For the first time in a long while, Charlotte Hornets fans are ecstatic about the perpetually struggling team. It bounced back on Friday after a frustrating loss to the Atlanta Hawks by overwhelming the San Antonio Spurs to win three of its previous four games.
As many may have already seen, the Hornets put on a shooting clinic versus San Antonio, draining a franchise-record 26 3-pointers en route to a 145-134 victory. Four players, namely LaMelo Ball, Nick Smith Jr., Josh Green, and Miles Bridges, scored at least 20, with the former three sinking six or more triples.
It was a pleasant surprise to watch Charlotte click on all cylinders after it endured a stretch of tough offensive outings late in February. It probably helped that the Spurs were missing supposed Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner Victor Wembanyama, who is out for the season. But even if the French big man were on the floor on Friday, he wouldn't have been able to stop multiple Hornets players from catching fire from deep.
Unfortunately, fans cannot expect to see Buzz City perform this well on offense every night. After all, it is last in the league this season in field-goal percentage and 28th in 3-point efficiency.
Hornets found out how to build around LaMelo Ball
Still, the Hornets' beatdown of San Antonio showed how potent their offense can be. And, of course, Ball was a key reason behind the scoring explosion.
Perhaps some folks might be surprised that the star put up just 27 points. However, he reached the mark while attempting a mere 13 shots throughout the evening. He did the most damage with his playmaking skills again, dishing out 15 assists.
It has become clear that Ball is most effective when he is orchestrating the offense instead of trying to be a volume scorer. Sadly, the supporting cast around him has mostly been a letdown in the 2024-25 campaign. Take Smith Jr. and Green's performance, for example. The pair of swingmen have been unreliable for much of the season, and their production on Friday is more of an outlier than the norm.
So, the front office should have taken note and should make sure to look to add or retain trustworthy pieces around Ball in the summer.
Allowing defenses to focus on him has limited his effectiveness. But if the guys with him on the floor can hit their shots consistently and avoid the injury bug as much as possible, the 2021 Rookie of the Year can help deliver the wins for the success-starved organization.