Charles Lee publicly addressed LaMelo Ball after a bold bench decision in the Hornets 94-87 loss to the Cavaliers. Ball had one of the worst shooting nights of his career, finishing with four points on 1 of 15 shooting, while Lee pointed to poor ball movement and offensive rhythm as key issues.
Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee addressed LaMelo Ball directly after a tough loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, pointing to offensive issues following a bold lineup decision. Charlotte fell 87-94, and Ball endured one of the worst shooting nights of his NBA career.
Lee once again brought Ball off the bench on the first night of a back-to-back, a move designed to protect the guard physically.
After the game, Hornets head coach did not shy away from addressing Ball’s approach, calling out the lack of ball movement and offensive flow that stood out during a key stretch of the loss.
"In the second quarter, there was a little bit too much ISO, not as much ball-movement as we've had in the past. I didn't love our offense rhythm in that quarter," he said in a post-game press conference.
Ball, the No. 3 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, could not get going at any point in the game. He finished with just four points on 1 of 15 shooting from the field and missed all 10 of his attempts from the three-point line.
Despite Ball’s struggles, Charlotte had strong individual performances elsewhere. Brandon Miller led the Hornets with 24 points, continuing his aggressive scoring stretch. Kon Knueppel added 21 points and 11 rebounds.
Cleveland leaned on its stars to close out the win. Donovan Mitchell scored 24 points to lead all players, while Evan Mobley recorded a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds, controlling the interior on both ends of the floor.
Even with the rough outing, Ball remains a central piece of Charlotte's season. He is averaging 19.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 7.6 assists per game while shooting 41.4 percent from the field and 37.0 percent from three.
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