Can LaMelo Ball win Rookie of the Year this season?
Ball came into the league as one of the most talked-about prospects in recent memory. It’s safe to say everybody knows about the Lonzo Ball hype coming out of UCLA. Who can forget all the antics Lavar Ball pulled after Lonzo got drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers?
While the Ball family has been swirling around the league for years, LaMelo Ball is perhaps the best of the brothers. With that being said, let’s dive in and see why Ball’s profile for Rookie of the Year is quite enticing.
LaMelo Ball: Rookie of the Year?
Ball is a triple-double waiting to happen on any given night. Ball has always been touted as the Ball brother with the highest ceiling, but his path to the NBA was a bit unorthodox.
Nevertheless, LaMelo has a plethora of talent. His passing ability was the most talked-about of all his traits during the draft season, and for good reason. Ball is extremely patient when it comes to passing, and his court vision is second-to-none. LaMelo is averaging just short of six assists per game, and his numbers will only increase as the season progresses.
This one-armed, full-court pass from LaMelo Ball 😱🔥pic.twitter.com/9yVCW8E6bs
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 12, 2021
Ball has just one triple-double through the early phases of the year. Albeit, some of that can be factored into his minutes being managed in a bit of a strange fashion. Ball has come off the bench in every game to start the 2020-21 season, and James Borrego has been questioned for continuing to bring Ball off the pine.
Ball is averaging 13 points and six boards in the early phases of the year to go along with 1.5 steals per game. He has looked extremely patient and has really come around in the past half dozen games.
Size
LaMelo is in every way, shape, and form a point guard. However, he stands at 6-foot-7 at just 19 years old. From a size point of view, he’s bigger than just about every guard in the entire league. Ball won’t turn 20 until August of this year, so the teenager has a lot of room for growth.
While his weight was always an issue at just 181 pounds, that should change soon. Ball has world-class trainers at his disposal, so that should help.
Frankly speaking, he’s much taller than most guards in this league.
Fit
While the Charlotte Hornets desperately needed a big in the draft (sorry Bismack Biyombo), they elected to pick Ball. In all honesty, Ball could very well be the best player in the 2020 class quickly.
The Hornets are full of good guards- Terry Rozier and Devonte’ Graham– but Ball’s potential was too hard to pass up.
However, the managing of Ball’s minutes has been head-scratching early on. Graham was in every way a Sixth Man of the Year candidate in 2020. Unfortunately for Graham, he didn’t finish in the Top 10 of voting.
Graham averaged over 18 points per game last season, and it makes sense to bring him off the bench again, right? Nope, not to Borrego. He has started every game so far for the Hornets. Ball has played over 30 minutes in just three games this year, which is confusing.
Ball has also scored double-digits in all but one game as of Monday. Play the man, give him the keys, let him start.
It’s evident the Hornets offense runs much smoother will Ball leading the show, and it’s bound to happen sooner rather than later.
Something to Watch
Ball has come out impressively, especially over the past couple of weeks. If Ball can get more minutes and a starting role, he could run away with the award.
The rookie recorded his first career triple-double, becoming the youngest to do so in NBA history. Ironically enough, he broke Lonzo’s record set in 2017.
Is Ball the favorite to win Rookie of the Year?
Main Photo
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