LaMelo Ball remains an outstanding scorer and creator and demonstrated it again during the last two matches lost at home against the reigning champion this weekend, with 31 and 36 points on the clock. His coach, Charles Lee, now expects his leader to raise his voice in defense, a sector in which the Hornets still have a lot of room for improvement.
This night, the Charlotte leader did not really set an example since he was forced to join the bench after less than five minutes of play for two clearly avoidable personal fouls, showing himself in difficulty when he was attacked one-on-one. He let his teammates dive and concede another 38 points in the first quarter, after having already taken 40 the day before. Even though he scored 17 points in the second act, Boston was already far ahead. For the new Hornets coach, defense remains LaMelo Ball’s Achilles heel…
Should we leave him alone in defense?
“We must continue to challenge him on this. We also have to ask ourselves if he can defend one-on-one, or if we have to send a two-hander every time, otherwise he will commit a foul? As staff, we must analyze what we are able to accept”, said Charles Lee. “But also, through our conversations with him, we come to wonder if he can just defend his zone and commit to raising his arms and defending without making a mistake? “.
Charlotte's new strategist has reason to be annoyed, as the situation has been recurring since the start of the season, when his leader has already been sent off for six fouls three times, and he already has 30 personal fouls in six games. To begin with, if he could already avoid a few unnecessary mistakes, that would already be a big step forward. It is also his responsibility to be able to stay on the field as long as possible.
“I can accept taking a fadeaway at the end of a possession from Payton Pritchard or on a step-back from Jayson Tatum. These are desperate situations. In my opinion, [ce qu’il faut corriger] These are more the faults for a lack of aggressiveness, where we simply give up by making a fault.”
Not very talkative after the meeting, as is often the case, LaMelo Ball kicked in about his defensive mistakes.
“We are going to review the match, what we did wrong and come back on the pitch to try to correct that, particularly the stupid mistakes”, he simply replied when he was confronted with the problem.
| LaMelo Ball | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2020-21 | CHA | 51 | 29 | 43.6 | 35.2 | 75.8 | 1.2 | 4.7 | 5.9 | 6.1 | 2.7 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 0.4 | 15.7 |
| 2021-22 | CHA | 75 | 32 | 42.9 | 38.9 | 87.2 | 1.4 | 5.2 | 6.7 | 7.6 | 3.2 | 1.6 | 3.3 | 0.4 | 20.1 |
| 2022-23 | CHA | 36 | 35 | 41.1 | 37.6 | 83.6 | 1.2 | 5.2 | 6.4 | 8.4 | 3.3 | 1.3 | 3.6 | 0.3 | 23.3 |
| 2023-24 | CHA | 22 | 32 | 43.3 | 35.5 | 86.5 | 1.3 | 3.8 | 5.1 | 8.0 | 3.6 | 1.8 | 3.8 | 0.2 | 23.9 |
| 2024-25 | CHA | 5 | 33 | 44.9 | 38.7 | 89.3 | 0.8 | 4.4 | 5.2 | 6.4 | 4.8 | 1.2 | 5.4 | 0.4 | 29.0 |
| Total | 189 | 32 | 42.7 | 37.5 | 83.7 | 1.3 | 4.9 | 6.2 | 7.4 | 3.1 | 1.5 | 3.3 | 0.3 | 20.2 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
