LaMelo Ball did not shy away from taking responsibility after the Charlotte Hornets’ Play-In loss, but his comments also pointed toward frustration with how the game was managed.
The Hornets were overwhelmed early by the Orlando Magic, falling into a massive deficit that effectively ended the contest before halftime.
And for Ball, the issue was not just execution. It was how long it took for him to take control of the game.
LaMelo Ball suggests he should have taken control earlier
Speaking during the postgame interview, Ball made it clear he felt the approach came too late.
“I just felt like it was too late, I should have been doing that from the jump. We were running a lot of plays and getting pushed around, I feel like I should’ve just taken the ball from the beginning,” Ball said.
The comment appeared to point toward head coach Charles Lee’s system, which emphasized structured offense early before Ball shifted into a more aggressive role later in the game.
By that point, however, the Hornets were already chasing a game that had slipped out of reach.
Charlotte Hornets overwhelmed early in blowout loss to Orlando Magic
The numbers underline just how quickly things unraveled for Charlotte.
Orlando built a 68-37 halftime lead, the largest in Play-In history, and never looked back in a 121-90 win that ended the Hornets’ season.
Charlotte struggled across the board, shooting just 33.7 percent from the field while committing 20 turnovers, many of which came in the first half and led directly to easy points for the Magic.
The physical gap was just as glaring. Orlando dominated the glass 49-34 and outscored the Hornets 64-28 in the paint, controlling both tempo and physicality from the opening tip.
Ball finished with 23 points, but 21 of those came in the third quarter when the game was already out of reach, highlighting how late Charlotte’s push came.
By the time Ball took over, the Hornets were already buried, leaving a lingering question about whether a different approach from the start could have changed the outcome.
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