Steve Nash: “It’s a mature performance. That’s a team that looks like they can play playoff basketball. And you gotta give LaMelo Ball credit… he’s really trimmed the fat out of his game.”
Lamelo stock went from Trae/Ja comps to great leader in a span of 7 games
yeah because people actually watched him play instead of drawing their entire opinions from 3 tiktok clips
To be fair, I think people are doing thing with Trae Young right now too. He also was not playing down to the level Ja had been most of the year.
I’m pretty jealous that Washington stole him honestly. where do i find a free all-star?
I think Al Jefferson is free. He could run it back. The league isnt ready for his iso high post game!
God damn I love me some high post
Great comparison
The clippers gave us one
We had to pay a whole Paul George for our all stars.
Crazy that teams sacrifice entire seasons to be on the bottom of the rankings for years just for the chance to draft a playmaker of Traes level and all Washington had to do was offer expiring salary.
I mean when you draft a dude you’re talking about almost a decade of control over the contract vs Traes contract having the player option in 5 months….apples to bowling balls my friend
What if the bowling ball was an apple?
first you need a Ben Simmons
on paper, he’d be a very good addition here if we made no other deadline moves. We need two things… defense and a ball handler for the second unit.
I doubt he’s still looking to play basketball though
Imagine he comes to Charlotte…just to start fishing on Lake Norman
I’ve been contemplating this for months now
Dwight Howard is out there
Trae is a fine player but you cant win with him. What’s the point in a player you can’t win with?
I’m no Trae fan but this is a stupid argument. You can’t win with this guy you can’t win with that guy. Motherfuckers said this about curry too then he won. It’s a TEAM game
Nah that’s entirely cap,
Trae had been awful for ~9 or 10 of the first 12 games he played before injury.
It was trending down last 2 years as well, numbers don’t tell full story - last season the team lost a LOT of games because his extremely poor play in the 4th quarter.
The gains he made in playmaking were not substantially better than the buckets he gave on D
I and many Hawks fans defended Trae vigorously from his career start thru 2023. Since, the quality of his play cratered while the league learned how to counter him and his quickness fell off.
I genuinely hope he regains his form and winning ways, I’m also glad the Hawks got ANYTHING back to avoid his $49m player option next year… 🤷♂️
What?!? A rational take on Trae from a Hawks fan? I’ve been getting killed for wanting to move off of Trae in our sub
By far the most rational takes about any NBA team on reddit are takes by a fan of that team on an /r/nba post unrelated to such team.
Replies like this are why I will never blame players for taking the money and leaving, or requesting a trade
Because you think fans shouldn’t criticise the players on their favorite team?
” I’m also glad the Hawks got ANYTHING back to avoid his $49m player option next year…”
Did you forget this part? Fans have no issues moving on for the betterment of the team, but yet will crush a player for doing what’s best for their own career. It’s ridiciulous.
I read this as them thinking, that the situation was beyond repair and that they are happy they got anything back for him to build the roster, instead of wasting a year and 50m of salary.
Yall literally just did this with Myles lol
Sure players should get their money if so choose and have a market, fans aren’t beholden to naively think their team is better with an overpaid guy than it could be with said player’s cap slot and minutes available for better complementary players in the future…
Trae is being severely underrated right now.
It’s crazy to me that people talk about him like he’s a bum. Maybe it’s because I’ve always been a fan of him.
Unfortunately way too many fans act like trade value is the same as on-court value. That’s also why the same fans act like any decent player on a rookie contract is better than they really are.
I feel like healthy Trae is worth a max. Elite playmakers are worth their weight in gold in the playoffs when transition stops and it becomes all about scoring in the half court.
So an elite playmaker that can space is not very hard to build around because he’s a similar archetype to most of the elite point guards that don’t guard but create for everyone.
Trae is a good basketball player. But he’s complicated to build around and not worth a max
Yeah trae is good he just isn’t as good as he gets paid. You can only afford to pay 1-2 guys max money and when one of those guys is a small guard who can’t really guard anybody it gets tough to put a winning team around them.
