Hornets set to begin life without LaMelo Ball: ‘Nobody can ever make up for what he does’
.JPG "Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball walks off the court after being shaken up on a play during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Detroit Pistons in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)")
The stark contrast was already detectable barely 12 hours later.
Gone was the boisterous toothy grin attached to the seemingly happiest 21-year-old on earth, who merely a day earlier was reciting a line from Ice Cube’s film “Friday After Next” as he sauntered into the Charlotte Hornets’ locker room after shootaround wrapped up.
On Tuesday, the Hornets began life without LaMelo Ball, who will be out for the remainder of the season after fracturing his right ankle in Monday’s win against Detroit. The ubiquitous aura emanating from Charlotte’s star point guard was sorely missed. Ball is that unique, that etched into the franchise’s fabric.
And when he’s not around, his absence is extremely noticeable, creating a different kind of a dynamic.
“Just his presence, everything,” said Terry Rozier, one of Ball’s closest friends on the team. “The laughing, the smiles – all that. He lights up a room. That’s who he’s always been and we always appreciate that from him. Nobody can ever make up for what he does. Off the court and on the court. So, we’ve just got to have that mentality and work with what we’ve got.”
The Hornets have no choice. That’s how it’s going to be for the season’s final 19 games, beginning with them welcoming Kevin Durant and the new-look Phoenix Suns to Spectrum Center on Wednesday. Ball underwent further evaluation to gauge the severity of his injury and what the next steps should be so he can begin the recovery process as soon as possible.
“They are doing more tests, so hopefully we’ll know more,” coach Steve Clifford said. “I don’t know when they’ll get the results – tonight, tomorrow, the next couple of days – whenever it is.”
Clifford didn’t divulge exactly how he intends to shuffle the Hornets’ lineup without Ball. Balancing the rotation to ensure there’s enough offense and defense is his main objective, so it’s not a given that he’ll insert Dennis Smith Jr. into Ball’s starting spot.
There’s a possibility Clifford will slot Kelly Oubre into the game’s opening quintet and pair him in the backcourt with Rozier, who should see an increase in the ball-handling and playmaking duties. Clifford has a couple of options either way.
Still, replacing Ball’s actual production will be a chore. He averaged 25.2 points and 11.3 assists over his past six games prior to coming up gimpy against the Pistons. He’s the Hornets’ leading scorer at 23.3 points per game and his uncanny ability to make arduous passes look relatively easy is represented in the 8.4 assists he’s distributed in the 36 outings. The 6.4 rebounds Ball snatched per game is tops among anyone currently on the roster, trailing only the recently-traded Mason Plumlee.
It’s what makes this whole scenario even more difficult for the Hornets to stomach.
“Man, it’s tough,” Rozier said, “especially being this late in the season when we are on our run. And he suffers an injury like that. Just him playing well and him being the biggest piece (of) our team and we have to go through all that after what we’ve been through already all season.
“But the good thing about this league is you’ve got multiple guys that get the opportunity, that want to step up and want to play, So, hopefully those guys will be able to do that.”
Moving forward without their heartbeat, daily soundtrack and face of the franchise won’t be easy, though.
“That’s part of basketball,” Rozier said. “You go through the ups and downs. That’s what we’ve been doing all year. This is nothing new to us, nothing surprising. We just have to do what we can to make up for it. And like I said, you can’t make up for a guy like that. But just with the pieces and the guys that we have to get the opportunity, it’s going to be good to see that.”
