LaMelo Ball set a franchise record. But what’s the next step for the Hornets’ star?
That familiar motion got pulled out roughly 90 seconds after the opening tip, a sign of just how far a highly-questioned jumper has come.
LaMelo Ball squared up his shoulders and uncorked a 26-footer a few steps away from the Charlotte Hornets’ bench, breaking out his trademark move after watching the ball swish through the net. Ball lowered his right hand before making a motion with his left, almost as if the Hornets’ star point guard was putting his make-believe basketball weapon back in its holster.
“This is the ‘3,’’’ Ball explained as he counted off his fingers, extending his right arm and showcasing his colorful tattoos on his forearm. “So, I’ve got the whole setup right here. I’ve got L.B. 1, I’ve got God, got the angel and then just load that thing up. Then, I’m ready to pull the next one out.”
He’s sure getting plenty of practice to refine his signature maneuver.
In powering the Hornets to a 144-138 win against Atlanta at Spectrum Center on Monday night that snapped a seven-game losing streak and outplaying Hawks star Trae Young, Ball drained a 3-pointer in his 47th consecutive game, establishing a franchise record while snapping Baron Davis’ old mark.
It shows the dramatic progress he’s made in his two-plus seasons. Quietly, Ball has become a solid threat behind the 3-point arc. He climbed two spots up the Hornets’ all-time list Monday and sits in eighth place with 435, already nearly halfway to Dell Curry’s second-place total of 929. Ball has about a third of the total amassed by Charlotte’s career leader – Kemba Walker.
Ball is the youngest player in NBA history to record a streak of at least 35 games, and his 47-game stretch represents the third-longest active spans in the league, trailing only Portland’s Damian Lillard and Golden State star and Charlotte native Steph Curry. So much for all those queries about his jumper leading into the draft.
“I’m not going to lie, I don’t even think I’ve improved it,” Ball said. “I’ve always felt like I could shoot my whole life. I’m just getting more attempts and shooting it with more confidence now I guess.”
Ball was a beast in the fourth quarter for the Hornets, accounting for 60% of the team’s points with seven assists and 19 points created from assists. He became the fourth-youngest NBA player to record a game with 30 points, 15 assists and five rebounds, joining Dallas’ Luka Doncic, Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox and Young.
“LaMelo is special,” Hawks legend and Bally Sports Southeast analyst Dominique Wilkins said. “But he’s still growing as a young player and he’ll learn to have a little more control. But his talents are off the charts. I loved him when he first came because you heard a lot of hype about him (and) how good he is. And my first time seeing him play, I’m like, ‘Oh (shoot). He can play.’ So, he impressed me from Day One.”
Same goes for Ball’s teammates.
“One thing about Melo, he’s a gamer,” Terry Rozier said. “He can be having any type of day. It could be good or bad that you think, but once he’s in that game he lets everything go and he just hoops. I think we all can appreciate that. For us to see it up close, it’s very special. Nothing that he does surprises me. He’s a true gamer, and he can hoop.”
Here’s what’s been most impressive about Ball during this recent stretch: he’s on a serious roll and nearly racking up triple-doubles in two of his past three outings, including falling one rebound shy in the Hornets’ back-to-back losses over the weekend to Boston and Denver.
But it’s not all about what he’s doing statistically, either.
“The thing for me is playing an all-around game,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “Like the other night, same thing, his defense was a lot better. That was one of his better games and so I think that’s important. And making sure we are organized on offense, which I thought he was good with the other night, is important. His game is going to start with creating, shot-making. Those are things that he is exceptional at already.”
The growth by Ball since his rookie season piques Wilkins’ interest. And the Hall of Famer thinks the reason for the tangible growth is simple.
“It’s his confidence level,” Wilkins said. “As a young man, the more confidence you get, the more control you have and the more consistent you become. If you look at tonight, I’m looking up and didn’t realize that he had 30 and 15. That showed the efficiency he played with tonight. Yeah, he had some turnovers that were key at times, but he made up for them after he made a couple of those mistakes. And he made some big, big plays, man. So that kid, I love him.”
For Ball to reach that next level, Clifford wants to see the 21-year-old master another aspect of his game that will benefit everyone, especially in late-game situations. Effective pick-and-rolls have been scarce, and that’s why Clifford had to be somewhat encouraged with the flashes Ball and the Hornets showed against Atlanta in utilizing one of the game’s oldest plays.
Ball connected with rookie Mark Williams on a nifty pick-and-roll in the first quarter that led to a nasty two-handed flush by the Hornets’ 7-footer, and he also executed another with PJ Washington not long after on a nice slip to the rim by Washington.
Dating back to training camp, the team has discussed the importance of getting a better handle on pick-and-rolls and going to them more frequently. But Clifford pointed out the Hornets are 26th in pick-and-roll efficiency. Screening assists also need to increase because they’re not to Clifford’s liking.
“That’s the part we’ve got to get down and it’s all of it,” Clifford said. “It’s the set up. It’s the screening angle. It’s the mentality. But the bottom line is, for the most part, if you just sit and watch NBA game every night, the last four minutes of the game it’s an iso or a high pick-and-roll.
“It’s the hardest thing to guard and we don’t really have that. We haven’t had good success this year with pick-and-rolls with our ‘5’ men and it’s got to happen.”
The reason? So the Hornets can ease the degree of difficulty with their fourth-quarter shot selection. Some of their end-of-game attempts are extremely low percentage – they watched a 17-point deficit against the Hawks get trimmed to one – and they have to clean it up.
“Because what you are doing, late game you are setting yourself up for failure if you don’t have some place to go where they have to double team or at least bring two to the ball,” Clifford said. “To me, people can talk about ball movement (but) actually by the numbers, the best teams in the last five minutes of the game, they don’t move the ball.
“It’s direct. It stays on the first side of the ball. You get the ball to the great player and they play off him. So, we have that in. We’ve got to get to it. We’ve got to get better at that stuff.”
Ball doesn’t disagree.
“It definitely just helps as a whole team,” Ball said. “It makes the corner players more open, the roll open and even me. It will help everybody.”
This story was originally published February 14, 2023 at 12:15 AM.
