James Borrego to give hard look at moving LaMelo Ball into starting lineup

LaMelo Ball’s days as a spark plug off the bench for the Charlotte Hornets may be numbered after Friday.

While Charlotte was blown out in a largely lifeless effort against the Memphis Grizzlies, Ball was a bright spot for the Hornets, particularly in the first half. He finished with 15 points, six assists, three rebounds, two steals and was one of only a handful of players to finish with a non-negative plus-minus in a game the Hornets lost by double digits.

On the flip side, Devonte’ Graham and Terry Rozier shot a combined 2-for-21 from the field as the starters continue to struggle. With changes potentially looming in the near future for the Hornets, Ball could find a way into the starting lineup.

“We’ll continue to evaluate our roster and our lineup,” head coach James Borrego said after the Hornets lost by 15 to a Grizzlies team that suited up just nine players. “I’m looking at everything right now in evaluation. We’re only five games in now. I’ll continue to evaluate and that’s one area I got to continue to look at and look at it hard. That’s not the only one but I’ll continue to look into that area.”

Graham, in particular, has struggled mightily this season. After Friday, he is shooting 27.4% from the field and 30.6% from the arc, averaging 9.8 points per game after a breakout season last year in which he scored 18.2 points per game.

“I’m not making shots,” Graham said. “I can’t blame it on nothing else because, I mean, that’s just looking for an excuse. I’m just not making shots so that’s just on me.”

Graham’s role has changed with the addition of not only Ball but Gordon Hayward as well. His usage rate has dropped from 24.3% to 17.9%. He’s taking nearly 2.5 fewer shots per game this season.

None of that, though, were excuses Graham was interested in leaning on after his 1-of-10 performance against the Grizzlies.

“No,” Graham said when asked if he was getting the same shots as last season, “but that’s what happens when you bring other guys in. You have to adjust and I’ve been doing that my entire career, adjusting to whoever we bring in from high school to college. It’s just me not making shots. It has nothing to do with who’s around me or the plays we call or whatever the case may be.”

“I believe in Devonte’,” Borrego added. “Obviously last year, the ball was in his hands a ton. The usage was extremely high. He knew he was going to get touches. He just doesn’t have as many touches. I don’t want to speculate…you just got to let this play out a little bit. I believe that his shot will come around. He’s a heck of a shooter. I believe in him.

“We just got to stick with it,” he continued. “Nobody’s going to panic here. We believe in Devonte’ and we trust him.”

In Graham’s defense, he hasn’t been the sole reason for the starter’s struggles. With Cody Zeller out injured, no lineup has played more than the current starting lineup’s 46 minutes. However, their net rating of -25.6 is worst by some margin of any five-man lineup with at least five minutes played together this season.

The four-man lineup of Graham-Rozier-Gordon Hayward-P.J. Washington, which has been the constant this season, has played 67 minutes together and has a net rating of -10.9 after Friday.

“A lot of it is on the offensive end,” Borrego said when asked about what’s led to multiple slow starts this season. “We just can’t find rhythm offensively. We’re not getting good looks or we’re turning it over. Look, it’s something we got to address. There are some offensive areas that we got to refocus on and there’s not a lot of practice time here. We’re just going to have to do it through game reps and we get another shot tomorrow night.”

Ball’s strong play has certainly made his inclusion into the starting lineup a conversation worth having. Since his scoreless debut in Cleveland, Ball is averaging 14.0 points, while hitting 50% of his shots and 52.6% of his threes. He’s also added 5.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists in that span.

The condensed schedule doesn’t lend itself to easing into any changes in lineups. Add in the fact that the Hornets are set for a two-game series against the Sixers into next week and there could ample reason to wait on moving Ball into the starting lineup. A matchup against First Team All-Defense honoree Ben Simmons would be throwing Ball in the deep end.

A matchup against Trae Young and the Hawks in the middle of next week would be far more appealing. It would also set up a LaMelo-Lonzo duel next Friday, which has storylines written all over it.

For now, the Hornets are waiting, though the wait may not last much longer.