Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton shares 5-word fire reaction to Lonzo Ball’s return

,” Haliburton wrote.

Indeed, the Pacers star echoed the sentiment of every NBA fan with a working conscience. Injuries are an unfortunate part of professional sports, and the Bulls fanbase, of all the fanbases, would know how heartbreaking it can be to see these physical limitations beyond a player’s control rob them of the most productive years of their career.

Given how many treatments and procedures Lonzo Ball has gone through over the past two years or so, him being back on the court is a miracle that must be cherished. It would not have been a surprise if Ball decided to simply walk away from the game, but he didn’t, and the mere fact that he fought his way back to the Bulls’ active lineup is a major victory.

In 15 minutes of play in his return, Ball scored 10 points on 4-6 shooting from the field (2-4 from deep). The Bulls guard did look a bit rusty, which is not surprising from someone who has missed around 33 months of NBA basketball, but it was promising to see his shot be on point.

Haliburton and the Pacers’ first matchup this season against Ball and the Bulls will be on December 7 in United Center at 9:00 PM E.T.

Lonzo Ball overcomes lengthy injury rehab to return to Bulls lineup

The last time Lonzo Ball stepped foot on an NBA court was on January 14, 2022 — when the Bulls were in the middle of an impressive run that had them around the top four in the Eastern Conference. Ball’s injury made life difficult for the Bulls since. He was the perfect fit at point guard alongside the more ball dominant Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, as his shooting and defense filled in the gaps for a Bulls lineup that was clicking.

It was not obvious at the time that Ball was going to miss this much time with the knee injury he suffered back then. But evidently, there were huge issues in his knee that warranted three arthroscopic surgeries. It reached the point where there was significant concern that his knee problems were going to significantly affect his day-to-day life, let alone his NBA career.

But now, Ball is making his return to a much-different Bulls team. He certainly has a long NBA future ahead of him thanks to his skillset — the only focus now is for him to remain as healthy as possible moving forward.