LaMelo Ball isn’t himself. And if that continues, Charlotte Hornets have no chance
As the Charlotte Hornets’ once-promising season swirls toward the drain, the scariest part of it all isn’t Mason Plumlee at the free throw line — although that remains a terrifying sight on its own.
The scariest part is that LaMelo Ball doesn’t look like himself. And when that happens, these Hornets really have no shot.
Ball said something interesting in his postgame news conference after Charlotte took another uppercut to the chin Wednesday, losing 115-101 to Boston at home. It was the Hornets’ 13th loss in their past 17 games.
Said Ball after a night in which he had six turnovers in the first half: “I’m not playing my game. Trying to do other stuff. Pretty much letting people get in my head.”
Ball wasn’t specific about what other people have gotten in his head when asked more about that quote. But he did say that he was “just not being me, pretty much.”
The Hornets were 28-22 after 50 games and a contender for an actual playoff spot in the Eastern Conference (teams 1-6). They are now 32-35 entering Friday’s game at New Orleans and in real danger of falling out of the play-in tournament (teams 7-10). They sit in ninth place, barely in front of Atlanta.
Ball remains Charlotte’s best player, a newly minted all-star and a staple on social media and SportsCenter. But the gulf between the 20-year-old Ball and a veteran superstar who can truly take over an NBA game has been far too apparent this week. Kyrie Irving torched Charlotte for 50 points on Tuesday as Brooklyn whipped the Hornets. Jayson Tatum lit the Hornets up for 44 more on Wednesday.
Ball, meanwhile, made a few dazzling plays in both games but wasn’t nearly as good as he needed to be. His defense and his decision-making were inconsistent. Against Boston, he got into early foul trouble again. And he was a combined 2-for-12 from 3-point range in those back-to-back games, with a number of those shots launched from Steph Curry-esque range.
Don’t get me wrong: Ball shouldn’t be benched. Charlotte needs Ball on the court. The Hornets just need him to be better.
Ball may get some help as early as next week, as Gordon Hayward will likely return to the lineup soon. Hayward is overpaid, sure, but he’s also a glue guy who helps the Hornets in all sorts of ways. It’s no coincidence that the Hornets started to lose more regularly when Hayward limped off the court with his latest injury, a sprained ankle on Feb. 7.
Every NBA team gets beaten up by the rigors of an 82-game season. The Hornets haven’t responded well for weeks now. They won only two games the entire month of February.
And to veer off for a second into terrifying territory: Plumlee at the free throw line has turned into a horror show.
Have you ever seen this before? In Wednesday night’s game, Plumlee went to the line for two free throws. He missed both, which is hardly surprising. Plumlee is shooting a career-low 36% from the line this year.
But a Boston player stepped into the lane on the second free throw, which meant Plumlee got another attempt.
And many in the home crowd actually groaned at that chance to get an extra free point, because they knew what would probably happened. By that time, Plumlee had missed 3 of his 4 free-throw attempts, and his only successful attempt had banked into the basket. And the groaners were right. Plumlee missed again.
Plumlee (who to be fair, had 15 rebounds and six assists Wednesday) wasn’t made available by the Hornets for an interview after the game. But something weird is going on there. He was a 67% free throw shooter for Detroit last season. His career percentage is 55.7 -- not great, but not Ben Wallace territory either. Not until now, when he’s having easily the worst foul-shooting season of his nine-year NBA career.
Said James Borrego of Plumlee’s free-throw woes: “Where we’re at in the season, he’s just got to continue to shoot them and believe. There’s not a whole lot of mechanical, technical things we can do at this point in the season. But he’s proven he can make free throws (previously). We just need his head in the right space. He’s got to step up and shoot them. You know, we trust him. We believe in him. And that’s all we got right now.”
Exactly. For the Hornets, this is all they’ve got. Their heads have got to get into the right space.
The trade deadline has passed. The only help can come from within.
Plumlee needs to make a few more free throws. Hayward has to get back on the court.
But most of all, LaMelo Ball has to shine.
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 11:38 AM.
