James Borrego says Hornets are at their best when LaMelo Ball thrives
With under a second left and the Hornets up three points, LaMelo Ball could barely wait to take the ball from the official’s hands for the in-bound. Once it was finally handed to him, he just as swiftly tossed it off an unsuspecting Domantas Sabonis, whose back was turned to Ball, before watching it careen off his elbow as the game clock expired.
Call it savvy, call it heady, call it brashness, call it fearlessness. Whatever label is given to it, though, it was the final touch on an impressive night for Ball as he returned to form after a stretch of poor performances.
“He scares me, too,” Borrego said with a smile after Friday’s 108-105 win over the Pacers. “But I love him. I think he’s fearless. I think he’s got great confidence. I don’t know what he’s going to do with the ball, but I’m going to continue to trust him. He’s got to make the right play but he does play with the fearless abandonment. And that’s what makes him special. “
After a span of seven straight games scoring in double figures earlier in the season, Ball had taken a step back as the Hornets dropped six of seven games heading into Friday. During that span, he averaged just 9.1 points, 5.6 assists and 4.3 rebounds on 38.5% shooting from the field.
From the moment he took the court midway through the first quarter on Monday, Ball looked back to his aggressive self. Even with his shot not falling from deep, Ball finished with 16 points, making all seven of his 2-point attempts, to go with seven rebounds and six assists in 30 minutes.
He was at the center of much that went right on Friday, a recurring trend for the Hornets this season in victories. In wins this season, Ball is averaging 13.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists after the win over the Pacers.
“I thought he came in and gave us great minutes especially with his pace and energy,” Borrego said. “When he stepped on the floor tonight, our pace really picked up, make and miss. We got out, we got some easy buckets and that helped keep some momentum for us going. We didn’t hit any dry spells. So, I think offensively it’s just his pace, his ability to get in the paint, kick out, create easy shots for his teammates.
“He played extremely well. I’ll look at the five turnovers and coach him there,” he added. “But there’s going to be a few of those with LaMelo. I can live with a couple. There are probably a few others I’ll have a little chat with him about but I thought it was very good for us tonight.”
His aggressiveness helped him overcome his five turnovers and 0-of-6 performance from 3-point range. With his shot not falling from range, Ball attacked the rim relentlessly both off the dribble and on the offensive glass, resulting in his huge putback dunk.
LAMELO ON YA HEAD pic.twitter.com/qIOWLO9BxN
— FOX Sports South (@FOXSportsSouth) January 30, 2021
“I mean, he’s just got to be aggressive,” Devonte’ Graham said. “He brings that pace when he comes in the game and it keeps the defense on their heels with his outlets and the pitch-aheads and different things like that, coming down in transition even after they score, getting to the paint and kicking out. He’s just got to stay in attack mode and good things will happen.”
His aggressiveness set the tone for the bench as a whole as the Hornets finished with 33 points from the reserves. Malik Monk and Miles Bridges combined for 15 points and, in eight minutes together, the trio had a net rating of +50.0.
“I mean, bottom line, the bench has played better,” Borrego said. “There was no tweak here as far as minutes. We had a few different lineups, maybe for a minute or two there, but in general, they just played better. They played well. They played up to their potential, their greatness and they were a big part of the win.
“We need that every night and I’m really proud of this group because Gordon goes 4-for-12 from the field, scores 11 and we found a way to beat the Pacers in a very close game,” he added. “Other guys stepped up tonight. Bottom line, we’ve asked them to step up, they stepped up tonight -starters, bench guys – even with Gordon not having a great night.”
As the Hornets head into a stretch of games against some of the elites in both conferences, Charlotte will need Ball to continue playing as he did on Friday.
“When we’ve played our best basketball this season, he’s been a part of it,” Borrego said. “You guys know that. We’ve seen it. When we were in that four-game winning streak, he was a major part of it. We need LaMelo to be at his best. We need him to be great and he has that ability. I thought tonight he showed the effects that he could have on the game and especially a game like this against a very good team.”
