LaMelo Ball shakes off effects of latest injury, keeps strong showing going in Hornets’ loss
Sporting a teal warm-up suit with a hoodie, LaMelo Ball emerged from a tunnel and through a specially illuminated entrance made to jazz up the first pregame introduction of the season.
The Charlotte Hornets’ star point guard, looking like a boxer jogging to the ring to climb through the ropes, pointed one finger on each hand skyward and revved the fans up, trying to get things jump-started on the tail end of consecutive games in different cities within a 24-hour span.
Just seeing Ball in full uniform instead of street clothes kind of represented a small victory, bringing the slightest ray of sunshine to a tortured fan base that’s essentially been forced to bookmark WebMD or any medical website dishing an educated opinion about ailments. He was listed as questionable with a tailbone contusion, but managed to tough it out along with Cody Martin and Seth Curry to play in the Hornets’ 114-106 loss to Miami at Spectrum Center on Saturday night.
“We want to play, Martin said. “At the end of the day, everybody in this locker room is hungry and wants to play and when they decide — or it’s deemed they are not playing — they probably can’t play. And I think that’s the biggest understanding.
“I don’t think anybody questions how important it is for us to want to play and get out there and just have fun.”
In helping the Hornets (1-2) erase a 14-point second-half deficit, Ball played under control, keeping the same level of intensity on both ends of the floor as he’s done for the better part of the season’s initial two games. He cut back on the turnovers, which were an issue in Chalotte’s loss to Atlanta when he stockpiled 10, and dazzled in his own usual way, posting 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
At times, he makes the spectacular look easy. It’s his style.
“He thrives in chaos, which is great,” coach Charles Lee said, “because that’s a talent and a skill amongst itself. Most people kind of freeze up when they feel chaos and pressure. He’s one of one for real, and so I think he’s done a great job in handling it. Conversations that we’ve had are just trying to value every possession, too, at the same time.
“And by valuing it, you also have to value the ball. He’s got to go be a playmaker and do his thing, but once we have a couple, two, three possessions of some empty possessions, how do we now not have that fourth possession something that’s not chaotic. And so just trying to work with him and show him feel of the game. Game awareness, game flow.”
Lee was very introspective discussing the balancing act he faces with ensuring he’s not overusing Ball while also riding him frequently since he’s the team’s best player.
“I think he’s done a great job of taking care of his body,” Lee said. “He’s incorporated a lot of different things to do in terms of how to recover postgame. Watching him (Friday), I thought he’s just kind of matured in that area in terms of understanding the importance of consistent recovery routines.
“I thought his offseason was very consistent about how he’s going to build up his body. We’re going to continue to just be smart about his minutes throughout the whole season. But he’s giving it to us on both ends and especially while we are down a couple of guys right now, I’ve really been impressed with his leadership.”
They’ve needed it thanks to the Hornets’ growing list of walking wounded. It’s been quite the challenge with injuries to Mark Williams (foot) and Brandon Miller (glute), on top of Josh Green nursing a sore left Achilles that kept him out of the season opener and again against the Heat since it was the tail end of a back-to-back.
Green’s unavailability versus Miami was more of body maintenance, ensuring he doesn’t do too much too soon. So, technically the Hornets haven’t been whole yet, even dating back to training camp.
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“We’re in that mindset of we’re not going to make excuses,” Lee said. “We’re just going to make progress. And we’re going to figure it out. I have total faith and confidence and trust and faith in every guy in that locker room because I see what they do on a day-to-day basis. The work that we are doing here is pretty special and I’m excited for everybody to get their opportunity.
“I think people are staying ready when it comes to the mindset that you have to have in this league — next man up. The opportunities are always going to come back around to you sometimes. And so I think our guys have attacked it with the right mindset.”
Which gives him a good feeling that when the Hornets eventually get whole, this stretch will wind up being beneficial and something they’ll look back on positively.
“For sure,” Lee said. “We’ll continue to just bolster our roster, have more depth. But yes,we are going to continue to grow and it’s going to be nice getting some of those guys back.”
Here’s some more notable things the Hornets said after their second defeat in a row:
On what they’ve learned about themselves so far:
“They love competing, they love ball, they love to do it together,” Lee said. “It’s a great group. We’ll just continue to learn and grow. We just had three great games that were close game situations that we can learn from. That’s what we’ve talked a ton about with our team, that last year a ton of games came down to one to three possessions.
“This is just what you have to be able to do to win those games. We’ll continue to study and learn and grow, and I’m freaking excited about it.”
On Tidjane Salaün’s debut
“I thought his first stretch, it definitely looked like it was his first NBA action,” Lee said. “But from an energy and an effort standpoint, it was really high. Just understanding the league and actions and personnel tendencies wasn’t quite there in the first half, but I think once he settled in and got his feet wet the second stint he has in the second half was much better. He was more active, helped us rebound, helped us guard a lot more.”
Salaün said: “It was good that I could play a little bit. I would have liked a better result for this game for sure at home.”
On the Spectrum Center sellout crowd and atmosphere:
“Great atmosphere,” Miles Bridges said. “I’m happy Buzz City came out and I wish we would’ve gotten a win. I hope all the games are like that this year.”
Lee said: “I was telling someone earlier that I thought the purple & teal day had really good turnout. I felt like our preseason game from what I’ve normally seen from some other places, I also thought we had great crowd support. Going around the city, it just seems like there’s a great buzz right now.”
Martin said: “I loved it, man. Every time we have that crowd in here to help us and get us over the hump, especially on a back-to-back, for everybody to show up, it was awesome. When we have the crowd like that and everybody’s here and that loud, I feel like our crowd is next to none.
“We’re going to do what we can to make them show up, and we’re more than appreciative that they take their time to come and support us.”
