Before the Charlotte Hornets’ total beatdown of the Utah Jazz on Saturday, some of the discussions surrounding the team centered on a controversial claim from Kendrick Perkins. The retired center recently spoke of the rift that has grown between LaMelo Ball and Charles Lee. Based on what we saw on Saturday, though, the reality seems much different from his allegations.
In an appearance on the Road Trippin’ Show, where Perkins also reported that the Hornets have been inexplicably tanking Ball’s value by unnecessarily putting him on a minutes restriction, he argued that there is “smoke over there.” He asserted that the Hornets have to choose between Ball and Lee because “the two guys don’t see eye to eye.”
The talking head didn’t stop there, saying that based on his sources, Melo was irate over the decision to put him on the bench against the Indiana Pacers. Perkins claimed that the Hornets star could be heard cursing Lee in the hallway after the loss.
Only time will tell whether his story turns out to be accurate, although it’s worth noting that he doesn’t exactly have a pristine track record as an NBA insider.
A fiery response from LaMelo Ball and the Hornets
Ball, Lee, or anyone from the Hornets probably won’t waste their time refuting the rumors stemming from Perkins’s statements. However, based on what Ball and Lee have said after the Pacers bout, having the point guard come off the bench seems like a mutual decision. Charlotte’s impressive win over the Jazz also shows there’s not much to worry about.
It didn’t take long for the squad to assert its dominance on Saturday. The starting lineup, consisting of Ball, Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, Miles Bridges, and Moussa Diabate, continued to prove why Lee should stick with it through the rest of the season. That five-man crew helped the Hornets run to a 22-8 lead in the game’s first five minutes.
Buzz City never looked back after that point. It finished the first quarter holding a 45-14 margin. The team led by as many as 47 in the first half, with the lead ballooning up to 57 at one point. The final score was 150-95.
Clearly, the Hornets cannot be taken lightly when they are at full strength. The return of Grant Williams, who had been sidelined for over a year, and Ryan Kalkbrenner, who had missed the previous 10 contests, gave them a needed morale boost.
Ball also appeared quite comfortable orchestrating Charlotte’s offense. If he has indeed had a falling out with Lee, that didn’t seem to be the case on Saturday. What we saw was a team laden with talent at key positions and that exudes the chemistry of a playoff squad.
Some might contend that it was just one game and that it came against an injury-riddled Jazz club. On the other hand, we also saw the Hornets hand the Oklahoma City Thunder arguably their worst loss this season several days ago.
So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if Charlotte manages to defy expectations and make a run toward a top-10 seed in the Eastern Conference by the end of the 2025-26 campaign.