In hindsight, it’s a cruel bit of irony that the Hornets entered their current road trip at full health for one of the very few times all season.
On Monday, a dispirited James Borrego addressed the media roughly 18 hours removed from the news that LaMelo Ball would likely be out for the season with a fractured right wrist suffered in Saturday’s loss to the Clippers.
“It’s tough to swallow,” he said. “I mean, it hit everybody hard. Everybody loves this kid. He’s at the core of our organization. He’s a pillar for us and anytime someone like that is hurting, it’s tough. It’s been an emotional evening and morning for us but we carry on. We got to move forward. We got a job to do and we’re not going to sit here and feel sorry for ourselves.
“We’re obviously disappointed and hurt by the news of yesterday,” Borrego added. “I feel horrible for LaMelo more than anybody. He’s put himself in a wonderful position. He’s had a heck of a year. He’s hurt by it, we’re hurt by it, but we got to move forward. He’s going to be our biggest cheerleader. He’s going to come back bigger, stronger, faster. There’s no doubt about that. This is a curious young man that wants to be great, that is moving in the right direction. He’s about the right things and he’s really turned our franchise in a very positive way. I’m hurt for him. I’m devastated for him but we move forward as a team, as an organization.
Ball had transformed the Hornets into a winning team on the court but it was his impact on the program and franchise behind the scenes that has quickly made him an integral part of the organization. That made Sunday evening’s news, first reported on by The Athletic’s Shams Charania before being confirmed by the Hornets themselves, that much tougher to swallow.
“I think his ability to impact winning and really do it in such a positive spirit and light,” Borrego said on how Ball has changed the program. “Everybody that walks in the gym and is around him is inspired to do their job better. Everybody enjoys the moments together as a team or when he’s around and that’s hard to do. Then you look at what he’s done on the court, obviously, he’s put us in a win column more than I or anybody anticipated. He’s really had a major impact in us winning games this season.”
It was a fairly innocuous play that led to Ball fracturing his wrist. After driving to the rim and being fouled, Ball fell backwards and stretched his arms out to break his fall, a play that Borrego said “guys get up from 99% of the time and move on.”
Only it was immediately apparent that Ball was not alright. The rookie guard had his wrist taped at halftime but favored his right hand more and more as the second half played on. Despite his best efforts and even telling Borrego he wanted to play, Ball was pulled from the game and began undergoing evaluations on the injury.
The results on Sunday revealed a broken bone near his thumb in his hand. Borrego said he and Ball shared a conversation on Sunday after the diagnosis, though he kept the details of that private.
Officially, Ball has been ruled out indefinitely by the Hornets and Borrego confirmed he would be seeing specialists, as reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The expectation, though, is that his rookie season will be over after 41 games.
“This is just another challenge along the way and now we got to deal with it,” Borrego said. “In the end, we’ll be better for it. Melo will be better for it. It hurts in the moment, but we pick ourselves up, we move forward, and in the end, we’ll be better. And that’s the challenge now and it’s next man up, it’s an opportunity for somebody else to step up.
“But we do this together and we do this resiliently and we move forward and we continue to fight. And that’s all we got right now. I expect our group to fight. I really do you know. When our backs have been against the wall in some situations like this, we’ve always responded and I expect this group to do the same.”
Even in a regular NBA season, little time exists for pity parties, as Borrego called them. Ball has quickly become as beloved a teammate as any on the Hornets despite being with the franchise for barely four months.
“I think they hurt for Melo, too,” Borrego said of the team. “They love this kid. This is a tight-knit group, one of the tightest groups I’ve ever been a part of, and he’s a big part of that. We’re going to miss him but he’ll be around and we’ll get that spirit back in house. And more than anything, I think they’re going to fight and compete their tail off for him. I expect that.”
The Spurs await the Hornets tonight before they travel to Houston on Wednesday. They’ll return home for a pair of games against teams in position for the playoffs this season over the weekend all while teetering at 20-21 on the season and in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race. It’s the nature of the 2020-21 NBA season with so many games packed in such a short time.
Sunday, though, served as a lesson for Borrego and the franchise of sadness, resiliency and how teams and players will respond.
“This is sport,” he said. “This is life. We go through it. Every organization has gone through it. We’re no different. It’s not going to be perfect along the way. I think it’s really how you respond and how you use it to fuel your fire and you build the depth of your spirit and your toughness and your resiliency.
“It’s tough when you’re going through it, though. I don’t want to hear that news. I don’t want to have to go to our guys and try to explain this but that’s just the reality of it. This is life. And it’s just how you respond and how you get up and you move forward.
“There’s no excuses here. I’m not backing down. Our guys aren’t backing down. We’re moving full steam ahead. There’s no feeling sorry for ourselves. I had my pity party last night. That’s over. We move on and now it’s about getting better and going after a win tonight.”