With the Charlotte Hornets mired in a losing skid, help could soon be on the way.
On Thursday, the Hornets dropped their sixth game in the last seven match-ups, falling to 28-30 on the season and deeper into the play-in seedings. Lacking offensive firepower, LaMelo Ball looks to be close to returning and offering Charlotte a massive boost.
During Thursday’s game, Bally Sports Charlotte showed Ball going through warm-ups before the game. The footage was one of the first looks at Ball out of his cast and going through some of his rehab work. While it was only a brief glimpse, it was certainly enough to get Hornets fans excited.
Interestingly, there are no clips of Ball shooting jumpers. With the cast having just come off on Monday, Ball may not yet be to that stage of his rehab yet. However, at the risk of micro analyzing a small snippet of footage, Ball’s wrist seems to have much of its flexibility back, something he noted he was working on immediately after getting his cast off.
Initially, it was believed that Ball would need 7-10 days before returning to the lineup. That would make the Hornets back-to-back against the Bucks and Celtics on Tuesday and Wednesday next week, respectively, the likeliest dates for him to make his return.
And if Thursday’s video is anything to go off of, it looks like Ball is closer than not to getting back onto the court.