Hornets to start season without LaMelo Ball. Here’s what the lineup will look like
.JPG "Charlotte Hornets’ LaMelo Ball, center, talks to an official from the bench after getting his sixth foul against the Boston Celtics during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game in Greensboro, N.C., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)")
When the Charlotte Hornets take the court at the AT&T Center in San Antonio for their first game of the season Wednesday, they’ll do it without their All-Star point guard.
LaMelo Ball is “highly doubtful” to play in the Hornets’ matchup with the Spurs, coach Steve Clifford said after practice Monday, and hasn’t done any on-court work since spraining his left ankle in their penultimate preseason game against Washington last Wednesday. Ball is going to be sidelined beyond the opener, but the exact number of games he’ll miss is unclear.
That won’t be determined until the 21-year-old resumes basketball activities.
“I think it’s the same thing with any injury,” Clifford said. “They get their treatment, (it’s) how do they (feel). You know how it is. Sometimes you think a guy’s going and there’s three more days. Other times, it looks terrible and you get a couple of treatments and you are good to go.
“So, when you are a coaching staff, you coach when you have. That’s the only way to do it in this league.”
Precisely how can Clifford make up for the lost production?
“Obviously, some guys are going to get the ball coming to them more often because he’s one of the guys that we play through,” Clifford said. “Do you want to play a month without one of your better players? That’s where it hurts you. For two or three games, we have enough here. With this group right here, if we can play with the same intensity, purpose and physicality we did in Philadelphia (the preseason finale), then we’ll have a chance to win these games.”
Ball has been spotted sporting slides and a sweatsuit at the Hornets’ recent practices. Although there’s nothing he can really do at the moment other than strictly observe, his presence is still a welcome sight for the team.
The basketball junkie in Ball won’t allow him to stay away for long.
“He’s great,” Clifford said. “He sits there at halfcourt, he’s watching. He doesn’t want to get behind. But he’s a great teammate and he loves to be in the gym. So I think it’s really bothering him that he can’t play. But he’s doing everything he can.”
Minus Ball, the Hornets plan to start Terry Rozier at point guard, shifting him over from his normal shooting guard spot. Kelly Oubre is sliding into the starting unit off the bench and will be in the backcourt alongside Rozier, Gordon Hayward, PJ Washington and Mason Plumlee round out the game-opening quintet.
Clifford settled on that lineup in part because of what he saw from them in their final preseason outing.
“Well, there’s a lot of skill and you have guys that have played a lot of minutes together,” Clifford said. “And that group played well in Philadelphia. So, it’s definitely going to be one of the groups that we are going to be looking at all year.”
No deal for Washington
PJ Washington isn’t afraid to bet on himself. Looks like he’ll have to do just that.
Washington didn’t come to terms on an agreement with a contract extension prior to Monday evening’s deadline, league sources told the Observer. That means the fourth-year big man will likely become a restricted free agent next summer once the Hornets extend an expected $7.9 million qualifying offer prior to the start of the league’s new fiscal year.
Re-signing him won’t be cheap, though, especially if he has an extremely productive season. There could be upwards of 12 teams with sizable salary cap space next summer. As a versatile big man who can switch between power forward and center, there could be a decent market for Washington.
Still, as a restricted free agent, the Hornets would have an opportunity to match any offer he receives and could bring him back and pair him with the rest of the team’s young core.
ESPN pulls plug on one game
Those hoping to watch the Hornets take on Chicago in the Windy City on national television will instead need another viewing option.
ESPN no longer plans to televise the Hornets’ matchup with the Bulls during what it dubbed “Rivalry Week.” With Ball injured and his oldest brother Lonzo nursing a torn meniscus in his left knee, the network yanked the game off its schedule and instead opted for a replacement featuring two of the Eastern Conference’s top teams, showing Boston at Cleveland instead.
ESPN dropping the anticipated contest between Ball brothers leaves the Hornets with only two nationally-televised games. TNT is slated to broadcast the Jan. 26 game between the Hornets and Chicago in Charlotte and ESPN has their Feb. 10 date in Boston with the Celtics.
This story was originally published October 17, 2022 at 6:12 PM.
