmaging in practice as opposed to being able to play in a preseason game. “That is 4-on-4, that is a controlled environment. It’s his body going through those reps more and more.
“And you can do that all day long [but] there is nothing like playing in those NBA games as far as how hard you have to compete and cutting and the way you get hit with screens. Just because he has been out so long, we are just trying to be patient with it.”
Walton will continue to tinker with a variety of lineups like he did Sunday as he looks to establish a rotation and the team’s chemistry. At times in the preseason opener, the Lakers played with a frenetic pace, looking to push the ball aggressively.
Walton said he will utilize the Lakers’ depth, and the rotation could be different for players from night to night, including small-ball variations as well.
“We’re gonna play fast so we’re gonna get guys in and out,” Walton said when asked what center JaVale McGee‘s minutes could look like this season. “We want to use our depth to our advantage and come in waves. It’ll be different for most players from one night to the next.”
“We try not to play 11 or 12 in the same game, obviously,” Walton added of how deep his rotation will be. “There’ll be games we do because we’re searching for something that we don’t have for whatever reason, and in the NBA season there’ll be injuries. We’ll feel confident when things like that happen. Players that might not have been in the rotation will be able to help us play and compete and win ballgames.”