Hornets have found a perfect pairing for LaMelo Ball. Don’t worry about his wrist.
Holding out his left hand in a fashion that would’ve made Darth Vader proud, LaMelo Ball headed to the Charlotte Hornets’ bench with that infectious smile of his beaming.
Ball had just used his off hand to toss in a shot, continuing an impressive performance that mirrored the brilliance flashed for a good portion of his rookie season. Those kind of scenes were missing six months ago, back in May when Ball defied the initial believed timetable after fracturing his right wrist in mid-March and suited up for the final 11 games. The Hornets were in the playoff hunt and Ball wanted to do his part to propel them to those postseason heights.
He wasn’t the same. And it was obvious with every painstaking missed shot or passive play.
That’s why the Hornets’ Monday preseason opener, a 113-97 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, was a big deal. Ball undoubtedly looked comfortable and appeared to be more like the silky-smooth playmaker fans grew accustomed to seeing during the impressive portion of his rookie of the year campaign. Assertive and under control, he got the Hornets in gear early and flourished in almost every aspect, needing little time to leave his imprints on the action.
“Well, he didn’t miss a beat,” Hornets coach James Borrego said. “I thought that he showed that he’s put in the work. He’s a confident kid. We know that. It was great to see him back out there on the floor healthy. He’s a great competitor. Just for us to have him back out there on the floor is a great boost for our organization. So he’s got a long way to go. He understands that.
“But I’ve seen him take a step as well. We’ve talked about that since the end of last season. He’s worked on his body and he’s come out and played confident basketball. And when the lights are on, this kid performs at a high level. And I think we saw that again tonight.”
Floaters. Stepping behind the 3-point line to nail a jumper. Hard drives to the rim. Pinpoint fastbreak passes. Alley-oops to Miles Bridges, who was inserted into the new-look starting lineup that also features Mason Plumlee. Stepping in the passing lanes and swiping the ball on occasion. Crashing the glass.
Ball was on it against the Thunder. He was everywhere, registering 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting, and collecting 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in 21 minutes.
“It’s good to have him back,” Bridges said. “You see him hitting his long floaters, his 3-point shot, passing the ball wherever he’s fitting it. So it’s good to have Melo back to 100%. He’s a superstar. He does what he does, so for us to have somebody like that back healthy, it’s good for us.”
By inserting Bridges into the game’s opening lineup, it should only boost their chances of further becoming one of the NBA’s most electrifying duos. The synergy of Ball and Bridges is unquestioned and downright frightening considering they’ve played together for less than a calendar year.
It’s almost like they have some kind of mental telepathy with each other. Taking that into consideration, rather than bringing Bridges’ energy off the bench, it’s instead smart to squeeze every ounce out of that blossoming partnership with the two on the floor from the jump.
“Just us starting out the game, he’s looking for me, I’m looking for him,” Bridges said. “We all move the ball, but we give each other the eye contact and he passes me the ball. So it’s good. It’s good to know that starting off the game, you have somebody that wants you to score the ball.”
The possibilities with those two could be endless.
Now, this is also the point where it should be noted it’s preseason. And one game. But the Hornets’ outing shines the light on their tantalizing potential if things break right for them in 2021-22. It was that encouraging, buoyed by the time they’ve put in over these past few weeks leading into training camp.
Perhaps when it’s all said and done, Ball and his teammates can point to their chemistry-building sessions that began in earnest late in the summer prior to their full-team workout in South Florida last month as a reason for their success. The usual sloppiness associated with a preseason game wasn’t as prevalent for the Hornets, which could be associated with their excursion to the Sunshine State.
“I think it was definitely helpful, even guys being in Charlotte really clicking before even coming to Miami and then coming back to Charlotte,” Hornets guard Terry Rozier said. “All that stuff matters. Every game in the gym matters for us. We’ve got a lot of young guys, but we’ve got a lot of guys that want to get better. So with that and being in the gym, sky’s the limit for us.”
Same goes for a healthy LaMelo, too.
This story was originally published October 5, 2021 at 8:17 AM with the headline "Hornets have found a perfect pairing for LaMelo Ball. Don’t worry about his wrist.."
