LaMelo Ball takes aim at play-calling after Hornets' blowout exit

LaMelo Ball takes aim at play-calling after Hornets' blowout exit originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Charlotte Hornets are done for the 2025-26 season. The Orlando Magic beat them 121-90 on Friday night. The Magic were ahead by 31 points at halftime. Ball only had two points by then. He said what he thought went wrong after the game.

Ball talked about the coaching staff after the game

"I think we were doing a lot of things and we were getting pushed around " Ball said to the reporters after the loss. "I think I should have taken the ball from the start."

Ball did not say anything about coach Charles Lee directly. But this season was about LaMelo following the plan, so his comment means something.

Saying you should have done your thing from the start in a loss that bad is a big thing to say. You can tell he was really frustrated.

Ball scored 23 points. 21 Of those points came in the second half after the Magic were already winning. He only had two points in the first 24 minutes of the game.

The Charlotte Hornets won 44 games this year which's the most they have won since 2016. This was supposed to be the season they did something.

The Magic showed something on Friday. When the Hornets fell behind early and needed Ball to take over, the system might have gotten in the way.

Coach Lee will probably be asked about Ball's comments before the offseason starts. Nobody knows if this is a problem between him and the coach or if he was just upset after a bad game.

The Charlotte Hornets have not made the playoffs in 11 seasons now. At some point, they will run out of excuses.