January 8, 2021
The Hornets beat the Pelicans in this matchup of brothers, 118 to 110. LaMelo’s defense is inconsistent. On the weak side, he rotates on time and uses his length to zone up between shooters to take away skip passes. But he struggles when the action comes his way. He abandons his man to chase hopeless steals. This overaggresiveness leads to easy kick out passes and open 3’s.
With four offensive rebounds this game, LaMelo is slowly convincing me that attacking the glass is worth the risk of shaky transition defense.
On offense, LaMelo is developing compelling chemistry with Gordon Hayward. They take turns screening for each other in pick and roll action. LaMelo feeds him the ball against mismatches and targets him in transition. A rapport with the team's best player will give Coach Borrego more of an incentive to play LaMelo during winning time.
Ball beats Ball for ball
LaMelo’s two best skills shine here: his nose for the ball and his passing. He beats his brother, Lonzo Ball, to the rebound before hitting the cutter in stride with a lefty hook pass.
Off ball wardrobe adjustment
As the low man, LaMelo does his job. He rotates into the paint to deter the pass to Zion Williamson and then closes out under control to the shooter. But there’s room for improvement. He needs to move with urgency to prevent Josh Hart in the corner from getting the shot off.
Notice at the beginning of the clip how he adjusts his uniform as Zion makes his rim run. This momentary lapse in attention gets him slightly behind the play — he needs to stay engaged.
Miles Bridges overhelps on Zion and leaves his man open for a kick out pass which leads to the assist.
Connectivity on defense
This rapid perimeter switching is on point. Terry Rozier helps off his man to cut off the driving Lonzo. Lonzo makes the easy pass for the open 3, but Gordon Hayward rotates over to take away the shot. Notice when Hayward closes out he denies the pass to the corner shooter. The ball handler dusts Hayward, but LaMelo chokes off the drive and forces the wayward pass.
This unorthodox defense is designed to prevent dribble penetration. NBA defenses typically send help from the weak side — not from the closest perimeter defender.
Flashy pass leads to turnover
Unnecessarily saucy — even if the pass was on target, Rozier isn’t going to pull up from the logo.
LaMelo was benched after this play.
Gone in six seconds
His quick push in transition creates a numbers advantage.
This is the benefit of his defense rebounding — it triggers the fast break. He can get the ball and go — no waiting for an outlet pass.
And 1!
Mambo-with-a-Biyombo > Hack-a-Shaq