CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With the ball in his hands, at full speed on the fast break, LaMelo Ball is a wonder to behold.
The Charlotte Hornets’ 19-year-old rookie is flamboyant, effective and pass-first in those situations, ready to reward any teammates who run with him. If he could play an entire NBA game full of nothing but those moments, Ball would be an All-Star already. I’d pay good money to watch him run 50 fast breaks in a row.
But basketball is a lot more than breakaways, and Charlotte fans are also going to need to get used to the many work-in-progress aspects of Ball’s game this season.
I saw Ball play in person for the first time Monday night in Charlotte’s 112-109 preseason loss to Toronto.
The night gave me a better understanding of what the Hornets saw in Ball when they made him the No. 3 overall pick last month, as well as the giant task ahead if Ball is truly going to be not just an NBA starter but an NBA star.
I’m on record already saying I didn’t want the Hornets to pick Ball at No. 3. But as my own family could tell you, my advice is rarely taken. So now that the pick has been made, I’m wiping my personal slate clean, ready to evaluate Ball objectively.
First, the good part.
Ball handles the basketball like Picasso handled a paintbrush. He made three SportsCenter-worthy passes Monday in the 20 minutes he played: A lefty fast-break lob to Jalen McDaniels for a dunk, a righty lob in traffic to Miles Bridges for another dunk and, most impressive of all, an 80-foot one-handed heave after a rebound that hit Bismack Biyombo in stride for what should have been a dunk.
That was a gorgeous throw the Carolina Panthers could have used Sunday in their final “drive” against Denver. Biyombo caught the ball but then, instead of scoring, inexplicably passed the ball out. So there was no assist.
“He said he’s going to start dunking,” Ball said with a laugh afterward of Biyombo, who is quickly becoming a mentor for him in the locker room. “I think he lost his footing.”
Playing as Charlotte’s sixth man, Ball scored 12 points in 20 minutes Monday after scoring zero points in his first preseason game. He made two 3-pointers, went 4 of 6 from the line and had a contested layup. He’s 6-foot-8 and plays that way, seeing over defenses beautifully.
Now, the bad part.
Ball’s shot is undeniably weird.
It begins almost as a two-handed set shot, with the ball in front of his chin. He eventually rotates it into a more classic position, but his shot sometimes has sidespin due to all that left hand involvement. He’s not going to get a lot of shooter’s rolls with that motion. Ball went 3 for 10 from the field Tuesday, and he’s going to have a lot of 3-for-10 nights as a rookie unless he improves his shot selection and, ideally, his form.
Ball’s defense is on-and-off. He’s plenty athletic enough to do it, but he will commit the occasional silly foul. His assist/turnover ratio was also way below par for an NBA point guard Tuesday (two assists, three turnovers).
And worst of all was his plus-minus stat. Ball was a minus-17, worst on the team.
It was only one game, and the preseason at that.
It’s a positive that Ball’s teammates obviously like him and the feeling is mutual. As Ball put it in his distinctive speaking style Tuesday: “It’s all love in the locker room. Everybody cool. Everybody dope. So it’s all love.”
Hornets coach James Borrego, asked to evaluate Ball after the game, said: “I thought he had a really good first half. He’s learning this game. He’s learning his teammates. ... He brought us some energy and, obviously, he can lead the break. He’s got great vision. Second half — I’m going to watch the film and take a look. I’ll look at his shot selection there ... . But this kid wants to learn. He wants to get better.”
Said Raptors coach Nick Nurse: “My first impressions were that he was pretty good. He certainly has a feel for the game and a unique passing element.”
That he does. The rest of it Ball will need to work on. Again, he’s only 19.
The Hornets have a big job ahead of them with Ball.
But when he is on the fast break, the crowd — once there can be a crowd again for Hornets’ home games — will hold its breath in anticipation.
And for a team that has too often been boring, that’s something.
