New Charlotte Hornets Head Coach, Charles Lee, is facing backlash today for benching the team’s superstar, Lamelo Ball, in the clutch moments versus the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, November 19th. While this decision did, in fact, inhibit our ability to win this specific game, I argue that the decision will pay off in the long-run.
Despite emerging as a dominant superstar in the NBA–and one which has taken control over fourth quarter after fourth quarter this year–Lamelo Ball has long struggled with high turnovers numbers and occasional spotty decision-making. This season, Lamelo Ball has turned the ball over an average of 4.4 times per game (Stat Muse). For reference, Russell Westbrook holds the record for the highest career turnover average in the regular season with 4.1 turnovers per game (Wikipedia). Thus, Lamelo Ball is currently on pace to have the highest turnovers per game average in NBA regular season history.
If the team wants to win games in the long-term–and wants Lamelo Ball to lead them–this is unacceptable. While we shouldn’t punt the season for no reason, Charles Lee acknowledged that this game was a low-stakes time to send a message to our young superstar. In a young season where injury troubles and team struggles have been evident, Lee used this as the perfect opportunity to be clear about the team’s expectations for Lamelo Ball.
Furthermore, Charles Lee is establishing the precedent that no one is above the law and that no one is above the franchise’s expectation for good basketball. Everyone must adhere to the standards, especially the superstars. Obviously, we should not–and will not–intentionally lose games, but if this team aims to contend with Lamelo Ball at the helm someday, we’ll look back and be thankful for this moment. Lamelo, and the team around him, won’t forget this moment and will be forced to learn from it going forward.
Photos: David Jensen (Getty Images)
there has been a lot of hate towards charles lee over this, would. u rather someone who’s consistently knocking down 3s and playing defence or melo who has 12 pts 0 in the 3rd and having a off night