Exactly, someone came in our sub saying how much better he’s gotten, and it’s all just been narratives. This is who he’s been with, slightly more added effort on the defensive end.
Now we have an actually starting NBA roster around him, which makes so much of his game shine.
If you want to talk about players getting better, Brandon Miller is ascending.
>This is who he’s been with, slightly more added effort on the defensive end.
Yup, his offensive game has pretty much stayed the same, except for needing to carry the team now. His main difference is that and he’s been a bit better about the frustration fouls. But he’s still playing like he always has.
the lack of frustration fouls has gotten SO muddy better
Yes it’s so winning creatives all these narratives 😂 the only difference is the hornets have talent now that’s it.
people have evaluated lamelo in some of the strangest ways. wild that he went from being seen by many as a total luxury player who could never be a serious part of a winning team despite putting up crazy numbers. and now that he doesn’t have to carry an entire offense, people are seeing exactly how he can contribute to a winning team lol
it turns out surrounding anyone with 4 Josh Greens doesn’t set them up for success, who would’ve thought
You’re so right but we gotta be real, no one in national media was ever gonna pay attention to a starting five involving Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward, PJ Washington, and Mason Plumlee.
The opinions got changed mostly cause of the heated rivalry slowmo of him that’s going around lol
I love watching him but honestly all I can ever see in my head when I think of him is those clips of him peeling out through red lights lol
6-7 TikTok clips Tbf
It’s a highlight league, how you watching games?
That’s how most people judge players, good and bad.
Guys lost constantly for years, he was properly rated
It does help a lot to win games
winning fixes everything
As it should, dude is insanely talented and got a bad rep for being on a mismanaged team
Last 7 games: 1-15, 6-12, 8-19, 4-12, 6-14, 8-17, 5-15. Maybe we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves here.
I mean like 2⁄3 of his shots are from 3 so he’s not going to shoot good percentages. Just look at how the team performs with him on/off the court
Since when is not shooting good percentages not a bad thing?
because if you shoot mostly 3s the definition of “god percentage” changes. Shooting 36% from 3 is a pretty good percentage for example, which Lamelo is currently shooting. It is true he has a finishing issue though, shooting only 45% from 2.
You are on the most reactionary sub on the site
To be fair to Trae he’s also lauded this way when his team is actually good. Atlanta this year is just garbage
Is Ball actually putting it together?
Lamelo has always projected higher than both of them because he isn’t a n NBA shrimp
Helps that he’s like 6” taller and 6 years younger than those guys.
what being sent to the bench do a mfr
Cause he’s not the best player by far anymore and he actually has skills without holding the ball for 80% if the time
Only thing about this run that is gonna piss me off is all the casuals that are gonna act like LaMelo took their feedback and made some huge changes to his playstyle in 3 weeks lol.
No, he’s just not hurt or playing next to DaQuan Jeffries and Nick Smith and or guys arrested by the FBI for throwing games
LaMelo proved when he was 20 that he can play winning mature basketball at a high level if he has even somewhat decent teammates and his health
Lamelo has been a dominant engine for good to great offense for literally 5 years. Just been surrounded by so little and had a lot of injuries.
The only thing I’m concerned about with Lamelo is his head.
Not his joints too?
Ik it gotta be annoying when fans and media stick to a bs narrative when they clearly haven’t been watching the hornets
My lil bro is a huge hornets and Lamelo fan and he called it when he said ppl are gonna think Lamelo changed his game cause of the recent win streak lol
Health is a big factor. Him and Miller just haven’t been healthy enough for a long enough stretch of games to make a good assessment. Healthy the hornets are a decent team and throw in Kon, you have an eastern conference playoff team.
Almost as if roster construction by the FO is critical to a winning team…
It’s like word-for-word how Devin Booker was considered an empty stats player until he got an actual supporting cast.
I brought this same comparison up at the start of the year, said Lamelo is being treated just like Booker was and that people will turn when the team starts winning and Suns fans got offended I tried to compare the two
Yeah this month has felt like our “Bubble Suns” moment where we actually turn a page and move toward contention, even if we’re still far off.
What the hell was going on in Charlotte lmao.
