It barely took LaMelo Ball five minutes on Saturday night to remind everyone how special a talent he is.
After a Pistons turnover at the 7:40 mark of the first quarter, Ball took a pass from P.J. Washington, dribbled once and launched an underhand pass from the opposing free throw line that traveled 80 feet through the air to Miles Bridges under the basket for a layup.
In a season full of highlights from Ball, it was perhaps the best pass of his season. And on a night where he returned to the starting lineup after being sidelined for six weeks, it was indicative of his impact on the Hornets this season.
Ball sparked the Hornets to a big first half that saw them lead by as many as 19 points en route to a 107-94 win.
“It’s great to have him back because he’s a great passer,” Bridges said. “He gets everybody involved, his energy is infectious. It’s great to have Melo back. And that underhand pass was crazy. You got to have top-notch confidence to pull something like that off. He threw it right to my pocket. But yeah, I mean, it’s good to have him back.”
Ball hardly looked like he missed a step on the night. He had four assists before he even took a shot in the first quarter, and even that went in. And the Hornets looked like the fast-paced, free-wheeling, energetic team that had surprised so many fans and teams in the Eastern Conference this season.
“I don’t think this is like we’re going to have to take five games to figure each other out,” Borrego said. “These guys have been playing with each other all year. We had a little break from each other but they love playing with Melo. I mean, you could feel it the first quarter, the second quarter, it just naturally came back to us. I feel very comfortable that we’ll find that rhythm quickly and I think we saw it again tonight.”
And that pass?
“I have nothing to do with that,” Borrego added with a smile. “I just closed my eyes on that. I had nothing to do with that. Maybe we should be teaching the Melo underhand flip. I think he’s the only guy I know of, maybe (Manu) Ginobli would have thrown that one as well. I’ve seen Manu throw some crazy stuff out there. I’ll put Melo in that same Manu category. But Pop never taught it to (Manu). I never taught it to (Melo). So, I just hope it gets delivered.”
Ball’s relatively modest stat line of 11 points, eight assists and seven rebounds doesn’t tell the story of his impact on the team. After never scoring more than 18 fastbreak points in Ball’s absence, the Hornets had 23 of Friday. After seeing the Hornets play at a pace of just under 96 possessions per game, the Hornets played at a pace of 103.26 with Ball on the court on Saturday.
“He’s given us great pace all year,” Borrego said. “He’s one of the reasons were a top three, top four team in pace all season. It’s good to have him back. We got some good ones with him in transition. I expect it to only get better from here, but it was a breath of fresh air just to have that jolt back in the gym for us. All our guys have been playing with great pace. We found our way again playing with pace even before this, but Melo really takes us to the next level in that regard.”
Ball himself said it felt like a dream to finally be playing again, though in typical Ball fashion, he added that he never had any nerves before the game.
“It was a blessing,” he said. “It was good. It felt good to be back out there again.”
With Ball back in the lineup, the Hornets looked like their dynamic selves in the open court, flying up and down the court in the first quarter. While they’ve always tried to play with pace this season, Ball brings an element that none of the other Hornets guards have.
“I mean, because you know, if you run and you’re open, you’re going to get the ball,” Bridges said of the difference with Ball on the court. “There’s a different type of energy when you know there’s someone always looking up at you. I mean, Terry does a good job of passing the ball ahead, (Devonte’), Brad, but you know with Melo that he’ll just throw any type of pass to get you the ball. It’s a different type of energy for sure.”
Sometimes, that includes an 80-foot underhand pass off the dribble on a dime for an assist. Ball’s take on that pass? Nothing out of the ordinary.
Yes, really.
“I have to go back to my past again, probably,” he said. “Just playing with my pops the way he had me and my brothers and stuff (playing) five on five. He just always had us playing fast-paced, had me throw in passes like that. So it kind of felt normal, I’m not even going to lie to you.”
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