LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets looks to shoot the ball against Buddy Hield of the Golden State Warriors in the third quarter at Chase Center. Lachlan Cunningham Getty Images
LaMelo Ball registered another stint as a reserve.
This time around, it came on the front end of a back-to-back.
Instead of starting in Saturday night’s 136-116 loss to the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center, the Charlotte Hornets’ star guard came off the bench for the second time this season, still keeping in tune with the staff’s attempt to maximize his availability in the fourth quarter.
Just over a week ago, when the Hornets first unveiled the idea of Ball not being in the game-opening lineup on consecutive nights, he didn’t start on the tail end against Indiana after being in his customary starting spot when they hosted Toronto 24 hours earlier.
With the Hornets taking on Denver on Sunday to conclude a lengthy nine-day, five-game road trip, coach Charles Lee elected to switch up the rotation and had Sion James open things in the backcourt alongside Brandon Miller. Ball posted 15 points to go with four rebounds and a pair of assists in 21 minutes, but there wasn’t much of a need for him in crunch time versus Golden State because the Hornets couldn’t keep pace with the Warriors.
Ball’s buddy, Miles Bridges, inched closer to climbing up the franchise ladder in a key category.
Bridges moved into a tie with Gerald Wallace for third place on the Hornets’ all-time scoring list. Bridges’ nine-point effort against the Warriors (24-19) left him at 7,437.
He still has a ways to go, though, before reaching second place thanks to the 9,839 points Dell Curry posted in his 10 seasons in purple and teal.
“Very proud for what Miles has been able to accomplish,” Lee said. “Obviously, some of it was before I got here, but it’s just testament to his availability, his durability, playing in so many games. Being able to have consistent effort, being able to have consistent production from a scoring standpoint … I’ve seen him grow.”
Head coach Charles Lee of the Charlotte Hornets looks on during a timeout during the game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Lachlan Cunningham Getty Images
In more than one area. It’s been noticeable for Lee.
“We talk about his vocal leadership,” Lee said, “but I think even for him, he’s had to take at times not as many play calls come his way. And I think that he is so willing to allow an extra play call to go to Brandon (Miller), or Kon (Knueppel) or to Melo. And he just plays so well off of those guys within the flow of the game without trying to force it.
“I think last year early in the year as he was trying to find his way at times, he would take a frustration shot or a shot like I haven’t touched it in a while. Common in the NBA. But I feel like he’s grown a ton with his just emotional maturity to understand what does the game need of him and what do we need of him. He’s just becoming such a well-rounded and mature scorer.”
Here’s what else of the note the Hornets (15-27) had to say in San Francisco:
On what caused the slow start:
“I think they got a lot of second-chance points,” Brandon Miller said. “I think we’ve just got to control our controllables. As far as the game and the shot making, we can’t really control that, but we control how many attempts they get, how many possessions they get and all the extra possessions. So, controlling that would be good.”
On Brandon Miller’s growth:
“He’s made huge (gains) this year,” Lee said. “And two things come to mind. No. 1, his mindset. Wanting to become an elite two-way player. I feel like he has said that more and more this year and he’s actually really embracing it, and he’s actually having the actions behind it to show how badly he wants to do that. And the second thing is just his overall strength and physicality.
I think that that was a thing for him last year, especially when Melo and Miles were out. He had to take on a huge offensive load, I think he was getting the best defender and at times played well. Just the physicality of the game, when you have the best defender on you, kind of wore on him.
So this summer, it was a point of emphasis for him to get a little bit stronger to combat the physicality. … We’re seeing it more and more. On the defensive end I’m seeing him be more physical taking on some of the best players.”
On LaMelo Ball balancing playing on ball and of the ball:
“The word balance is really important,” Lee said. “I think any really good offense probably has a lot of balance in terms of who you are playing through and what kind of actions you are playing out of. But I think Melo’s done a great job of getting into the open court. He’s looking to be aggressive, and his head is always up and he’s looking for a Brandon (Miller) lob, he’s looking for a Miles (Bridges) lob, he’s looking for a Kon (Knueppel) early 3.
“He’s really done a great job of having the balance in the open court. And I think in transition, he understands in the halfcourt set when his number is called he can make some things happen. But he’s done a really good job of facilitating and finding that balance of when he needs to score and kind of understanding where the game is, too, and what we need out of him.”
Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets shoots the ball against Quinten Post of the Golden State Warriors in the third quarter at Chase Center. Lachlan Cunningham Getty Images
On what has improved in crunch time lately:
“The first thing that I’ve noticed from our group,” Lee said, “is defensively they’ve grown a lot and just gained a better understanding about the flow of the game, who’s got it going, what plays that they’ve been running. I’ve just realized that the heightened sense of awareness has definitely been raised with our group. It’s really good to see. The communication from the group continues to get better on that end, too.
“Just finishing possessions I see a physicality that might not have been there consistently at the beginning of the year. We understand the importance of trying to finish with urgent contests. … Offensively, our execution continues to get better down the stretch. We have to continue to grow in that area. But I do think we are taking positive steps forward.”