LaMelo Ball didn’t start in Hornets’ loss to Indiana. What does it mean?
Just over eight minutes were remaining on the clock when the buzz kicked up inside Spectrum Center again, all because the usual main attraction was sauntering to the scorer’s table.
The patrons were thrilled that LaMelo Ball was about to check into the game, a different result than some 24 hours prior on that same hardwood. The Charlotte Hornets’ star point guard was able to check in this time because of a slight curveball with the starting lineup, which swapped Collin Sexton in as a starter for Ball.
Why?
As the Charlotte Observer reported, when facing games on consecutive nights, the team and Ball are trying to get creative in finding ways to maximize his availability. So, Ball may not start in both ends of back-to-backs, allowing him to be available more in the fourth quarter, just as he was in the Hornets’ 114-112 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.
“Just trying to find a way to get more creative with how we manage Melo’s minutes in order to keep him in a good place health-wise,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said. “And also just coming off of that last game, wanted to find a way that maybe we can have him in at the end of games.
“It helps us regulate his minutes, and then I thought he was able to play more minutes in the fourth quarter. So, he had great pop tonight, great energy, gave us a huge boost off the bench. I thought Collin did a really good job of stepping in there with that starting group and giving us exactly what we needed on both ends, too.”
It worked to an extent.
Coming off the bench for the first occasion since his rookie season in 2020, Ball posted 33 points, marking the most by a Hornets’ reserve this season. After logging only five fourth-quarter minutes and sitting for most of crunch time in their loss to Toronto on Wednesday, Ball was on the floor when it counted most.
But the Hornets couldn’t make enough plays in the waning seconds again and succumbed to Indiana. Sexton’s pull-up jumper off a feed from Ball fell short at the buzzer, sealing a rough loss prior to a nine-day road trip out west.
Ball took responsibility for the Hornets’ second defeat in as many nights, pointing to a failed alley-oop to Moussa Diabate with the Hornets (13-25) leading by three points with 1:03 left.
“I could finish the back end and (expletive) I take full responsibility for that,” Ball said. “I think that’s my fault. That last lob, could have dribbled that out and then there’s some silly possessions before that. And the last pass, I should have shot that instead of putting Bull (Sexton) in that position.”
Miles Bridges didn’t see it that way, though.
“Yeah, it’s not on Melo,” Bridges said. “Melo is the reason why we were in the game to begin with. I got rejected on the screen for (Pascal) Siakam, Moussa took the ball out (before a timeout was called). So, it just goes … it’s a full team effort. We all made mistakes that went into us losing.
“And we’re going to watch it on the film, but we just got to get better at that and not let it happen again.”
Add it to the Hornets’ list of recent growing pains.
“You think about how we lost last game,” Kon Knueppel said. “ (If) guy misses shot, (then) we win the game. Obviously, there’s a bunch of different plays that lead up to that. So, we know the collective. It’s not one play. It doesn’t come down with one play or one shot. The thing is we got to execute throughout the game.
“You don’t want the disappointment of one to turn into two. So, that’s hard for us because there’s two right there that are in our hands.”
At least Ball got back on track against the Pacers (7-31) and ignited the Hornets from the moment he checked in. His first action of the night came after about three minutes into the game, not long after going over to the exercise bike parked just outside the tunnel leading to their locker room, jumping on it while being advised by a member of the Hornets’ performance staff.
Staring at the Hornets in a 14-4 hole, Lee extended his right arm and pointed toward the vicinity of where Ball was trying to get warmed up, summoning him with 6:35 remaining in the first quarter. Ball quickly sprinted to the scorer’s table and checked in to applause from the crowd, likely unaware of the switch with the starting lineup.
Ball certainly didn’t have any issue getting into the action, posting a team-best 11 first-quarter points on the strength of making his first three attempts and banking in a running 3-pointer off the glass at the buzzer, signaling the conclusion of the game’s initial 12 minutes.
Chalk it up as another decision Lee has to make sitting at the end of the bench in his second season at the helm for the Hornets. He understands how that seat can get a bit hot, too, and won’t let any outside noise distract him from his greater vision.
“No, it’s been great,” Lee said. “It is an honor to be able to be the head coach of this team. I don’t take any second for granted. I love the competitive environment that I get to come to work with every day, the people I get to work with and push me to be better.
“Even in Year 2 with some of the tough decisions you have to make, you learn from them. … You go back, you watch it, you learn, you grow, and it’s been a lot of fun, a lot of different situations. But I feel like I’ve kind of grown as a coach, and the players have helped me grow and so has my staff.”
Here are some key takeaways from the Hornets’ loss to the Pacers:
Kon Knueppel still impressing
At this rate, Keith Tooley might need to get a residence in Charlotte. Especially given the lofty praise hurled Kon Knueppel’s way from Pacers coach Rick Carlisle.
Just as he did a month ago, Tooley — a representative for Kia — presented Knueppel with the Kia Eastern Conference rookie of the month award for December. And Knueppel, the fourth overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, already has an admirer in Carlisle.
The Hall of Fame coach was extremely complimentary when describing what’s most impressive about Knueppel, who got in foul trouble early and posted 18 points, not taking his first shot against Indiana until there was 10:35 left before halftime.
“I mean, the word is consistency,” Carlisle said. “He’s one of the most consistent rookie players I’ve seen ever. Unflappable, knows who he is, knows how to play within the system, understands his teammates. The level of skill is really, it’s way up there. With his ability to shoot at really probably four different levels — he’s a threat at the rim, he’s a sneaky good athlete, he makes 5-footers, 9-footers, 16-footers, and 30-footers, not to mention 25-footers.
“It’s fun to watch him play if you’re a pure fan of the game. There’s also a maturity level that he seems to have as a young player, which is very strong.”
Knueppel beamed slightly when those words were relayed to him.
“That’s really cool,” Knueppel said. “Obviously he’s been around for a long time and he’s had a lot of success everywhere he goes. And so that’s cool to hear.”
A short night for Brandon Miller
After sitting out against the Raptors, nursing a left knee contusion, Brandon Miller was back in the lineup. Turned out it didn’t last all that long, though.
Miller picked up his second technical foul of the game with 9:49 left in the third quarter, leading to an automatic ejection. He apparently wasn’t too pleased with a few calls during some of the previous possessions, such as when he was whistled for an offensive foul on Aaron Nesmith.
His absence left yet another hole in the quartet featuring him, Ball, Knueppel and Bridges. Let’s just say it’s been a bit difficult to get any kind of consistency with the key starters.
“Yeah, no, it helps a lot,” Lee said. “Continuity is one of those things that definitely helps some of the more veteran teams, some of the teams that we see at the top of the standings right now. When you’ve played together for a while, it just helps you on both ends of the court to know where each other are.
“But we don’t have that luxury as we have a younger group, have some guys injured, are always shuffling those things. So, I think we’re actually learning some other experiences of how to be flexible, how to be a little bit more open-minded, how to deal with some adversity. It’s going to bode well for us as we go through the rest of the season.”
This story was originally published January 8, 2026 at 9:55 PM with the headline "LaMelo Ball didn’t start in Hornets’ loss to Indiana. What does it mean?."
