LaMelo Ball continues to improve on a nightly basis for the Charlotte Hornets. This is becoming apparent in so many ways, one such example being a recent game this past Friday against the Utah Jazz.
LaMelo Ball finished with a career high 34 points on 14-27 shooting. Sure, he took a lot of shots, but every single one was necessary to try and prevent his team from sinking lower in the Eastern Conference standings. However, the Jazz defeated the Hornets 138-121. The Jazz currently hold the NBA's best record and 3-point shooting percentage, so this was not going to be a cakewalk for Charlotte. There are plenty of bright spots for Hornets coach James Borrego to carry forward, however.
Terry Roizer returned to the starting lineup, which allowed for Borrego to start LaMelo Ball and Devonte' Graham alongside him. The first time this season we saw all three guards share the floor to begin a game and it seems like it may stick.
“I'm very comfortable with having all three guards on the floor,” Borrego said. “It is always a plus to have three guys who can create for themselves and others.”
Graham exited the game early with a groin strain. He was off to a hot start with a quick 11 points in 11 minutes. Despite the injury to another starting guard for the Hornets, it was good to see Borrego take a chance with LaMelo Ball and a new lineup that could score and facilitate for others.
LaMelo Ball also seems to be embracing this new lineup, saying “its hard to defend three guards in a line up at once.”
The floor is more spaced out with those three, Gordon Hayward, and Cody Zeller on the floor.
Another bright spot to highlight was LaMelo Ball's playmaking. He has had tons of highlight reel dimes throughout the season and tonight was no different, except that he did not turn the ball over. Earlier on in the season coach Borrego was bothered by Ball's turnover rate and began to cut back on the amount of minutes he was receiving.
“If you’re turning the ball over five times in 16 minutes, that ain’t gonna cut it for me. If you’re doing that on the offensive end, you better be bringing something defensively,” Borrego said after a loss to the Chicago Bulls.
It is safe to say he is very pleased with LaMelo Ball's most recent performance.
“I like the stat – eight assists and zero turnovers. That’s big for us, we need that. When I see that ratio, good things are going to happen for us most times than not, no matter if the shots go in or not. He continued to play the right way, he gave us a shot back in this game and played with great poise and confidence there in the second half especially. So, I loved his spirit tonight,” Borrego said.
LaMelo Ball seems to be living up to the hype of being the number three pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Through his three first starts he averaged 23.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6 assists, and a steal per game, not to mention a ridiculous 64 percent from the field and 53 from three.
With Graham going down, LaMelo Ball's numbers should continue to trend in the right direction.
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