Hornets rookie LaMelo Ball adds more wild assists to highlight reel in final preseason outing
LaMelo Ball was once again hurling dimes on Saturday night.
The Charlotte Hornets rookie had plenty of stellar assists during their 120-117 loss to the Orlando Magic, their final preseason game before the season starts on Tuesday.
While those were fun to watch, the weak points in Ball’s game shined through the cracks once more, too.
LaMelo Ball’s impressive assist game
Ball threw two ridiculous passes during the game at the Amway Center, reminding fans just how good the youngest Ball brother is.
Late in the second quarter, Ball drove through the lane before whipping a wild backward pass to Cody Zeller — who drained the 3-point bucket with ease.
He did it again late in the fourth quarter on a fast break, too. And while this one looked extremely casual, the feed was threaded through the hole perfectly to set up the layup.
The passes were reminiscent of his preseason debut last week, where he threw a tremendous no-looker in transition.
LaMelo no-look, behind-the-back assist 🔥 pic.twitter.com/3k1VL0dTvp
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 13, 2020
Ball’s shooting struggles continue
Even though his assist game was on point — he finished with four on Saturday — he struggled elsewhere offensively.
Ball finished the game with four points while shooting just 1-of-10 from the field and 0-of-4 from behind the arc. He’s shot just 11-of-42 from the field over his four preseason games, and has turned the ball over 14 times — four of which occurred on Saturday.
Having more turnovers than field goals is, well, not a good sign.
In Ball’s defense, he hasn’t played in a real NBA game yet. He has plenty of time to turn things around, and many expect him to. Ball is the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award among NBA general managers, after all.
As of now, though, he has work to do on his jump shot. His preseason performance certainly pointed that out.
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