LaMelo Ball Has Came A Long Way Since Making First Start Against Heat A Year Ago
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Around this time last year, Charlotte Hornets second-year guard LaMelo Ball was making the first start of his career.
It just so happened to be against the Miami Heat, the team the Hornets face Saturday in Charlotte. Ball finished with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists in 31 minutes that night last February but is hardly the same player.
He is now among the league's elite and a borderline NBA All-Star. He failed to make it this year but CBS Sports called him one of the biggest snubs. Many felt the Heat's Tyler Herro also was deserving.
"Ball had a strong case," wrote CBS writer Brad Botkin. He's one of just two players averaging 19 points, seven assists and seven rebounds on better than 35-percent 3-point shooting, with the other being Nikola Jokic. Ball has been roughly equal to (Darius) Garland, but the team success of Cleveland likely settled a pretty close debate. "
Ball, who is averaging 19.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 7.6 assists, had to settle for playing in the Rising Stars Challenge. Even then, he was the second pick behind the Minnesota Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards.
This marks Ball's fourth career game against the Heat. He has averaged 11.3 points, six assists and 5.3 rebounds in the series.
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Corey Holmes is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He is a film and television graduate from Notre Dame and has a master's degree in journalism from Morgan State. He can reached at coreyrholmes4@gmail.com or on Twitter @coreyholmes4
