LaMelo Ball injured in Hornets’ loss to Lakers. What’s wrong with Charlotte’s star?
Although it may not feel like it, in part because the All-Star break is two weeks away, the Charlotte Hornets are already at the season’s midpoint.
In assessing what’s transpired over these last four months, Charles Lee was far from downtrodden, keeping that same cheery perspective.
“I’ve been extremely happy with how things have gone for us considering the cards that we’ve been dealt, and all the things we’ve had to juggle and deal with,” the coach said. “I love that we just keep making progress. There hasn’t been an excuse made for an injury or a missed shot or a turnover or a bad performance one night.
“It’s just been, ‘How do we get better? How do we keep growing together? How can the next man up be ready to make the most of his opportunity and help our team grow while also helping that individual grow too?’ So, I’ve been really happy with everyone’s daily approach and being obsessed with daily improvement while also competing at a really high level. We’re probably toward the top of the list in terms of clutch games, so it just shows that we are right there.”
Perhaps, but as Monday night’s 112-107 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at Spectrum Center indicates, there’s still plenty of room for growth. Especially when it comes to playing against the NBA’s elite, which is what the Hornets (12-31) are facing during a huge chunk of their season-long nine-game homestand.
And they still can’t catch a break with injuries.
LaMelo Ball, the Hornets’ star point guard and energetic sparkplug, went down in the second quarter with a sprained left ankle and didn’t return. Ball got tangled up with Los Angeles’ Jarred Vanderbilt after sinking a 3-pointer, and as he backpedaled holding his follow through, he stepped on Vanderbilt’s right foot and immediately crumpled to the court, weakened by the contact.
He rose and intentionally fouled Austin Reaves before walking off on his own power and heading directly to the locker room followed by head athletic trainer Quentin Sawyer.
“I came in here pretty quickly afterwards, so I know they’re still obviously doing some evaluation,” Lee said. “I think he shot the ball and backed up to get back on defense and stepped on a foot. We’ll see what happens (Tuesday) as he comes in for treatment and stuff. But he did a great job of being in the locker room and being engaged as the guys came off the court.”
Ball’s latest ailment adds more misery to a season that has the Hornets among the top six teams in the league in games missed due to injury. He’s one of the few bright spots, playing at an elite level that had him in consideration for a starting spot in February’s All-Star game.
Averaging 28.9 points, he’s the NBA’s fourth-leading scorer and is one of only seven players posting 25 points, five rebounds and five steals this season, joining Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dallas’ Luka Doncic, Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Boston’s Jayson Tatum.
He also ranks first in fourth-quarter points (8.7), field goals (3.0) and made 3-pointers (1.2). Plus, the Hornets’ net rating improves by 8.5 points with him on the court, a mark that ranks in the league’s 88th percentile leaguewide. Their offensive rating also increased by 11.8 points and their turnover rate dips by 2.4%.
As the main facilitator, he typically has the ball in his hands and that responsibility was shared when he got banged up, with Miles Bridges pacing things in Ball’s absence.
“That’s what coach wants me to do,” Bridges said. “He wants me to attack and if I don’t have anything, find my teammates. So, that’s what I was doing.
“Just attacking more and creating for my teammates. Try to get Mark (Williams) involved and everybody else. Just tell everybody to shoot with confidence.”
With or without Ball, the Hornets must do something to combat the slow opening quarters that have troubled them in a chunk of their defeats. Anthony Davis made NBA history against them in the first quarter, becoming the first player to post 21 points and 11 rebounds in a quarter.
“We didn’t have the physicality we should have had to start the game,” Williams said. “We should have been the team to throw the first punch. And that starts with me. I’ve got to do a better job coming out the game, not letting them – A.D. in particular — get into a flow because once he was rolling that kind of got their teammates involved.
“I think just starting the game with a little more juice, more physicality and I think the result might have been a little different.”
Instead, it’s why the Hornets remain in the educational phase, trying to master things, and it’s been apparent throughout the last two weeks there’s incremental progress, even despite the kinds of early lapses like they had against the Lakers.
“I think it’s just us really buying into what the coaches are giving us before games,” Josh Green said, “and how we need to play the games, and being able to replicate it on the court. I think the guys are really starting to buy in, and doing that and we understand we need to be together and move as one. And I think the guys are really moving in that direction.”
Thanks to the five victories they’ve accumulated in January, by far their best month in an otherwise rollercoaster campaign that began with so much potential and promise in October before the injury bug ran rampant.
“I think winning plays a big role in that,” Green said. “There’s nothing better than winning, in anything in life. So, with anybody, it’s an added motivation when you see the success. You want to continue to do that. At the end of the day, we have a young team but everyone here is competitive.
“There’s nobody here that wants to lose. We have a very competitive group. These guys want to play every day. Those are the types of guys I want to go to battle with.”
This story was originally published January 27, 2025 at 10:34 PM.
