How the Charlotte Hornets must change to survive LaMelo Ball’s absence
When the news came down Sunday that LaMelo Ball has a broken wrist, Charlotte Hornets teammates Terry Rozier and Miles Bridges went to comfort the rookie.
“He’s in a good place,” Rozier said Monday night.
But can the Hornets be in a good place in Ball’s absence? How will they stay in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt without their spectacular 19-year-old point guard pushing the pace?
Monday’s 100-97 road victory over the San Antonio Spurs is a template of sorts for how this team now must survive. Ball is the overarching reason the Hornets have been so good in transition, averaging the fifth-most fast-break points per game (15.1).
Monday the Hornets totaled five fast-break points. They can’t be nearly so good at the finesse things in Ball’s absence, so they must improve in the gritty things: Play better defense and execute better in a slower, half-court offense
The Hornets were awful defensively in the first three games of this five-game Western Conference trip. This felt like progress, holding the Spurs under 100 points and out-rebounding them on the road.
James Borrego: Reshape and reform
“You reshape. You reform yourself,” Hornets coach James Borrego said of how his team must respond to the likelihood Ball is out the rest of the season.
Borrego said Monday afternoon that it’s no longer realistic to think the Hornets will be so good in transition. That puts a bigger burden on Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier, Charlotte’s best and most experienced half-court scorers.
Those two dragged Monday’s win home, breaking a three-game losing streak. Hayward finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Rozier continued as one of the NBA’s elite closers, scoring 14 of Charlotte’s 26 fourth-quarter points. He made 4 of 7 from the field and 4 of 4 at the foul line in the final quarter.
The Hornets are now 16-0 this season when leading going into the fourth quarter. As I wrote recently, they are on pace to break a record for the best clutch-time efficiency in NBA recorded history.
“He’s laser-focused,” Hayward said of Rozier’s steeliness with a game on the line.
But to get this team to Rozier Time, Hayward has to play more aggressively than he had of late. In back-to-back losses to the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers, Hayward totaled just 14 points on 6 of 15 shooting.
The Hornets are paying Hayward $120 million over four years for his diagnostic skills — when to shoot and when to pass. But right now, he’s got to shoot more because Ball is no longer available to push the pace and distribute the ball.
“Obviously, with LaMelo going down, there are going to be some more responsibilities and some more touches,” Hayward said. “I’ve got to balance my own scoring with getting everyone else involved.”
Terry Rozier: I feel for him
Rozier has had a career season at shooting guard, feeding off Ball’s distributing skills. He feels he owes it to Ball now to hold things together when the rookie no longer can.
“I feel for him,” Rozier said. “It’s never easy dealing with a thing like this. He’s like my little brother.”
Borrego said the coaches and players had a “pity party” Sunday night, then cleared their minds to process the reality: They must play differently to succeed.
“We’re just going to have to win games this way — with our defense. Gritting it out and gutting it out,” Borrego said.
“It’s not going to be pretty every night. But this group has to find a way to still knock out wins.”
