LaMelo Ball's shot selection deserves both criticism and context in lens of Hornets' offensive infrastructure
LaMelo Ball’s individual brilliance has carried the Charlotte Hornets for long stretches in 2024-25. Operating as the team’s lone high level shot creator, Ball is shouldering a massive burden as he attempts to uplift a roster stocked with players that function better as play finishers, not play makers.
However, Ball’s swashbuckling offensive style has often burned the Hornets.
Charles Lee has afforded Ball the greenest of green lights. LaMelo is attempting more shots per 36 minutes than anybody on the history of the National Basketball Association not named Wilt Chamberlain. Hoop heads have seen heliocentric offenses constructed around lone wolf talents like James Harden and Russell Westbrook make deep playoff runs, but we’ve never seen anything quite like what Ball is doing in 2024-25. Ball is averaging 13.2 three point attempts per contest, nearly two and a half more threes per game more than his closest compatriot, teammate Brandon Miller.
It's bombs away all day for LaMelo Ball.
Early shot clock struggles
LaMelo Ball is one of five players averaging two or more “very early shot clock” (between 22-18 seconds on the clock) per game. His 37.5% accuracy is the worst of the bunch.
Ball is also one of seven qualifying players (24 or more games played) averaging two or more “early shot clock” (between 18-15 seconds on the clock) per game. His 36.2% accuracy is the third worst of the bunch.
In a winnable game on Sunday night against the Phoenix Suns, Ball finished 5/17 from three-point range with more than half of those attempts coming with greater than 16 seconds left on the shot clock, going 0-3 on such in the final stanza that Charlotte only scored 15 points in.
All of that to say, arguments in favor of Ball becoming more selective with his shot attempts has merit. He has only shot greater than 40% from three in a single game, a mark that the game’s most accurate sharpshooters aim for, four times all year. With Ball you have to take the bad with the good, because the good is usually great, but some of his attempts are bewildering.
The case for Ball to continue firing away
However, if Ball isn’t shooting 25 shots per game, who is? The Hornets roster is devoid of individual offensive brilliance. Outside of Ball, Brandon Miller, and Miles Bridges, Charlotte pool of talent lacks true individual shot-creators. The best teams in basketball have either a myriad of offensive options that can create shots, or a team-centric holistic style in which a host of above-average talents eat. Charlotte’s league-worst offense has neither.
Part of what makes Ball's shot selection so infuriating is because of how talented he is. His newfound focus on the defensive end has gone completely unnoticed to those who simply complain about his three-point attempts. Ball's PhD-level knowledge of ball combined with his 6'7" frame and pterodactyl wingspan has made him an impactful defender while also allowing him to make slick passes and eagle-eyed reads on offense that other guards can only dream of.
LaMelo Ball truly is a one-of-one talent, there's no denying it.
His talent level makes him a winning basketball player, there's no denying it.
Time will tell if Ball’s inefficient game is inherent or if it will change when he’s surrounded with higher-end talent. I believe that in order for the Charlotte Hornets to become the “premiere” franchise they so desire to be, Ball will have to be in the plans. However, a more refinded Ball, one who plays a blended style of free-flowing shot bomber and elite distributor we’ve seen him play in his best moments, must be the one manning Charlotte’s back court.
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