The Charlotte Hornets tried their best to end their Playoff drought, which extends back to the 2016 NBA Playoffs, this season. Despite a scorching run from January 1 to the end of the regular season, the Hornets had to fight through the 9-10 path in the Play-In Tournament. After defeating the Miami Heat, the franchise fell to a 121-90 loss to the Orlando Magic last night, sending them back to the NBA Draft Lottery for the 10th straight season.
Franchise point guard LaMelo Ball had the best overall season of his career, averaging 20.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.1 assists. He’s had bigger numbers before, but Ball’s play this season seemed more composed and built around trying to win games for his team. Unfortunately, he couldn’t step up in the loss against the Magic, putting up 23 points (7-17 FG) and five assists. He led all Charlotte scorers, but the team wasn’t even slightly competitive in the clash.
Ball spoke to reporters during his exit interview after the Hornets were eliminated, taking a dig at coach Charles Lee’s game plan while expressing how he should’ve taken control of the ball from the start of the game.
“I feel like we were running a lot of plays and getting pushed around. I should’ve just taken the ball from the beginning.”
Coach Lee has received heavy praise this season for helping the Hornets become a team that can finish a season above .500 and make a Playoff push after years of them being irrelevant. While history will remember this season as yet another one where the Hornets missed the Playoffs, it’s important to remember Lee’s contribution in overhauling this franchise and creating a successful setup for them this season.
Ball led all Hornets in scoring, with Miles Bridges scoring the second-most points with 15 (5-12 FG). Rookie sensation Kon Knueppel’s cold end to the season continued with an 11-point outing on 3-10 shooting. The Magic’s defense was too much for the rest of the Hornets’ lineup to overcome, as they fell to an uncompetitive loss.
The learnings from this season are a great jumping-off point for the franchise next season, unless there is acrimony between Ball and Coach Lee. The Hornets wouldn’t want to get rid of either, as they both played instrumental roles in helping the Hornets be competitive. Given Ball is known to speak his mind, his comments might just be post-game frustration which he let out carelessly, instead of them indicating his overall dissatisfaction with Lee’s system.
The Hornets are at the bottom of the NBA lottery with a sub-1% chance to jump up to the No. 1 pick. They’ll hope they can bolster their roster with another lottery pick, presuming that young players like Ball, Knueppel, and Brandon Miller continue progressing into better versions of themselves.
The franchise needs a point guard like Ball to have success going forward, so coach Lee and the franchise point guard might be forced to have some intense conversations over the summer on how they’ll move forward. Both should be here to stay, so the best outcome for Charlotte would be if the coach and the star player find themselves on the same page once again.
