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The Charlotte Hornets will be without their franchise star for the foreseeable future.
LaMelo Ball is dealing with a calf strain and will be re-evaluated in 2-3 weeks for the injury. This is a tough blow for Ball, who has been showing out in 2024-25.
The youngster is averaging a career-high 31.1 points to go along with 6.9 assists and 5.4 rebounds while shooting 35.6% from three-point land. LaMelo missed Friday's NBA Cup clash with the New York Knicks due to the calf injury. The Hornets have lost four in a row and sit at 6-13 overall.
While Charlotte is clearly struggling, Ball has been a massive bright spot. He has a whopping 39.9% usage rate, which is a mile higher than anyone on the Hornets roster. For reference, Brandon Miller sits at 27%. The second-year forward is going to have the ball in his hands a lot more with LaMelo sidelined.
Before suffering the injury, Ball was on quite the tear, averaging 40.2 points across the last four games. That included a 50-point outburst against the Milwaukee Bucks on November 23. The 23-year-old's creativity and versatile skillset have been on full display.
Calf strains can be a tricky injury. Again, he will be re-evaluated in a few weeks. We could see Ball out for a month depending on his progression. The Hornets also just lost Grant Williams to an ACL tear, one of their key defenders.
Charlotte's loss to the Knicks on Friday officially eliminated them from the In-Season Tournament. They've also dropped four straight and have gone just 2-8 in their last 10 contests. The Hornets could barely win with Ball on the court — it will be even more of a struggle now.
LaMelo was limited to just 22 games in the 2023-24 season because of health issues, averaging 23.9 points, 8.0 dimes, and 5.1 boards. Hopefully, he can get back on the court sooner rather than later and help his squad stay out of the Eastern Conference gutter.
