Ball Don't Lie: The LaMelo Ball Thread

[Colbinii]

Wolves guy here.

I couldn't be happier the Wolves drafted ANT and I look forward to his growth and development as a player. He says all the right things and has the physical and mental tools to be great...

But holy **** is LaMelo amazing. His IQ is through the roof and he routinely (2-3 times per game) makes passes only Magic, Nash or Jokic could make. He is fun to watch and I hope he can stay healthy. LaMelo is clearly the ROY and I hope he brings it during the play-in game.

[yosemiteben]

so at what point to we acknowledge ball as the best rookie player in our franchise history (since the bobcats inception). The only other rookie in bobcats/hornets history that I remember impressing was Okafor and even then everyone joked about how robotic he was and our team was godawful.

I think he earned that title a long time ago!!

Yeah I don't think there's really any debate on that.

[Chapelchilla]

Ball is definitely the best rookie in Hornets 2.0 history. Only the very best OG Hornets like LJ, Zo and Davis are even in the conversation. LJ as a rookie may still have him beat. May. Plus, I think (hope) Ball will end up far better for us then Big Mama did.

Here is a second year, pre injury LJ dominating the early prime Bulls as the Hornets stop Chicago from winning the Eastern Conference first seed (NY gets it when we win). Big win!

Watch on YouTube

[BigSlam]

Which is the best and why?

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[Rich4114]

Which is the best and why?

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The best one to me overall was the other night on the underhand pass. Nothing beats that for me. But if we're comparing baseball to football passes, then the pass against Miami to Tro from full court considering he rebounded and tossed it accurately with the perfect timing all in one motion/stride. It's remarkable.

[Braggins]

Which is the best and why?

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Haven't watch the video yet, but from memory my favorites are the one handed full court pass to Hayward and the Pistol Pete special from the other night.

edit: Neither of the passes I was referring to were in this video.

[yosemiteben]

Tops for me is that Ball to Terry at the buzzer video, he threw it perfectly with no lead time at all, just board and chuck.

Second is Ball to Terry against Nets, because I lost my **** when that happened and then he dunked on KD. Add in the fact that we were winning in Q3 in a game that I was sure we were going to get crushed in and that was close to my favorite moment of the season.

[BigSlam]

Ya, the #1 for me was the buzzer beater to Terry Vs Miami as well.

The fact that he did it in one motion and pin pointed it literally in the perfect position for Terry to be able to gather and score with 2.nothing seconds left on the clock showed great presence of mind and excellent execution.

[yosemiteben]

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[Snidely FC]

I hope his wrist is okay

[Soul Rebel]

I hope his wrist is okay

Hopefully it was just banged up a little bit and not something worse. He didn't look or play the same after hitting the backboard.

[Hornet Mania]

I don't want to constantly question the medical staff, but it is really worrisome the way Melo has been babying his wrist the entire time since his return.

Every time there is a stoppage he's rotating the right wrist and using his other hand to squeeze it. Obviously smacking it against the backboard yesterday made it worse, he flat stopped using the hand for a few possessions and then wasn't as aggressive for the rest of the game.

Maybe the docs told him he can't really make it worse by playing, he will just experience soreness and discomfort with no chance of exacerbating the issue. That's my hope anyway, because it would be monumentally **** stupid to risk re-injury for play-in position and then a quick 4-0/4-1 ass whooping at the hands of the Sixers/Nets. If there's any chance he could aggravate it by pushing it too much he should not be playing.

[Trey24]

He did the same thing Friday. Seems like if he hits it it definitely hurts a ton. They wouldn't risk re-injury.

He just has to go out and put heat on it and after that it seems fine. I am more concerned with ALWAYS benching him when he gets into rhythm. Lamelo is a big rhythm player, and JB's sub patterns don't really allow him to fully capitalize off rhythm. Half the time, he gets in rhythm and then goes to the bench.

[BigSlam]

Ok, I'm not saying that his wrist isn't hurting, but....

I often see him squeeze his wrist or let it hang after a bad pass or a bad shot or when he is suggesting to the refs that he was fouled.

I don't, however, see him squeeze his wrist or let it hang after he's made one of his corner 3 point shots and he is poking 3 fingers of his shooting hand into the side of his head as he is running back down the court or after he's made one of those one handed, leaning floaters in the lane either - and there were plenty of those last night.

Like I said, I'm not saying his wrist isn't sore - I'm just sayin'....

[fatlever]

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[Hornet Mania]

The wrist has clearly messed up his shooting. It makes sense considering he couldn't do anything with his hand for a month. I just hope he can get it back over the summer.

[Roll Tide 09]

We should stop playing him so many minutes...preferably zero minutes, until the playoffs begin. We act like we don't have players named Graham, Rozier, Riller, Wanamaker, and even Monk on the team. All are more than capable of running the Point Guard position. Rozier might not have the handles of Walker, most Point Guards do not, but he's pretty much Walker 2.0, but a little better and Walker ran this team for several years. We really need to be cautious with Ball and we have the pieces in order to allow him to rest and heal properly.

[euphorbus]

We should stop playing him so many minutes...preferably zero minutes, until the playoffs begin...We really need to be cautious with Ball and we have the pieces in order to allow him to rest and heal properly.

The physicians can look at the scans and say "Your wrist has healed" but the scans cannot see microscopic fractures or weak spots in the bone and ligaments. Maybe on Star Trek. Caution, especially in a season like this one, is clearly warranted.

[JDR720]

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[Snidely FC]

I’d be interested in buying one but doesn’t say how

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball will become the first athlete to enter the world of dynamic nonfungible tokens (NFTs) when he releases a set of 500 prior to the announcement of the NBA Rookie of the Year in June, ESPN has learned.

NFTs are unique blockchain-based tokens that give owners specific rights to the asset -- photograph, video clip, artwork -- they represent. Dynamic NFTs are a recent technological advancement and, unlike conventional NFTs, have the ability to change over time. If Ball is named Rookie of the Year, the 500 NFTs will automatically update to include the award, which is expected to increase the value of the collectible.

"As I learn more about blockchain, I realize this is the most powerful and unique way to engage my fans in a way that's special to them individually," Ball tells ESPN. "I see this as the future for fans and athletes connecting together.”

Ball is the first athlete to release this type of speculative asset tied to his awards, highlights and statistical milestones. Ball plans to create lotteries that will allow owners of the dynamic NFTs to "burn" them in exchange for a chance to win memorabilia such as game-worn shoes. Each "burned" NFT makes those that remain more scarce and presumably more valuable. In addition to the 500 dynamic NFTs, LaMelo Ball Collectibles will release another 9,500 standard NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain.

"LaMelo will become the first athlete to mint his career on the blockchain," says Sher Chaudhary, co-founder of Playground, the Southern California-based NFT design studio working with Ball. "We're launching a world where each NFT carries 'level up' capabilities based on off-chain events."