On Wednesday’s game against the Indiana Pacers, LaMelo Ball was dealt a terrible hand. After a slow start to the season, Ball scored 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting in his third game and looked like his All-Star self. Nonetheless, Ball rolled his ankle in the fourth quarter of the Hornets’ 125-113 defeat to the Pacers in Charlotte when he pursued a ball out of bounds and trod on the foot of a spectator seated courtside. The severity of his injury was soon obvious, and he was taken out of the game.

LaMelo Ball

Due to Ball’s history of ankle sprains in the recent past, this ailment deserves extra attention. His absence from the first 13 games of the season for Charlotte was due to a sprained left ankle he sustained in preseason. He had only just recovered from his injury, but suffered another setback in a defeat to Indiana when he re-injured the same ankle. As of right moment, the Hornets haven’t drawn any firm conclusions. Coach Steve Clifford told the media, “Hopefully, it’s not awful.” I think we won’t find out anything until Thursday at the earliest.

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For a Hornets club seeking to make the playoffs for the third time in four years, this has been a terrible season, what with two straight humiliating play-in defeats. The Hornets’ 4-12 record isn’t good, but things will only grow worse if Ball is forced to miss more games.

With Gordon Hayward still out by a shoulder ailment, the Hornets would have to rely even more heavily on Terry Rozier to provide offense in Ball’s absence. The Hornets’ Dennis Smith Jr. has been a pleasant surprise so far this year, but he’s better suited for a bench position. If Ball can’t play, the Hornets have little hope of making the playoffs and will now wait nervously for updates on his condition.