LaMelo Ball Has Played in 50 Straight Games and Has Qualified for Postseason Awards

While getting LaMelo on the court has as much as possible right now to win might seem like a priority, the Hornets organization is focused on something far bigger. Limiting those minutes right now may seem disappointing, but it will matter more in the long run than a single win in January.

In January, these were the words I wrote in regards to how the Hornets were treating LaMelo Ball's ankle injury. Ball had just come off the bench for the first time since his rookie season, the first of a few times this season the team did this.

At the time of the article, the Hornets were coming off back-to-back losses and had lost their last four home games. They sat 13-25, seemingly in the mix to land one of AJ Dybantsa, Cam Boozer, or Darryn Peterson at the top of the draft this summer.

83 days later, and the entire Hornets season has changed. They won 27 of their next 38, now boasting a 40-36 record with six games to go. They have the NBA's best starting lineup according to net rating, dominating teams by 26.9 points/per 100 possessions across the 450 minutes they have played together.

And LaMelo Ball has been the pulse behind this entire shift.

Amongst NBA players who have played 500 minutes or more, LaMelo is third in the entire league in on-off offensive rating (+12.0), trailing Denver's Jamal Murray (+13.0), and Nikola Jokic (+12.9). Of players with 1600 or more minutes, he remains in third behind those two in offensive rating, with fellow Hornet Moussa Diabate in fourth.

The most important part of LaMelo's game and the turnaround is not a single on-court statistic, though. Rather, it's the fact that he is on the court in general.

After playing in fewer than 50 games in each of the last three seasons, Ball has played in 50 straight games this season, his last missed game being December 14th against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He's already qualified for postseason awards after playing in his 65th game on Sunday against the Boston Celtics, and has played in the second-most games of his six-year career.

"At the end of the day we are trying to just focus on how can we continue to maximize how many games he can play this season," said Head Coach Charles Lee earlier on in the season.

While the statistics at a glance do not show it, LaMelo is arguably having the best season of his career, and could see his name appear on an All-NBA team for the first time in his career. His points, rebounds, assists, and minutes are the lowest they have been since his rookie season, but the impact stats all point to LaMelo putting together his best year yet.

He's now 19th in the entire league in daily plus-minus, one of the most valuable impact statistics in basketball. He's ranked higher than players such as Steph Curry, Jalen Brunson, James Harden, Jaylen Brown, Devin Booker, Tyrese Maxey, and LeBron James, as Ball continues to make a strong case for being an All-NBA player.

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