One day after LaMelo Ball auto crash in Charlotte, Hornets head coach Charles Lee addressed the wreck, the distraction, and the team. By Rod Boone| Charlotte Observer
Upon hearing star point guard LaMelo Ball had been involved in a two-car accident in uptown, Charles Lee was as curious as everybody else.
“The first thing when you hear about any type of accident is you hope all parties involved are OK, and they’re healthy and they’re safe,” the Charlotte Hornets coach said leading into their matchup with the Houston Rockets matchup at Spectrum Center on Thursday night.
“He was able to come in today, feeling good, ready to go, and, and he’ll be ready to play.”
Charlotte-Mecklenberg police have not released information about the incident, which happened at the intersection of Trade and Tryon streets somewhere close to 4 p.m. following practice. MEDIC said one person was treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Video obtained by WSOC shows Ball was picked up at the scene by teammate Brandon Miller and a member of the Hornets’ team security staff was also quickly by Ball’s side moments after the accident, since it happened within a long baseball pass from the arena and many players and staff had just begun trickling out for the day.
Ball’s incident comes just over a week after Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate were suspended for four games by the NBA for fighting with the Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart in the Hornets’ Feb. 9. Bridges and Diabate won’t be eligible to return until Charlotte takes on the Chicago Bulls at United Center on Tuesday.
And that could complicate things for a team immersed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
This image captured by WSOC-TV shows one of Hornets star LaMelo Ball’s car’s being towed after getting in a crash in uptown Charlotte. WSOC-TV
The Hornets, owners of the NBA’s longest playoff drought that’s nearing 10 years, entered the night in ninth place, two games ahead of Chicago and Milwaukee Bucks. So, they need all the help they can get in ensuring any disturbances — caused by themselves or otherwise — don’t creep in and destroy the magic created by winning 10 of their 11 games heading into their outing against Kevin Durant and the Rockets.
“Yeah, it’s a great point,” Lee said. “Distractions, I think that our staff and our players, we try to get ahead of things as much as possible and so even in the offseason we talked a ton about embracing adversity and focusing on the things that we can control. There’s always going to be distractions — in life, in basketball. Things that just like come up.
“A big part of who we want to be and who we want to kind of grow into are people that respond the appropriate way when you are faced with adversity or when there are distractions.”
Lately, the Hornets have had plenty of practice in that area. And Lee is certain the educational process can somehow benefit them in the long run.
“They’ve learned from some of these events that we’ve had go on,” Lee said, “and we focus on what we can do — to respond and come out and play. Play a tough game, keep getting better every day, keep supporting one another.”