Michael Jordan was one of the worst owner in sports
People with unmatched natural talent have no idea what it takes for other people to succeed.
It’s not like he was coaching them. He just wanted to hire his friends and family, didn’t really give a shit about the team.
You know how fans of shit franchises will chant at the owner to sell the team? Well we tried that and its working
Yeah he is literally the youngest all-star in NBA history. The Hornets have always been much better when he plays than not. He has very clearly been a very good player his entire career. People just love shitting on people who put up numbers despite being on a bad team.
Did Kobe cease to exist?
Well…
that’s not a nice way to talk about a tragedy
2nd youngest, Kobe is a thing
I think that a lot of people mistake the flair and joy he plays with for him being “unserious”, which is just unfair towards him. He is very good and plays with a lot of heart.
my bad, I made that post on y’alls sub
I’m loving this arc for the Hornets right now, he might be immature off the field but he’s the #1 option on a team that could make the playoffs and he’s playing his role perfectly. Hopefully the Wizards are up next, I enjoyed our teams Twitter wars in the offseason and I hope they continue into the playoffs eventually.
“Lamelo doesn’t play winning basketball” is like “Gobert can’t guard the perimeter” in terms of lazy takes that help indicate the person doesn’t know shit about what they’re talking about
Been this way man. But the hate against dude is so crazy on this sub no one cares to contextualize his situation. Literally was an All Star and won 43 games his 2nd year at 20 years old playing this style of ball.
Tried to play hero and averaged 30 last Fall on Wilt usage because Tre’s back blew out, Grant’s knee blew out, BMill’s wrist broke, and Nick and Mark were in and out. Playing with 2-way players and Taj Gibson but people were calling him a shot chucking loser as if that’s how he plays when the teams healthy.
I never understood— go back to any thread from his first 2 years compared to the last 3 years of injuries to the Hornets roster and the dialogue is night and day. He’s always been one of the better offensive engines in the league when he’s healthy.
God damn son. My favorite bulls fan comin at you with the facts.
That iso possession on wemby was beautiful. Everyone in the building thought melo was shooting that ball.
Slightly off-topic, but beyond his basketball ability, his shoes are the most comfortable I’ve played in before. The toe-box cushioning is honestly amazing.
That deft segue deserves an upvote!
you know ball
AMEN
Interesting
I mean he’s wrong because LaMelo is playing the same way he’s always has. The difference is health.
LaMelo is playing the same way he’s always has
Not at all. Every year he has increased his range and taken his shots further away from the basketball. He’s also passing more and taking less shots (per 100 possessions).
His defense has improved this season also
Can’t wait for full court 3s when he’s 28
Thank you.
It’s funny seeing people in here try and say he hasn’t changed any when he has a bit.
Now, I agree he has better talent around him and they’ve been staying healthy which may be the cause of all of this, but the fact remains he has changed
And shot making variance. Teams go on runs and players get on hot streaks for month or two all the time. Show me a healthy Ball in the play in or playoffs before I decide that several years of being injured and playing like a clown is actually in the rear view.
But having said that it’s gotta start somewhere. I got nothing against him. I hope it’s real.
Not true lol. He’s scoring a lot less and therefore chucking less. His PPG is down like 6 since last year but he’s kept his playmaking the same.
He’s always been an inefficient scorer so the fact that he’s shootings less helps the team.
Thats mostly a minutes thing and talent thing brother. His shots/scoring per 100 possession and per 36 minutes are still above career average and only behind last year when he had no help
They told me he wasn’t a winning player lol
Most of those shots in that game was open or at end of the shot clock lmao
That thread was ridiculous
I mean let’s see how the rest of the season goes lol. They’re still a ways under .500, if you’re gonna toss out the first half of the season you’ve at least got to let the second half come to an end before you make any bold claims
Just because they were losing games doesn’t mean he’s not a winning player. Linking to my old comment because I’m too lazy to re-state it all.
Exactly. People forget that it’s a team game.
