The highly anticipated on-court pairing between LeBron James and Lonzo Ball for the Lakers was put on hold Saturday after both stars were held out of the team's preseason game against the Clippers.
Lakers fans itching to see how the two fare together on the hardwood will instead have to wait until at least Wednesday, when L.A. faces the Golden State Warriors in Las Vegas. Lakers coach Luke Walton is optimistic that both will be full go by then.
"That's one of the things I still need to see that we haven't had is what lineups look like when both of those guys are playing," Walton said via The Orange County Register. "I'm excited and hopeful, but again, we're going to take it day by day. If any setbacks or whatnot, then we won't rush it, again. But I would expect Wednesday that happens."
Ball's absence Saturday was his fourth night off of the preseason as he makes his way back from offseason knee surgery. He's been a full participant in practice, however, and it appears the team is taking a cautious approach to slowly work him back. As for LeBron, Saturday's DNP was a simple choice to allow him rest.
"I think it's been going on 11-12 days with a double-day in there, and he's been great," Walton said of LeBron. "So it's more of just, look, we've got to be ready for the regular season. Same idea. Tomorrow is off too and he already went and got a workout in at the facility this morning. So it's more just making sure that when the regular season starts, we're peaking."
When the Warriors and Lakers face off against one another on Wednesday, the matchup itself -- Lakers vs. the Warriors -- will draw plenty of eyeballs. But adding another level of intrigue to the mix will be an opportunity, for the first time, to likely see how Lonzo and LeBron look chemistry-wise on the court.
