Is LaMelo Ball back to All-Star form? ‘Generational’ talent making early case in preseason
Things hadn’t changed much, save for a few cosmetic renovation alterations that aren’t detectable from the loading dock once the team bus pulled in.
It’s not like Terry Rozier needed directions, though. He knew exactly where he was headed, even if it was to a destination he never frequented much for the better part of the past half decade: the visiting locker room inside Spectrum Center.
“Four and a half years, man,” Rozier, embarking on his first full season with the Miami Heat, told The Observer during a quiet moment. “I ain’t going to cry. Nah, it’s definitely different after four and a half years.
“You just appreciate everything, just a part of the growth, a part of everything. But this is really my home. So it’s bittersweet. It ain’t no serious game. It ain’t nothing for real, but still my emotions. This has been my home and I love Charlotte.”
But Rozier is on the other side now as a member of the Hornets’ Southeast Division rivals. So, he got an opportunity to see things from another perspective during the Charlotte Hornets’ 111-108 preseason victory against Miami on Tuesday night.
Like guarding Hornets star point guard LaMelo Ball in game action as opposed to a practice setting. Or nearly being steamrolled by Miles Bridges during a coast-to-coast run by the Hornets’ forward.
And getting clobbered by Nick Richards during a screen, drawing an offensive foul.
Perhaps nothing, however, compares Rozier’s front row seat for Ball’s escapades. Ball seemingly barely broke a sweat in amassing 24 points, six rebounds and five assists in 20 minutes.
“Everybody has been waiting for Melo to play and he’s shown what he’s capable of — preseason or not,” Bridges said. “He’s going out there and he’s hooping, he’s playing defense and making the right reads, talking. Just seeing that improvement from Melo, it’s big for us.”
That progression is manifesting itself in a variety of areas, too.
“On top of being a two-way player, I’ve also loved that he’s been able to play with the ball in his hands and off the ball,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said. “His improved running habits, I think, off the ball and getting some more catch-and-shoot threes and trusting his teammates.
“His overall growth, and development and trust in the guys is just continuing to grow.”
Ball’s outing is the kind of performance that could help the Hornets punch a playoff ticket for the first time in nearly a decade, something that failed to happen in Rozier’s tenure in purple and teal.
“It don’t eat at me,” Rozier said. “I’m all about moving on, and worry about what’s in front of me and what’s next. You can’t control what happened before. Obviously, I had goals of doing that. It didn’t happen, so I think they are going to turn thing around and it’s going to happen for the Hornets. It’s going to be good to watch that from afar.”
Terry Rozier has positive outlook for Hornets
What makes Rozier confident the Hornets’ fortunes will soon be reversed?
“Just everything, just everything,” he said. “I think the players have brought in, they have a mindset with the new owners and everything and how they want to go about stuff. It’s just good to see.”
That’s a slightly milder tone than Rozier used in January. Shortly after being traded, he said “in Charlotte, you’re kind of used to losing. It’s in the DNA. It sucks to say that because of how much of a competitor I am.”
No one really took much issue with Rozier’s statement, but it served as another reminder of the perception the Hornets have to constantly fight off. The franchise has never advanced past the second round of the postseason and boasts the NBA’s longest current playoff drought, which stands at eight years and counting.
Many changes under new Hornets leadership
Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin, the Hornets’ majority co-owners, are doing what they can to establish a certain culture and organizational vision. And it’s evident in more ways than one.
In a little more than a year since grabbing controlling interest, they’ve transformed nearly every department, bringing in a bunch of new faces and injecting the franchise with a different sense of purpose.
It starts with ownership and trickles down to the Hornets’ bench. And at least one player who’s been with several organizations is generally pleased with Charlotte’s approach.
“The coaching staff and the guys that I’m here with now,” Taj Gibson explained, “we’re just trying to embrace just putting every single bit of energy into your game, putting every single little last bit of energy into preparing yourself coming into work every day, being professional standing on what you say, (living) by what you say.
“And then love your teammates, and then love your counterparts. That’s the whole motto and that’s what it’s been about, this last month. We’ve been together for almost two months now. So, all that bonding and building is just special.”
Sounds akin to how Rozier describes the Hornets’ potential if Ball stays off the injured list, avoiding the pesky bumps and bruises that have derailed him for all but one season.
“Pretty good,” Rozier said. “He’s generational. I tell him that all the time. That’s little bro. They are really good, but this team only goes as far as they have him, him being healthy and everything else. So, he knows what he has to do.”