I mean don’t look now but charlotte is currently 2 games out from being the 9th seed, and with how they’re playing lately, they could in all honesty soar up to 8th
lol nice /s
He isn’t playing like an idiot as much and taking much better shots
Anybody who actually watched knew this was a product of our talent lol. LaMelo had to score because we had no other viable options on offense and he actually did it really well before injuries. But we had already seen him on mildly successful teams with talent and people acted like it never happened.
It’s unreal how injured and how trash the Hornets around Lamelo have been.
Yeah we had a 43 win season with a bunch of guys under 25 and then everything went to shit. Bridges domestic abuse, Atkinson taking and then rejecting the HC job, Mitch trades Duren for peanuts, LaMelo injured after the best scoring stretch of his career, aging hits Hayward hard, Rozier starts throwing games for gambling.
It’s taken us 3 seasons to pick up the pieces and put something competent together lol. I’m just grateful we at least got Miller and Kon to show for it plus the Miami & Dallas FRPs.
He’s taking the same damn shots he’s always taken. People just don’t watch enough to realize that the one footed step back three is somehow an efficient shot for LaMelo!
Ball plays the exact same way since Chino Hills and somehow makes it work. It’s legitimately baffling how ridiculously talented he is when healthy.
Also those random 3s are like 1% of his offensive package. He’s a dominant playmaking PnR engine.
It’s the same damn shots.
Casual
Emphasis on ‘was’. Thats why this post exists cause Nash is talking about he got rid of his bad habits.
Nash was wrong when he said that. Same way Perkins was wrong. And Draymond. Just bc theyre nba players dont mean theyre right. Nash is obviously just another stat watcher and highlight watcher. Hes watching soccer, not Hornet games. He proved that when he said that shit. Lamelo is still moving the ball the same way, but its paying off bc he has weapons all around him. He doesnt have to be the #1 scoring option anymore, though sometimes he can be. Hes not taking “better” shots , hes still involving his team on the offense, and still shooting his one legged step back 3 from time to time or the running floater. His numbers have dropped a bit bc the whole starting team, besides moose, can now give you 20 to 30 pts on any given night. Hes literally playing the same, just now there is talent around him to take the load off his shoulders so doesnt HAVE to take as many shots.. Last season, hed deliver a beautiful pass to a wide open Dequan Jeffries for a brick. Now hes got Kon Kneupple.
Not a winning player my ass. Finally clicking man, used to pray for times like this
You deserve a healthy run. Hope yall upset the celtics, get revenge🤣
Always loved lamelo. Booker used to be a “losing player” too until the bubble and then they got cp3.
Lamelo finally has a decent team in like 5 years. He does have to stay somewhat healthy. Your trio is super nice, just need some decent depth now and growth.
Turns out a super talented playmaker looks better when he’s surrounded by good shooters! Who knew??
I think this is another example of how important elite playmaking is. Lamelo, Halliburton, Luka and Trae are three guys that always create looks for their teammates and ends up being incredibly valuable, especially in the half court.
People will complain about defense for some but pretty much all of the great point guards were a negative on defense.
We saw Trae bring a John Collins and Clint Capela core deep into the playoffs. We saw Luka bring a bunch of guys to the finals and Hali brought a team that may finish last in the league to the finals.
Lamelo’s issue is his injury history but when he’s on the court he’s a stud.
“LaMelo, Halliburton, Luka and Trae” “three guys” No Oxford comma “Luka and Trae” is one person.
“LaMelo, Halliburton, Luka and Trae”
“three guys”
No Oxford comma
“Luka and Trae” is one person.
Steve Nash & Chris Paul, must see TV
I’ve always said Lamelo and Haliburton have nearly identical games, but Lamelo always was more inconsistent because of injuries and at times was just chucking and playing unseriously but to be fair it was when the Hornets had like no NBA players around him
but pretty much all of the great point guards were a negative on defense.
that is a big exaggeration. kidd, cp3, stockton, gary payton were elite defensive players. like yeah, there are a lot of hall of fame point guards who were mediocre to bad defensively, but plenty were not. then when you go down the list a bit you get guys like dennish johnson, chauncey billups, jrue holliday who are not going to be in any ‘best of all time’ lists or whatever, but who were great point guards who were important pieces on championship teams who were elite defensively.
