Charles Lee explains confounding decision to sit LaMelo Ball in favor of Tre Mann

Matt Alquiza | Nov 19, 2024

Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

LaMelo Ball's traditional fourth quarter radiance was dimmed by his own coach on Tuesday night.

The Charlotte Hornets fell to the Brooklyn Nets in a tight NBA Cup contest, and their star point guard was nowhere to be found in winning time. Ball was yanked with just over three and a half minutes left in the game after taking an ill-advised layup and committing a frustration foul, bringing and end to a rare night to forget for the league's premier fourth quarter assassin.

LaMelo Ball's final statistical output of 12 points, five assists, two rebounds, four turnovers, and four fouls, is a far cry from the ungodly numbers fans have come to expect from the one-of-one guard. It was an ugly game for Ball from the jump, and his backup, Tre Mann, picked up the pieces and closed the game in Ball's stead.

Following the loss, Hornets head coach Charles Lee was asked about the decision to play Tre Mann over LaMelo Ball in crunch time.

Lee: Tre 'had a little better of a hand tonight'

"Melo has been phenomenal for us and he's done so many good things. He's creating offensively and guarding, and I just thought that Tre had a little better of a hand tonight and was helping us a little bit more on both ends of the court. But, that's not to say that we weren't getting anything from Melo early in the game. I thought he did a really good job of setting the table and doing some good things too.

"I think every night it could be someone different. And they all have to accept the fact that if another guy has it going, we probably need to ride that hand."

The gist of Lee's argument is that Mann had the hot hand. An understandable thought if you're playing Mann over somebody like Josh Green or Cody Martin, but this is LaMelo Ball we're talking about here. Luka Doncic or Steph Curry would never get benched in a close loss like this one. Ball did.

A potential lineup of Ball, Mann, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, and Grant Williams would have had a tough time slowing down Cam Johnson, but Brooklyn's other offensive weapons don't strike much fear into anyone (although Trendon Watford did when he iced the game), so in my opinion, sacrificing defense for offense in this scenario is a worthy trade off if it means Ball runs said O.

If LaMelo Ball ever becomes unhappy and asks out Charlotte, this will be seen as an inflection point. Charlotte's next contest, a home game against the Detroit Pistons, will be watched with a keen eye by all self-proclaimed body language doctors to see how Ball responds to his benching. However, the young superstar has never once given anybody a reason to question his commitment to the Queen City, and I don't see that changing on Thursday night.

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