CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) \u2014 Head coach Charles Lee left no doubt about his offseason expectations from Charlotte Hornets cornerstone point guard LaMelo Ball.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got to get stronger,\u201d Lee said Monday following the team\u2019s exit interviews.<\/p>\n
Opposing teams regularly stepped up their defensive pressure on Ball this season, trying to get the 6-foot-7, 190-pounder off his game by being extra physical and using hand and body checks on the perimeter and bodying him up on the way to the basket. On the other side of the ball, opponents would often go right after Ball, attack him off the dribble and back him down in the lane, forcing him to defend.<\/p>\n
Early in the season, Ball struggled to stay out of foul trouble and even fouled out of some games, but his defense improved as the season progressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cTeams are trying to deny him, trying to be physical, and you can see early in the year when teams did it, it definitely bothered him,\u201d Lee said. \u201cAs he got used to it, he got a lot more comfortable, so it\u2019s going to start with his body. He\u2019s got to get stronger and more conditioned to be able to play both sides of the ball and sustain efforts. … When you\u2019re one of the best players in the league, you have to be ready for physicality. In order to combat that, you have to be stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lee would not say how much weight \u2014 or muscle \u2014 he wants Ball to put on, saying that is up to the team\u2019s conditioning staff.<\/p>\n
Ball expressed a willingness to listen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely agree,\u201d Ball said. \u201cJust being in the weight room, and everything they\u2019re saying.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s no secret the Hornets need Ball on the floor. He averaged a career-high 25.2 points this season, along with 7.4 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game, and he is capable of heating up at any point in the game and making some ridiculous 3-pointers off one foot.<\/p>\n
The problem throughout Ball\u2019s five NBA seasons has been his inability to avoid injuries. He\u2019s played in just 56% of the franchise\u2019s 410 games over the last five seasons because of persistent injuries, most involving ankles and feet<\/a>. Ball\u2019s last three seasons have all ended in surgeries.<\/p>\n Ball hasn\u2019t come close to reaching the 75 games he played in the 2021-22 season, when he made his only appearance in the NBA All-Star game.<\/p>\n Hornets general manager Jeff Peterson views it as progress that Ball played in 47 games this season, after seeing in action in just 36 and 22 the previous two years.<\/p>\n \u201cIs it where we want it to be? No. Is it where he wants it to be? No. LaMelo is an incredible competitor, and he knows that in order for us to have the best chance to win and get to where we want to go, he has to be on the floor,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cWe\u2019re providing every resource, and again, he\u2019s putting the time in and taking ownership in it. We\u2019re happy the season is over in that regard and he\u2019s able to ramp up and have a healthy start to the season next year.\u201d<\/p>\n Peterson said Ball will \u201cabsolutely\u201d be ready for training camp and next season following surgery on his right ankle and right wrist<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cLaMelo, he can be as good as he wants to be, and we\u2019ve seen that,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cHe\u2019s played at an All-Star caliber level. I told him this the other day that I\u2019ve been fortunate, and Charles has to, to be around some great players in this league, and LaMelo is very unique and does some things that no one else can do, quite frankly.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n