The Hornets tried changing LaMelo Ball’s wacky jump shot. It didn’t work, and that’s OK
Charlotte Hornets coach James Borrego had concerns about LaMelo Ball’s jump shot.
Anyone would have in preparation for the NBA draft: The stakes on the Hornets nailing the No. 3 pick were so high, and the mechanics of Ball’s shot were odd.
Ball won over Borrego during a pre-draft workout in Southern California. He hadn’t changed his shot, but the confident way he auditioned convinced Borrego that he would prevail.
Flash forward to Monday night: Ball made seven of his 12 3-point attempts and the Hornets clobbered the Houston Rockets 119-94. The Hornets outscored the Rockets by 29 points in the 32 minutes Ball played; that was no coincidence.
People have long tried to change Ball’s shot. He has mostly resisted.
“There are a ton of stories. Everywhere I went, they usually tried to change my shot, but I always stick within myself and said, ‘This is how I shoot.’ ” Ball described post-game.
Over his last six games, Ball has made 21 of 40 3-point attempts. That, despite him launching his jumper from between his chest and his chin.
“I’m confident in it, I feel good letting it go,” Ball said. “Even coming here, they low-key tried to adjust it a little, but I said ‘No, this is how I shoot’ and I just stuck with it.”
Creating predicaments
If Ball keeps making 3s at anything like his recent rate, Charlotte’s coaching staff will leave him be. Ball making 3s — many of them well outside the top of the arc — isn’t just a weapon unto itself, it has tumbledown value.
Think about the genesis of Kemba Walker’s Hornets career: Walker never shot better than 33% from 3 in any of his first four seasons. After much work in the summer of 2015, Walker improved his 3-point shooting to 37% or better each of the next three seasons.
That totally changed how teams had to guard Walker: Defenders could no longer go under screens; they had to fight over them because Walker started making open 3s constantly. Screens then freed Walker’s path to the rim and he became a perennial All-Star.
Ball is already a gifted ballhandler and inventive passer. If defenses have to guard him tightly 25 feet from the basket, rather than just concede a long 3, that creates all sorts of predicaments for the opponent.
‘Opens up the floor for everybody’
Former San Antonio Spurs assistant Borrego saw how Tony Parker raising his 3-point percentage mid-career made him nearly impossible to contain off the dribble.
That illustrates what a nightmare Ball could become for opponents if this recent 3-point shooting continues.
“It’s difficult on a defense if he’s going to make those shots. It’s difficult to stay in front of him. It opens up the court for everybody,” Borrego said, adding this doesn’t seem like a mirage:
“Whether he’s at the (3-point) line, or two feet behind the line, it’s almost effortless.”
Borrego thought back to Ball’s audition, sitting next to general manager Mitch Kupchak, and saying then what must have sounded bold: That Ball’s fearlessness mattered more than flawed mechanics.
“The kid oozes confidence, He knows it’s going in,” Borrego said. “That’s at least half the battle in this thing.”