It still boggles my mind that Washington got Trae for free. Zero value given to Atlanta (and arguably negative value) for a guy that dragged a team to the ECF.
Half this sub is just now learning that a playmaker looks better when his teammates can hit shots lmfao. Dude got called a shot chucker because he was the only player in the roster that could shoot anything worth a damn, not because he doesn’t care.
He’s shot more than he should in the past for sure, but would you rather have a star PG shoot or pass to Nick Smith Jr? Of course it didn’t look like he was a serious player or that he didn’t “play winning basketball” (whatever the fuck that even means), he barely had basketball players in his team.
Alot of folks who claim to be fans don’t actually watch full games of basketball they watch highlights, read headlines, go off social media opinions etc. especially smaller market teams.
I mean I definitely don’t watch 100% of all NBA games, hell I don’t even watch every game my team plays. The difference is I don’t go around looking like a fool talking about things I don’t know or care about. It’s OK to not care about certain teams, it’s weird to talk about them like you do.
maybe the fat on his game was players that are out of the league that he had to play with
Literally this. He’s playing like he did his first two years because he’s not on the court with Taj Gibson and JT Thor
“wow look how unserious this guy is taking this deep contested three”
pans out to him playing with Vasa Micic, Cody Martin, JT Thor and Nick Richards
Unnecessary fat shaming
Luka in shambles
Nico was cutting out the fat before it was cool
You got me lol
I’m super high on Lamelo Ball he’s going to run the league for years if he stays healthy. Ultra talented basketballer despite the question if he can be the first option on a championship winning team
yeah he doesn’t need to be the first option. he’s one of four at the moment.
Miller averages 20.1, Melo 19, Kon 18.8, and Bridges 18.4.
He will always be the lead ball handler but having to take on superstar usage (like the last couple years when everyone was injured and the role players were garbage) was always a terrible use of his skills
We won 43 games the last time we had a setup like this and it’s embarrassing it’s taken this long to get back to that.
Damn 4 dudes 18-20ppg is pretty crazy
Gonna be like the pacers
I don’t know if was intentional, but you made a perfect loop.
It was too perfect
5-15 shooting with 3 turnovers is a mature Lamelo?
ROFL
You arent watching the games, just the box score
You should explain to him what his impact is irrespective of box acot
Hornets fans coming out of the woodwork. Ghost town from their fan base unless it was about Kon up until the start of this new year
That’s bullshit. Our sub is engaged af especially given how bad this team has been the last decade.
LaMelo is looking like a real elite PG out there these days. Love to see it
As much as I’m annoyed with how the spurs played today and they seem to be regressing as the season goes on, I’m happy for lamelo and the hornets. They’re fun to watch and I never sold my property on lamelo island.
Lamelo was always like this, we just never got the coverage for people to understand how he was always this way.
All of yall owe Melo a fucking apology
as a Lamelo truther, I can’t wait to see everyone revert after 1 bad game. Love baby Melo ❤️
I’m sorry but I cannot hear the “trim the fat” and not think of horrible bosses
“I want you to trim the fat around here”
“Huh what do you mean trim the fat?”
“I want you to fire the fat peoeple. They’re lazy slow and make me sad to look at”
imagine him with steph
I’ll say it now, so it’s not punching while he’s down: lamelo is a ball chucker, plain and simple.
Until he realizes and addresses his low shooting percentages, he will never break the threshold like many great players.
my boy is brainrot magic johnson and i’m here for it
Funny enough, Spurs weren’t playing mature today. Do they have a coach or something like that who can say to this 8 ft Cam Thomas to use his strengths and not his wannabe Allen Iverson mentality?
Having a solid team helps. Kon going to be an all-star level player
He’s been playing great, finally healthy looks like.
I like Amazons studio crew a lot btw, Nash and Dirk have great chemistry and Haslem adds a different perspective
Think about Melos story man, literally the main character if he actually hits his potential. And we got to see it on camera from middle school till now
Is miller an all star this year
If I’m one of the top seeds in the East I do NOT want the Hornets first round lmao
Golden State could have groomed him with Steph and Klay around instead of Wiseman.
