The Charlotte Hornets didn't start LaMelo Ball on Thursday night.
That's right -- 'Melo came off the bench.
It was a move that no one saw coming, although it made more sense once Charlotte explained it.
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Why did Hornets bench LaMelo Ball?
The Hornets are trying to make sure Ball can see the floor in both ends of back-to-backs as he works through an injury-plagued season.
“Just trying to find a way to get more creative with how we manage Melo’s minutes in order to keep him in a good place health-wise,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said, via The Charlotte Observer. “And also just coming off of that last game, wanted to find a way that maybe we can have him in at the end of games."
By bringing Ball off the bench, the Hornets can target to have more of his minutes down the stretch of games rather than using up too much of his juice early.
“It helps us regulate his minutes, and then I thought he was able to play more minutes in the fourth quarter," Lee said. "So, he had great pop tonight, great energy, gave us a huge boost off the bench. I thought Collin (Sexton) did a really good job of stepping in there with that starting group and giving us exactly what we needed on both ends, too.”
Ball hadn't come off the bench since his rookie season in 2020.
He dropped 33 points, so he obviously wasn't too bothered by it.
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