The fear was that LaMelo Ball’s once noisy and now seemingly dumb father, LaVar, would be arrogant. That his seemingly reckless playing style in high school and abroad would make him a terrible NBA teammate. That he can not correct his leap shot to produce in the NBA. That he has a dangerously low floor compared to other possible lotteries.
We heard it all in one form or another. Many of us had the same reservations.
If you search for the term “LaMelo Ball bust”, you will probably find on any site, probably an abundance of sites that stand out its downfall. It was a infallible exercise on YouTube, it was written locally, and it was is assumed throughout Twitter until recently. Before Ball had an NBA gate mark, he was already one of the most criticized athletes associated with the league.
Just 26 games in his first NBA season, Rookie of the Year, is a one-man race. You can not even win more money by betting him in most sports books because he is much of the favorite. With an average of 14.3 points, 6.1 assists and 5.8 rebounds, Ball leads all rookies in points and assists, and is second in the setback to James Wiseman, who is a 7-foot center.
Ball also averaged just 27 minutes per game and was fourth among the rookies and only started a game before Terry Rozier was absent on February 1st. But just two games later, Ball started with Rozier and fellow guard Devonte Graham. He erupted in the nearly 40-minute game with 34 points and 8 assistants for the team’s highlight. Since then, Graham has had a groin and kept Ball in the backfield with Rozier.
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One of the biggest concerns with Ball as he entered the NBA was his shooting, which he improved after an ominous start. Balls now shoot nearly 44 percent from the field and about 36 percent from three. Since Jan. 30 – his last game off the bench before six consecutive starts – Ball’s have averaged 22.4 points, 6.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from three, more than 48 percent from the field has, and 92.6 percent of the free-throw line on nearly four attempts per game.
And beyond the surface levels, Ball even had an impact on winning more than many of his teammates in Charlotte, which rose 1.7 shares, third behind Gordon Hayward (2.6) and Rozier (2.0) . Ball is also the third in winning shares per 48 minutes (of all those who have not yet passed the time) on. Ball leads, surprisingly, also the team in a plus-minus (0.9) defensive field, despite his lack of a reputation for stopping. He’s also at the top of the Hornets overall, plus or minus (3.0), if you don’t take into account Vernon Carey, who has only played three games.
Ball was good enough The jump even consider whether they will take him or Ja Morant for the next five years or not.
Maybe it’s very ambitious, but the younger Ball brother is the clear newcomer of the year. In addition, it only took him a few dozen games to separate him from his class and regret those who were pessimistic. This is not to say that people were not optimistic either, and those who had high hopes for Ball today seem geniuses.