LaMelo Ball’s chances of having Hall of Fame career rests on key change

LaMelo Ball has enough talent to propel him into the Hall of Fame one day. However, if he wants to boost his chances of joining the prestigious group, he needs to reinvent his game to be more of an all-around player — even a triple-double machine — than looking to score as much as possible.

The Charlotte Hornets star has been an enigma this season. His scoring average, 19.9 points per game, is his lowest since his rookie season, when he put up 15.7 points per contest. That would be fine if he weren’t shooting 38.0 percent from the field and 28.7 percent from beyond the arc.

Despite Ball’s inefficient campaign so far, the Hornets have needed him badly, as their offensive rating has dipped from 121.7 when he is on the floor to 111.8 when he is off it. The playmaking takes a huge hit when he is on the bench or the sidelines because, frankly speaking, they do not have anyone else capable of running an NBA-level offense.

So, despite fans’ misgivings about Charlotte’s decision to continue building around Ball, it doesn’t change the fact that, as long as he’s around, the team needs him to perform at a much higher level to have a chance of being competitive in the standings. Fortunately, there’s a pathway for the star to elevate his play and, consequently, make the Hornets better.

An uncomfortable shift

The first thing Ball must do is to shut out his tendency to chuck shots, even if that goes against what he has become used to doing since he picked up a basketball. He has fallen in love with his pull-up 3-pointers too much, but unfortunately, they’re just not falling. And it has to stop, at least until he regains his touch.

Melo shouldn’t be leading the team in average field-goal attempts, especially since he has teammates who can get buckets but need to be set up. Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel have the potential to be a high-scoring wing duo. Miles Bridges has been wildly polarizing this year but fares better when he plays like the third or fourth scoring option. Ryan Kalkbrenner has been an efficiency monster and could benefit from being featured more on offense.

Evidently, Ball has a lot of mouths to feed and should focus on realizing his potentially elite playmaking abilities.

Another area he needs to fine-tune is his rebounding. He is already hauling in 6.6 boards per game this season. Yet, it could certainly be better, especially since the Hornets are still in the middle of the pack in the league in average defensive rebounds.

What Ball has to understand is that by trying to get his hands on the ball as quickly as possible, it would be easier for Charlotte to push the pace. The squad has already shown how deadly it can be on the open floor, and having any of Miller, Knueppel, or Bridges leak out as he cleans the glass should open up more fastbreak opportunities.

So, it’s definitely possible for Ball to become a triple-double machine, even if it comes at the cost of his field-goal attempts and possibly scoring going down. However, the outcome could be a perennial All-Star or maybe even All-NBA status for the aspiring superstar. And if his increased production and efficiency translate to wins for the Hornets, a Hall of Fame enshrinement in the future becomes a lot more plausible.