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LaMelo Ball expressed frustration with the Charlotte Hornets' head coach following their Play-In loss to the Orlando Magic, highlighting issues with game management. The Hornets fell behind early, leading to a significant deficit before halftime.
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LaMelo Ball did not shy away from taking responsibility after the Charlotte Hornetsâ Play-In loss, but his comments also pointed toward frustration with how the game was managed.
The Hornets were overwhelmed early by the Orlando Magic, falling into a massive deficit that effectively ended the contest before halftime.
And for Ball, the issue was not just execution. It was how long it took for him to take control of the game.
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Speaking during the postgame interview, Ball made it clear he felt the approach came too late.
âI just felt like it was too late, I should have been doing that from the jump. We were running a lot of plays and getting pushed around, I feel like I shouldâve just taken the ball from the beginning,â Ball said.
The comment appeared to point toward head coach Charles Leeâs system, which emphasized structured offense early before Ball shifted into a more aggressive role later in the game.
By that point, however, the Hornets were already chasing a game that had slipped out of reach.
The numbers underline just how quickly things unraveled for Charlotte.
Orlando built a 68-37 halftime lead, the largest in Play-In history, and never looked back in a 121-90 win that ended the Hornetsâ season.
Charlotte struggled across the board, shooting just 33.7 percent from the field while committing 20 turnovers, many of which came in the first half and led directly to easy points for the Magic.
LaMelo Ball took responsibility for the loss but also expressed frustration with the game management by the head coach.
The Hornets struggled significantly, falling into a large deficit early in the game, which they could not recover from.
Key issues included poor execution and delays in LaMelo Ball taking control of the game, contributing to their loss.

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The physical gap was just as glaring. Orlando dominated the glass 49-34 and outscored the Hornets 64-28 in the paint, controlling both tempo and physicality from the opening tip.
Ball finished with 23 points, but 21 of those came in the third quarter when the game was already out of reach, highlighting how late Charlotteâs push came.
By the time Ball took over, the Hornets were already buried, leaving a lingering question about whether a different approach from the start could have changed the outcome.
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