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Nov 10, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) dribbles up court against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Charles Lee On Why He Benched LaMelo Ball In Clutch Time Against The Nets

Originally posted on Fadeaway World | By Gautam Varier | Last updated Nov 20, 2024 10:28 AM ET

The Charlotte Hornets fell to 5-9 in this 2024-25 season with a narrow 116-115 loss to the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on Tuesday. A big talking point after that game was LaMelo Ball being benched for almost the entire fourth quarter and Hornets head coach Charles Lee explained why he chose to play Tre Mann over him postgame.

"Melo has been phenomenal for us and he's done so many good things," Lee said. "He's creating offensively and guarding, and I just thought that Tre had a little better of a hand tonight and was helping us a little bit more on both ends of the court.

"But, that's not to say that we weren't getting anything from Melo early in the game," Lee continued. "I thought he did a really good job of setting the table and doing some good things too. I think every night it could be somebody different and they all have to accept the fact that if another guy has it going, we probably need to ride that hand."

Ball undoubtedly had a rough outing against the Nets, with just 12 points, five rebounds, and one assist. The one-time All-Star went 3-13 from the field, 3-8 from three, and 3-3 from the line.

While that fourth-quarter benching was the big talking point, Ball had also gotten benched in the third. He was taken off the court with 7:41 left in the quarter, not long after he took what could be termed an ill-advised shot.

This is the play that resulted in Lamelo being benched for almost 12 minutes straight : pic.twitter.com/04XnK92Z8s
— Sriracha (@SrirachaDfs) November 20, 2024

Ball committed a terrible offensive foul after this as well and I suppose a combination of the two led to Lee deciding he had to sub out his star. He put the guard back in with 4:19 left but subbed him out less than a minute later, as he committed a turnover and missed a shot.

Ball didn't play the rest of the quarter and only got back in the game with 7:15 left in the fourth quarter. Three more missed shots followed and Lee decided he had seen enough. Ball was subbed out with 3:48 left in the quarter and remained on the bench the rest of the way despite the game being very close.

While Ball struggled, Mann had 19 points, three rebounds, and six assists in the contest. He had gone 4-5 from the field in the third quarter and certainly had a hot hand entering the fourth. I can understand a coach wanting to ride that hot hand, but that shouldn't be at the expense of your best player.

You wouldn't expect the likes of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Nikola Jokic to be benched in the fourth quarter of a close game, regardless of how poorly they might have played up to that point. Even if you go a tier below them, someone like De'Aaron Fox won't ever get benched late in a close game either.

What makes Lee's decision look even worse is that Ball has been one of the top clutch performers in the NBA this season. The 23-year-old has scored 35 points in the clutch in 2024-25, which is tied for fifth-most with Durant.

Even if Durant was 0-20 entering the fourth quarter of a close game, Phoenix Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer isn't going to put him on the bench. As a coach, you have to back your star player to deliver when it matters most and Lee didn't do that here.

I'm sure Ball wouldn't have been too pleased about it either. Had the Hornets won, Lee would have been able to justify that decision to his star but they lost and are now 0-2 in the NBA Cup. They failed to make it to the knockout stage in the cup last season after going 1-3 in the group stage and it looks like they'll miss out this time around as well.

The Hornets will take on the Detroit Pistons next at Spectrum Center on Thursday at 7 PM ET and it will be interesting to see what Lee does if he finds himself in the exact same situation again. Will he bench Ball in the fourth if he's struggling? I don't think he will, but time will tell

This article first appeared on Fadeaway World and was syndicated with permission.

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