Luka catching random strays every day
This is my second team I saw them in the triangle and clearing it
I sometimes wonder how Lamelo’s development could’ve gone if the Warriors drafted him instead of Wiseman
Lamelo has crazy gravity because his range is wherever he wants it to be + his vision. Whole thing hums and it starts with him
Good luck lamelo!
The issue with LaMelo was never the ‘fat’ in his game. You won’t find anyone arguing that he wasn’t a walking offensive highlight, the issue was that his ass never played.
Dude couldn’t crack 50 games for 3 years straight.
Happy for hornet’s fans out there.
Crazy how much of the league comes down to personality - everyone with eyes can see how talented LaMelo is, dude fucks around for a while and the Hornets are ass - Dude takes thing seriously and they’re taking out the spurs lol like 50% of that coaches job is getting LaMelo to take things serious, crazy league
🅱️🅱️🅱️
Great observation about LaMelo trimming the fat out of his game. His impulsivity used to drive me crazy: we called him Lame-lo because he could be so lame. I think he’s discovered the fun of teaming with Brandon & now Kon. At least to me he looks like he’s enjoying things more now that he isn’t just chucking the ball on a whim, & is working with his talented teammates.
The team’s success is a nice surprise on a season dominated by the elite teams and Giannis trade rumors.
19 8 and 5 on 40 percent from the field and 37 from downtown w 3 turnovers a game…for a team thats 22-28. The last ten games are great and all but lets not get ahead of ourselves lol
Oh yeah the 11th place team really looks like a playoff team. Can’t wait to see their deep deep run towards a championship…
Sports analyst when a team wins games
This team is pretty good
Sports analyst when a team loses games
This team stinks!
Many such cases. I’m still not convinced the hornets are legit. We will see in April
They’re finally a team worthy of their tv commentators
I’ve never seen a 21-28 team get so much smoke blown up their ass.
So true
W/ their dominant player averaging 19 8 and 5 w 3 plus turnovers on 40 percent shooting…awful TS as well.
Does he even watch the games or gets his lines from ChatGPT?
So what you really mean Steve is the game the is slowing down for him 🤔
Did we watch the same game? LaMelo was pretty terrible tonight. He had one time that he completely cooked Wemby on a switch that led to an open 3 for a teammate. Otherwise, every time he tried to attack Wemby on the PNR, he got eaten alive. And many times he forced up bad shots. Collin Sexton saved them. He was incredible. And Sexton was negative in +/- while Melo was +, which is another reminder of how worthless +/- is, especially in small samples.
Nah did you watch the game, not a great shooting night from him but his P&R operation and how he initiated in the half court was great
The Hornets’ best offense was Brandon Miller attacking off the dribble, not LaMelo attacking in the halfcourt off PNRs. And LaMelo didn’t jump-start any transition offense. Y’all try so hard to glaze LaMelo, but he’s a league-average starting point guard at best. He’s okay for the Hornets because they don’t have any other PNR point guards. He’s not anything more than okay relative to the rest of the League. And he makes too many brain-dead plays to be worth it on a winning team. You don’t remember that awful left-handed pass turnover in the first half? His awful 3-point bricks in the first half? I do. He has just as many possessions like that that hi-jack the offense in terrible ways. He’s feast-or-famine that metes out to average.
The best offense wasn’t Miller off the dribble he was inefficient today and all his best looks came off DHOs and swing passes. Can tell you obviously hate Lamelo which makes it hard to be objective, so not getting into this with you
Hes top 20 on the epm list. Third best assist percentage in the nba. All the other stats, rapm, lebron, raptor, thinking basketballs box creation score rate lamelo as one of the best offensive talents in the nba. His offensive on off is like 12.
EPM is a terrible stat. Too noisy. +/- based stats are multi-year lagging indicators and require huge sample sizes. LaMelo is about 6% below league average in TS% with a sky-high turnover rate. Talent is not the same thing as skill or effectiveness.
We talk a lot about physical maturity in the NBA. There’s also mental maturity and LaMelo seems to be getting there this year.