Charlotte Hornets: Should LaMelo Ball be a starter?

Should LaMelo Ball really start?

In a recent post-game interview James Borrego was asked would he consider starting LaMelo Ball

"“We’ll continue to evaluate out roster and our lineup. I’m looking at everything right now in evaluation. We’re only five games in now. So, I’ll continue to evaluate ad that’s one area I got to continue to look at and look at it hard… I’ll continue to look into that area”"

Looking at the minutes for the first five games, Ball is averaging 21.4 minutes per game. Besides the game against Cleveland when he logged 0 minutes in the fourth, Ball is averaging 4:53 fourth-quarter minutes. Out of the five games played, three were close; OKC (two-point loss), Cavaliers (seven-point loss) and Nets (two-point win) — Ball played a total of 5:34 fourth-quarter minutes in those games.

In the blowouts against the Grizzlies (15-point loss) and Mavericks (19-point loss), Ball played a total of 13:04 minutes. From the short sample we have, it shows that Borrego doesn’t trust Ball in crunch time just yet.

It’s obviously up to Borrego and the front office to decide if Ball is a starter or not, but if you want one definitive reason to suggest he’s not a starter, the answer is defense.

If and or when the Hornets lose their chance to make the play-in tournament, that is the time to test Ball as a starter.

Ball’s got the ‘it’ factor when it comes to passing and catching fire from three, but that takes time to translate. Not everyone can be like Luka Doncic and Ball has a lot to work on before he’s in that discussion.

When you look at the short-term future for the Hornets and add together the team wanting to win, the poor defense, the shot selection and the starters already being very capable playmakers, it’s clear to see why LaMelo Ball hasn’t been a starter and why he likely won’t be a consistent starter for his rookie season.