Quick Hits: Is LaMelo an All-Star? Kelly Oubre's Status + More

Some folks have reached out to me and wanted to see a weekly article sharing my thoughts on some topics surrounding the Charlotte Hornets. I loved the idea, so every Monday, I'll drop 'Quick Hits' discussing three or four different things that happened in the previous week or in the week that lies ahead.

Let's get to it.

Will LaMelo Ball be an All-Star?

As some of you may have seen, ESPN may have foreshadowed that LaMelo Ball is an All-Star when they accidentally put 1x All-Star during the broadcast of Friday's game vs the L.A. Lakers. So is it true? Well, we'll find out officially on February 3rd but I have a hard time seeing him get snubbed. He was 5th in fan voting with 1.2 million votes and 6th in player votes. He's averaging 19.5 points, 7.7 assists, and 7.2 rebounds per game and to me, that's All-Star numbers, especially for a 20-year-old.

Is Kelly Oubre Jr.'s injury serious?

Kelly Oubre has missed each of the last two games against the Lakers and Clippers due to a left ankle sprain. He seemed to be walking around pretty good on it during shootaround on Sunday morning and with injuries like this, it's better to be on the conservative side. The last thing you want to do is to reaggravate it and put him right back on the shelf, except for even a longer period of time. James Borrego said it doesn't seem to be anything that will keep him out for an extended time, so I'd say there's a good chance we see him return this week.

What went wrong vs Clippers?

The Hornets took 98 shots and made only 32 of them. Anytime you only make 32% of shots from the field, you're probably going to lose in the NBA. Having an off night from the perimeter is one thing, but to struggle at the rim is another. The Clippers’ length really bothered the Hornets all game long. They clogged the lane, got hands on passes, and crowded Mason Plumlee making it tough for him to receive passes in the paint. After the game, I asked Coach Borrego about the struggles inside. Here's what he had to say:

"They got into us. 24 of 61, that's what we shot in the paint. At halftime, I think we were 8/24 at the rim, so we struggled tonight. Clearly. I think their length, their size, they're a good defense. When you get down there and you have an open one, a good look, you've got to finish. There were times where we went up against their defenders and their size and we should have kicked it. That's, I think, an area of growth for us. We'll go back and watch the film and see those opportunities when we should have kicked it out versus shoot it versus a 7-footer."

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