After fracturing his right wrist on Saturday, Hornets guard LaMelo Ball underwent surgery this morning in New York to repair the injury, per Ashley Stroehlein of NBC Charlotte (Twitter link).
Ball will require about four weeks to recover from the surgery, then will begin rehabbing his wrist, says Stroehlein. Shams Charania of The Athletic, who tweets that Ball will be reevaluated at the four-week mark, notes that the team still hasn’t closed the door entirely on the possibility of the star rookie returning this season.
At 21-21, the Hornets currently hold the No. 6 seed in the East, putting them right in the thick of the playoff race. Getting Ball back down the stretch, perhaps for a play-in tournament or a first-round postseason series, would be a huge boost, but it seems like a long shot at this point.
Reports at the time of Ball’s injury indicated it was expected to be a season-ender, and the Hornets certainly won’t want to risk rushing back their franchise player, who is still just 19 years old.
In 41 games (28.6 MPG) this season, Ball averaged 15.9 PPG, 6.1 APG, 5.9 RPG, and 1.6 SPG on .451/.375/.789 shooting.
Always said Halliburton was best PG in draft. And I still believe that. I see Ball more as a wing and playmaker. I respect what he’s shown. He is more ready than I thought. And the competition has improved his game. Which is what should happen with good young talent. His game mixes well with a scoring PG like Rozier. Let’s face it today most PGs are scoring PGs. Thought he’d take 3-4 yrs to really show. He’s shown now he could of been ROY. So I pay my respects. Get healthy
Agreed.. I thought he was gonna be a bust.. he’s legit..I think he also made lonzo pick up his game
I agree he has done that to Lonzo. funny lol
I was thinking of writing that.
Thank you
Yeah, I always thought Lamelo would be overrated, just because he is Lamelo. I was wrong. That said Haliburton is smooth.
LaMelo being LaMelo has nothing to do with thinking he would be overrated, LaVar, Lonzo, and LiAngelo have everything to do with that.
Did you miss the “I was wrong” part?
Agreed haliburton is real deal. Sac will figure out a way to screw that up.. they always do
Has Ball played a full season? Last year was cut short and his season in Europe, I believe he didn’t finish. I know he broke his wrist, but injuries seem to keep happening.
They would be crazy to bring him back. That’s a two to three month injury.
List of still-current opinionmeisters on Lamelo, as KA keeps bringing it up:
KnickerbockerAl, rct, Lakers1, Dodgethis, jkoms57, yamsi1912, curtisrowe, grammaraze, jumpshot, maybe DXC, appalachianOutlaw, arc89, LionelMuggeridge, brownscavs4me, veryBerry were posters who dissed Lemelo during drafttime, some at length. KA is still going on about Ball a winger.
Said Lamelo will do well: Me (most effusive), maybe lil_dunker, elDon, Cam, robohouston, CHA fans.
Many said, hard to say. Or, have quit posting.
Hiflew only said SaddiqBey & DevinVassell.
Special credit to MrBlueSky, who said he knew best bc he played on a HC championship team. He said fail.
link to hoopsrumors.com
link to hoopsrumors.com
Edit* robohouston did not actually provide an opinion, but did not dislike, which read like approval at the time.
Dunker”top3″ and other likers may just have been anti-hate.
I went by a video showing a scrimmage in a gym with no seating. Semi-casual but quality opposition.
Put me down at draft time as a non believer as well
Think my stance was “anybody but” or “trade back”
I think many of these people haven’t seen Melo play much at all and have a hard time admitting they were wrong (as if it matters) Lotta stubbornness in here, newho glad I was wrong, kids amazing and thats all that matters
Great post tho as Ive seen the moon walking as well from those posters while still slipping in little jabs and unsightly takes in the same breath … Im still trying to figure out the “wing” comment as well
I never did opin on Doncic bc I did not see him, did not research, did not want to interpret Euro-BB, so got “left out”. So next year I resolved to find Lamelo evidence. He seems to see the the game as if remotely & stays upright.
There is always room for the fast “shorter” guy changing directions, but they have to stay low to make that style work. I am seeing more half-drives to a stop and very short pass to a big, which could compensate for height near the rim. Teams are not playing alert enough to defend it!
I thought the body would need 2+years to fill in –
Maybe bc I saw him a bunch so young in Chino I never recalibrated, but I thought he’d get pushed off his spots in the pros early – Feels like his passing acumen, height, and a lot tighter dribbles than displayed vs early comp keep defenders at bay well enough to maximize his skills –