LaMelo Ball has had many noteworthy moments in his rookie season but Friday marked one of the low points. As the Hornets struggled all game long with turnovers and rustiness in their first game in six days against the Bulls, Ball’s struggles were most noticeable.
For the second time in three games, Ball turned the ball over five teams. On Saturday, though, he did not have the scoring, rebounding or playmaking to make up for it. Running mate Miles Bridges, who has excelled off the bench alongside him, had a similarly ineffective night.
After the game, head coach James Borrego talked about the off night from his typically-effective duo of Ball and Bridges.
“Those two guys have to be better for us,” he said. “They energize our bench. Winning the bench every night is a big key for us. Obviously, we did not do that tonight. I thought their bench was fantastic. They kicked our tail, our starters and our bench. We need Miles and LaMelo to play better.”
Bridges tallied two points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes. Ball finished with just seven points, two assists and one rebound in 17 minutes. For Ball, though, the decisive stretch came in the third quarter.
After checking into the game at the 6:10 mark, Ball committed turnovers on consecutive possessions that led to consecutive baskets for Chicago. Ball was quickly yanked from the game after just 77 seconds and would not see the court again.
Similarly, Bridges played just 6:10 in the second half and did not attempt a field goal in that span, finishing with a plus-minus of -7 in that span. Neither were effective on the night and spelled doom for the Hornets as they dropped their fourth straight game.
