What has driven Hornets fans crazy is the lack of minutes we’ve seen Lamelo Ball receive in the first 4 games of the season.
Yes, he has shown flashes here and there of what he can become when given playing time, but nevertheless, we have wanted to see the chains be released from Ball.
Head Coach James Borrego did just that on Wednesday night, with the Hornets laying a smack down in Dallas versus Luka Doncic and the Mavericks, 118-99. The third overall pick revealed why he deserves more minutes when he’s locked in the game. Ball dropped 22 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists to just 2 turnovers in 30 minutes of game action off the bench; Shooting 70% from the field, including 4 of 5 from downtown. This is what Coach Borrego needs going forward when distributing minutes to Ball.
More importantly, Lamelo showed confindence and poise, something Coach admitted after the win. “Lamelo’s showing growth every game”.
It seems during the Hornets 2-game winning streak, they’re playing with different lineups to see who meshes well with who. Notably, this is all without Malik Monk, who has yet to touch the court this season after battling Covid. It has been rumored recently that the Hornets putting Monk on the trade market.
The difference
In victory, the key is always battling on the boards. The Hornets won that battle 50-40. Charlotte shoot above 50 percent from the field versus the Mavericks’ 39 percent – 60 of those points coming from the pine. The Hornets are making a strong case that they’ll be a more balanced team this season.
We saw the blueprint for attacking the Mavericks during last season’s bubble playoff. Go right at Luka Doncic. The star point guard committed 3 first half fouls, which limited his ability to be more aggressive. Coach Borrego’s game-plan was obvious, make him guard and attack off the perimeter.
The Hornets got their first road win of the season and in addition to back to back victories over two playoff teams from a season ago.
Up Next
The Hornets welcome Memphis Grizzlies to town Friday night. The Grizzlies will be without star point guard and rookie of the year Ja Morant who suffered a gruesome ankle injury several nights ago.