LaMelo Ball leads the Eastern Conference All-Star voting among guards despite the Hornets‘ poor record (11-28). However, Ball has stepped up his game, particularly on defense, Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer writes.
Ball had 23 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in Charlotte’s victory over Dallas on Monday afternoon.
“His two-way play has really helped us,” coach Charles Lee said. “We’ve made an effort to play with more pace offensively. I think the whole squad has really bought into that and he’s really the head of the snake when it comes to pace, and his attack and willingness to either go finish in the attack or collapse the defense and kick out for some early opportunities.
“And then defensively, he’s denying (Kyrie) Irving at the end of the game, being more physical. I feel like in our transition defense, we are having a lot more communication and urgency to get back. So, just really impressed with his two-way game and not trying to be offensively focused.”
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- The pairing of Bam Adebayo and rookie Kel’el Ware gave the Heat a “dynamic” new look, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. At the end of the first half and beginning of the second half, the Heat went on a 36-13 run against San Antonio on Sunday with the two bigs playing together. “Right now, defensively that just looked like it was elite,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “So if I have to lean into this thing defensively right now for our team to get to another level, I will. That could be a path and we’ll dive into this. But that looks like a path where we can find some higher success, at least on one side of the floor.”
- Tyler Herro is averaging career bests in points, rebounds and assists and the Heat wing is drawing extra defensive attention. Lakers coach JJ Redick says the Herro needs to be guarded like Stephen Curry. Adebayo said it’s a learning experience for Herro, Chiang writes. “He is the focal point of a lot of scouting reports,” he said. “So for us, it’s understanding that he’s got to play kind of like Steph. He might not get the ball, but go set a screen, go screen somebody. That’s how you get yourself open. Me and him had that conversation during the (Spurs) game. He was like, ‘Man, what am I supposed to do?’ I was like, ‘Just go screen for somebody.’ Literally if they’re face-guarding you, just go screen for somebody. Somebody is going to be open.”
- The Hawks have the East’s fourth-best record in large part because they’re handling adversity better, according to Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. They have a 6-2 record against the teams above them in the conference standings. “Your hope is when you find adversity in the game, because it comes in a lot of different forms that that can bring you together and you can raise your level, as opposed to it splitting you apart,” coach Quin Snyder said.
Although his numbers, including 5.8 points per game on .359/.318/.750, don’t look especially strong, Ball is once again making the sorts of winning plays that don’t show up in the box score. Chicago has a +6.9 net rating when he’s on the court, compared to a -5.0 mark when he’s not.
DECEMBER 30: Hawks big man