If you’ve watched a single Charlotte Hornets game this season, or even part of one, you can say that LaMelo Ball, with only 15 games in his NBA career, is already one of the league’s most exciting young players. He delivered a impressive performance against his brother, Lonzo and the New Orleans Pelicans on national TV earlier this season, after that the following night, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double.
But, as with any 19-year-old, you have to accept evil with good. After a seven-game period in which Ball averaged 15.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game while kicking 46% of the field, Ball’s game recently fell. He had an average of 10.7 points, 5.7 assists and four rebounds with 41 percent pitches in the last three games, causing Hornets coach James Borrego to shorten the rookie’s playing time.
Ball played just 16 minutes in Friday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls, his lowest total since his second game of the season. Borrego cited the shipowner’s five 6-7 turns as the main reason for his limited action.
“If you turn the ball five times in 16 minutes, it won’t work for me,” said Borrego on Saturday, via The Charlotte Observer. “If you are doing this on the offensive side, it is better to bring something defensively.
“… He had a stretch where he played extremely well. We need to find that again. He has to improve, bottom line. He is engaged, he wants to improve. He is able to handle it.”
The relatively harsh public criticism and decline in minutes comes amid the calls of Hornets fans for Ball to join the starting lineup, either alongside the incumbents Terry Rozier and Devonte ‘Graham, or in place of one of them. Graham would make more sense to make the switch to a reserve, as he left the bench in every game except 10 games in his 2019-20 campaign, before a sharp decline earlier this season. But Ball’s defensive limitations make his initial formation a dangerous prospect for a team that has advanced in this area so far in 2020-21.
One person who wants LaMelo to start, you will be shocked to learn, is your father, LaVar Ball. In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, Ball gave one of his brand statements, saying that LaMelo is not happy to leave the bank.
“My problem is that he is not happy about it, but he is not going to show it,” LaVar Ball told TMZ Sports. “If I train you to be the best and always start your whole life – here’s what they don’t understand. My boys are not crazy role players. They are superstars! Let them do what they do.”
We’ve all heard LaVar’s wild speeches before, like when he said he could beat Michael Jordan in a one-on-one game, or that his eldest son, Lonzo, would become the “best guard ever.” LaVar also said that he said before the draft that LaMelo should start with the Golden State Warriors (before Klay Thompson’s injury) if he selected him.
But when he claims to be relaying his son’s feelings, saying “he is not happy” when he leaves the bank, at least it is worth acknowledging. For his part, LaMelo rejected any suggestion that he was not satisfied with his role when questioned by Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer on Saturday.
“No. It’s basketball. It’s a chemistry thing,” said LaMelo Ball. “I’m going in (out of the bank). It’s not something I’ve been here for four years or so. It’s just basketball.”
With the Hornets sitting 6-9 (13th in the Eastern Conference), after four consecutive defeats, it is certainly worth considering whether starting Ball is the best move for the franchise. This could lead to more losses in the short term, but that would not be the worst thing in the world for Charlotte, with a strong 2021 draft on the horizon. It may be in the interest of Ball’s development to give him 30 minutes per game and let him correct his mistakes, but that is a difficult thing to ask a coach trying to win games.
If Ball returns to his strong game and is triple-doubling off the bench, however, the pressure for him to start does not go away.