LaMelo Ball is cleared to return. The Charlotte Hornets need him in their lineup ASAP
The Texas-themed halftime show was planned for a while, even if it felt appropriately timed given the circumstances that unfolded in the first half Monday night.
Dressed in a big hat wearing leather boots and some blue jeans, and sporting cowboy attire, a gentleman dug deep in his bag and pulled out several ropes, twirling them around as if he was about to rustle up some dinner. It was the perfect prop because Dallas essentially lassoed the Charlotte Hornets and hogtied them all at once Monday night.
Half of the Hornets’ starting backcourt was back following a four-game absence, cleared from the league’s health and safety protocols. Still, that couldn’t give them enough of a jolt to move in the right direction to begin a lengthy swing zig-zagging around three different time zones, a daunting trek that will keep the Hornets away from home until the wee hours of Christmas Eve.
“We’ve got a six-game road trip, five more games,” Terry Rozier said after the Hornets’ 120-96 loss to the Mavericks, “and we talked in the locker room. We said it’s a bad start to the road trip, but we don’t want this to define our road trip. So look for us to pick it up even in the first quarter next game.”
That would be Wednesday in San Antonio, the old stomping grounds of their coach. James Borrego would like to be at full strength by then, in particular having his starting floor general in the mix again. Mason Plumlee and Jalen McDaniels are on track to rejoin the Hornets in time for their matchup with the Spurs.
Tuesday morning, LaMelo Ball cleared the league’s health and safety protocols and was assigned to the Greensboro Swarm for conditioning and rehab, joining Plumlee and McDaniels.
Ish Smith could be taken off the Hornets’ injury report as early as Wednesday afternoon. There is a possibility he will go through something similar to what Plumlee and McDaniels — and now Ball — did, when they were assigned to the Swarm to get in conditioning and a practice session before meeting their teammates out west. It is still unknown if Ball will be available for Wednesday’s game against the Spurs.
While their run without Ball had been impressive through the initial four games, holding serve at 2-2 with real chances to win all of them, that was not the case against the Mavericks. Cold from the start, their offense had no flow.
It’s painfully obvious they miss Ball and how he pushes the tempo.
“He’s significant for us because he creates a lot of the easy points, as you said,’‘ Borrego said. “The transition points, the easy stuff around the bucket or the rim, he generates those types of shots for us, just on his own, in transition or in the halfcourt. But there are other guys here that are capable of doing that. We need those guys. Until Melo is back and he’s fully healthy, other people have to step up to create for us.
“We are just going to have to figure it out along the way. Obviously, we miss Melo and hopefully will get him back soon, But until then we’ve got to do it collectively.”
In their last three outings, two of which were losses, the Hornets posted 24.2 assists per game — nearly two below their season average. They totaled only 22 against the Mavs.
Simply put, minus the reigning rookie of the year, the Hornets aren’t getting out on the break as much as they usually do. That in turn means they have to find alternative solutions to score and get their shots off. It creates a trickle-down effect when there is too much individual play. Their offensive issues lead to problems on the defensive end.
They’re working harder for shots minus Ball and it’s noticeable.
“For sure,” Borrego said. “It’s been like that for the last couple of nights as well. When you are down your point guards, it’s significant and Terry is just getting back to rhythm here. And we are a little bit out of sorts from the last couple of nights. You bring Terry back, Kelly (Oubre) goes to the bench. We start Cody (Martin). There’s a lot of movement right now and it’s going to be like that next game. I don’t know who it’s going to be next game but it’s going to be a new rotation in San Antonio.
“The rotation you saw (Monday) is not going to be the same. Hopefully adding a couple of more bodies back to the rotation. We are just going to have to fight our way through this one and again it’s going to be good for us to get bodies back. But it’s going to take a second here to reset and make sure that we find some rhythm with these different lineups.”
Gordon Hayward, Cody Martin, Terry Rozier and James Bouknight mostly were tasked with ball-handling duties. The results were sporadic and Dallas coach Jason Kidd elected to put on some extra pressure in the backcourt to force the Hornets to grind it out, often leading to rushed shots. Mavericks star point guard Luka Doncic didn’t play.
Yet another reminder there is only one LaMelo.
“We definitely miss him for sure as a unit,” Oubre said. “But it’s just (about) us playing the right way. Playing point-five, snap decisions, pass-shoot or get off it. We all do that and that’s our game plan each and every night, So I just think that we have to slow down, and lock in and really just follow the game plan. But we have a lot of young guys who are still getting reps in, and still growing and learning in this league. So it’s kind of hard.”
They need Ball to simplify it again in his own unique fashion and by the end of the week, they should see his grinning face among them once more. The eagerness and anticipation of them becoming whole is building.
“It’s going to be huge,” Rozier said. “It’s going to be huge to get all our guys back, get back to our full team strength and play with guys. But definitely when Melo comes back and Mason — big presence — Jalen, a rotation player ... So when they come back, we are going to be super comfortable. But we’ve got to take care of what we’ve got to take care of right now.”
This story was originally published December 14, 2021 at 8:19 AM with the headline "LaMelo Ball is cleared to return. The Charlotte Hornets need him in their lineup ASAP."
