What rust? LaMelo Ball leaves imprints in Charlotte Hornets' win over Detroit in first game back

He peered up the court and saw his teammate streaking near the free throw line some 75 feet away, already plotting in his mind how he'd get the ball to him.

Using his right hand, the very same one that kept him out of action for the Charlotte Hornets' previous 21 games, LaMelo Ball effortlessly unleashed an underhanded toss three-quarters down the floor to Miles Bridges. Mere minutes after the opening tipoff, too. Within seemingly nanoseconds, it lit up social media, gathering thousands of views and retweets.

No sweat. All in a night's work for him.

"I have to go back again to my pops, the way he had me playing with my brothers five-on five," Ball said. "He just always had us playing fast-paced, throwing passes like that. It kind of felt normal. I'm not even going to lie to you. That's pretty much what we were doing growing up all the time."

Sounds so simple. Ball's impact was felt quickly and often in their 107-94 win over Detroit at Spectrum Center on Saturday night. Inserted back into his customary place in the starting lineup, Ball's court vision opened up another dimension, providing them with a different dynamic for the first time in nearly a month and a half.

“It’s great to have him back because you know he’s a great passer, he gets everybody involved, his energy is infectious," said Miles Bridges, who had 27 points and 8-of-11 shooting and benefitted from the return of his buddy. "So, it’s great to have Melo back. The underhanded pass was crazy. You have to have top-notch confidence to pull something like that off. He threw it right to my pocket. It’s good to have him back."

Leaving his imprints on things in his first outing since fracturing his right wrist in Los Angeles on March 20, Ball posted 11 points, making 4 of 10 attempts to go with eight assists, seven rebounds, a pair of blocks and a steal. The 27 minutes he logged were a little more than anticipated, in part because Devonte' Graham was a late scratch with a right knee contusion. He's considered day-to-day.

There wasn't much settling for jump shots on the Hornets' part. With Ball running the bulk of the offense, Charlotte pushed the ball to the tune of 23 fastbreak points and also got 56 points in the paint.

"Yeah, definitely loved getting out there playing again," Ball said. "Especially with the pace. Got to keep it high tempo."

No one should have needed a reminder of Ball's abilities and why he's expected to be the leading candidate for the NBA's Rookie of the Year award. Just in case, he left potential voters with a few more notes to jot down on a yellow sticky pad.

But if you ask Borrego, he should already have the award sewed up.

“LaMelo is deserving of that and I’m glad and I’m thankful that he gets to continue that season in the stretch run," Borrego said. "I think this is a wonderful time for him for his development for one, but to help us make a playoff push here. We were climbing the standings with him in the lineup and Malik (Monk) in the lineup. LaMelo’s had a major impact on our winning this season. For a young guy to put up those numbers, but to do it with the sort of winning impact is significant for us. I’m happy for him and I’m excited for him that he gets a chance to continue that season, not have it cut short and end the way it potentially could have. I’m thrilled for him.

"To me, I think he’s clearly the Rookie of the Year and I think he’ll prove that over these next 10 games as well. But I think he’s already done enough to get there."

Quotable: "Just me driving to the basket a lot more than I usually do. Getting to the free throw line and just my teammates and my coaches having the utmost confidence in me. The more confidence they have in me, the more confidence I’ll have in myself." -- Miles Bridges on what's helping him play with so well

Noteworthy: The Hornets totaled a season-high 15 blocks, which also happens to be the most swatted in a single game by any team in the NBA this season. It also marked just the fifth time in franchise history they’ve had 15 or more blocks in a game.

Up next: vs. Miami on Sunday