LaMelo Ball joins rare company, but reoccurring theme haunts Hornets in loss to Orlando
Tipping off a grueling stretch of four games in six days, all at the friendly confines of Spectrum Center and sandwiched around the start of the holiday season, Charles Lee was in a festive mood.
Even if the Charlotte Hornets’ first-year coach was without five of his top rotation players, leaving them shorthanded once again.
“We are thankful for this week,” Lee said. “It will be nice to play at home in front of our wonderful fans, celebrate with our families that come into town. We have some injuries to deal with, but the part that we will focus on is just daily improvement, and finding an opportunity in each one of these games to keep getting better and keep learning about our group and ourselves, people stepping up and having the opportunity to play that might not have been able to play.
“I think it’ll be a lot of different lineups that you see out there, but the thing that won’t change from the group is the fight and the competitiveness and the togetherness.”
That was evident in the homestand opener, which came against a Southeast Division rival that pounded them in embarrassing fashion in their matchup in Florida two weeks prior. But Monday night’s 95-84 loss to the Orlando Magic didn’t get things off to a great start, ruining another stellar offensive performance by LaMelo Ball.
“Limit our turnovers — I think that’s the biggest thing that hurt us,” Brandon Miller said. “I think without the turnovers we definitely win this game.”
Hard to argue with that.
Turnovers were the main difference, leading to the Hornets’ downfall and aiding Orlando racking up 37 points in the critical fourth quarter, transforming Charlotte’s four-point lead into a comfortable cushion. If it weren’t for their 27 miscues, which Orlando cashed into 33 points — compared to the four points Charlotte scored off the Magic’s eight turnovers — the Hornets (6-11) would’ve been in good position to extend their season-best four-game winning streak at home.
Without a good chunk of their firepower, though, the Hornets couldn’t overcome the errors. Minus Grant Williams (torn ACL), Mark Williams (foot), Nick Richards (shoulder), Miles Bridges (knee) and Tre Mann, Lee had to mix and match, even going with a lineup that included Nick Smith Jr. and rookie KJ Simpson early in the fourth quarter.
“Turnovers were a big part of the game,” Ball said. “If we cut down on that, we would have been straight.”
Or at least in a better position to keep the winning vibes at home going. It’s an area the Hornets have to correct. Quickly.
“We’ve just got to find a way to maybe have our spacing be a little better, maybe I’ve got to call a couple more plays,” Lee said. “So, I think it’s a little bit on me and a little bit on them that we can clean up.”
LaMelo is still balling
How did Ball follow his first 50-point game? Just 44 points, that’s all.
In such a groove that he flirted with a triple-double in the first half, Ball kept his impressive streak going, racking up buckets with moves that set social media ablaze all night.
“I’m pretty much just listening to the coaches,” Ball said, “just going out there, trying my best.”
It feels like he accomplishes something every game, etching his name into rare company. The latest feat is Ball becoming the second-fastest player in NBA history to reach 600 made career 3-pointers, doing in 201 games compared to the 184 it took Duncan Robinson.
Ball, who snatched nine rebounds and distributed seven assists against the Magic, also became the first player in franchise history to score at least 35 points in three straight games, showing he’s still pushing his game to new heights.
“I just think that he’s continuing to find his spots,” Lee said. “I think the team is doing a great job screening for him and getting him open. I thought he continues to trust the pass. Sometimes when they put two on the ball, he’s hitting the seam pass and allowing that seam guy to make the appropriate reads. And sometimes he makes something out of nothing. I just think that he was great offensively.”
That’s not all, though.
“I want to highlight some of his defensive efforts, too,” Lee said. “I thought he had active hands. The defensive rebounds he had where our bigs are locked up and wrestling with the other big and he flies in for a couple rebounds. So, I thought he helped us in a lot of different areas.”
Miller is enjoying the view.
“He’s in great rhythm, him just being our leader that we need,” Miller said. “He’s going to do everything he can to help everybody win this basketball game as a team. Just following his lead, I think we are going to be great.”
Missing Grant Williams
About 90 minutes before tipoff, Grant Williams entered the arena slowly, limping with the use of crutches. It was just a little over 24 hours after the official diagnosis got released indicating a torn right ACL ended the Charlotte native’s season.
Don’t expect Williams to just disappear, though.
“I’ll be around,” he told The Observer.
To get a true idea of how much Williams’ loss is going to hurt the Hornets and how they’ll have big shoes to fill, just listen to Lee’s first public comments about Williams’ injury.
“It’s definitely emotional,” Lee said. “I kind of caught myself feeling a little emotional after the Milwaukee game because he’s had such a great impact on everything we’ve done, especially since I’ve been hired here. He’s one of the veteran voices in the locker room that’s just been in a lot of different moments and had a lot of different experiences with the several teams he’s been with.
“He’s been in playoff environments and he’s been around the superstars that we have growing right here in front of our eyes. The Celtics’ superstars, the Mavericks’ superstars, he’s just seen the landscape of the league and he gets it. He’s given our team so much of a boost.”
Lee wasn’t done praising the versatile combo forward who averaged 10.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 16 games this season, which includes seven games.
“With all the injuries we’ve had lately, I’ve asked him to play probably every position on the court and he’s guarded every position on the court,” Lee said. “He’s doing different things offensively for us, he’s taking charges. I’m just so thankful as a first-year coach to have a guy that’s been through so much and gives so much of himself.
“He does it physically, he does it vocally, he does it with his everyday approach with how he carries himself as a professional. He’s created a great vibe in our locker room and in this organization, so that will be missed. I think we have to live in it for a little bit and actually soak it up, and embrace everything he’s given to us and we need to give to him on his road to recovery.”
Mark Williams, Nick Richards progressing
It appears the Hornets’ main centers are inching closer to a return.
Mark Williams and Richards were assigned to the G League Greensboro Swarm for a quick rehabilitation stint to assist with the recovery from their respective injuries. The two practiced with Swarm at the Novant Health Training Center in the afternoon before joining their teammates on the bench in street clothes and watching them take on the Magic.
Williams, who’s closing in on a full calendar year without playing in a competitive NBA game, began ramping up his activity last week as he rehabs a foot injury that’s kept him out since late September. Richards has been sidelined since Nov. 1 with a cartilage fracture in the first rib underneath his right clavicle.
Spending time with the Swarm was the latest step in the plan to get each on the court again, participating in game action.
“I think that it’s another positive step for those guys,” Lee said. “They’ve done a ton of individual work and they’ve increased the intensity of their workouts over the last few weeks. It’s a good environment for them to just continue to get some work.
“There was probably more contact in this type of setting than they’ve had in a while, so we’ll see how they show up (Tuesday morning) and we’ll continue to evaluate them.”
This story was originally published November 25, 2024 at 10:56 PM.
