The 2020-21 season is a special season.
Due to the outbreak of the epidemic, this season's NBA has come in a hurry. There are no summer leagues and no regular pre-season training camps. Many people believe that the lack of an adaptation period is one of the main reasons why the rookies of the class of 2020 are generally slower than their predecessors. But it's clear that Lamelo Bauer isn't on that list.
Jay Triano, 62, is one of the NBA's most prestigious assistant coaches. He has been an assistant coach for both Lenny Wilkens and Terry Stotts, a time as head coach at the Raptors and Suns, and a time with the Canadian National Team. He coached Damian Lillard in his rookie season and Devon Booker in his second year, but now as a player development assistant at Charlotte, he insists that the "three goals" are "one of the special.".
In the first preseason fast break, Lamelo made a beautiful pass from behind the crowd in the high-speed advance, and Miles Bridges, who received the pass, scored easily before the Raptors defenders made up for it, and the pass immediately made Triano open his mouth: "This pass happened in an instant, which made me very sure that Lamello is not the kind of guard who needs to play with his teammates for more time to know his teammates' playing habits, he is the kind of player who can see everything on the court in the moment he plays." We haven't had any players who can pass this ball in the last few years. ”
What kind of team have the Hornets been to the last few years? Last season's Hornets, who averaged only 102.9 points per game, were the first in the league; the shooting rate was 43.4%, the first in the league; they could only play 95.8 rounds per 48 minutes, the first in the league; on average, they could only get 106.3 points per 100 rounds, the second from the bottom in the league... In short, it's a team that's at the bottom of the league in terms of offensive efficiency and scoring output. Their record is terrible, and no one wants to look at their ball. Spectrum Center had only 478591 total of 478591 fans last season, ranking first from the bottom in the league and a full third less than the league's number one Dallas Mavericks.
And before the three-goal injury, the Hornets were a team that was almost certain to make it to the NBA playoffs — at least the playoffs. It is worth mentioning that in the Hornets' rotation lineup, in addition to Hayward, Rozier and Zeller, there are only 6 players who are still on rookie contracts, plus 3 base salary players.
Many people have the illusion that the younger the rookie, the worse the combat effectiveness. Lamelo is the No. 3 youngest player in this year's draft, and he's breaking that conventional perception. A lot of rookies will brush up on bad teams and lead teams to compete for the top picks with beautiful data, but Lamelo's passing ability has really improved the Hornets' performance on the offensive end.
And, more and more neutral fans are starting to be happy to watch the "most exciting Hornets ever" game this season — because their game is really fun. People are starting to realize that this team has good pitch space, creative core players, will try to get Hayward to play the small ball lineup in the fourth place to speed up the pace of the game, but most importantly, you can see a three-goal pass show that has been lost on American defenders for a long time and can only occasionally be seen from guys like Doncic or Jokic.
Hayward has experienced a lot of ups and downs in the league, but he is often shocked by Lamelo: "He often does something out of the ordinary on the court. Whenever he did something whimsical, I would start by thinking, 'This doesn't seem to be the same as what we wrote in our game plan.' But in the end, I was the one who chased after me and shouted, 'Well played, Lamelo.' ”
It was an era when even Brad Stevens had to force Tatum to play as a possession striker, and tall organizers were becoming increasingly important in the league. Kyle Lowry and Chris Paul are good, but small point guards like them need to be very cunning and flexible to create space, while big defenders like Lamelo can use their wider field of vision and not inferior to the small guards' speed and passing to be more simple and rude to overwhelm defenders.
"He [La Mello] has a big picture of the game as a talent," Tom Thibodeau said in an interview after a Game of the Hornets beat the Knicks, "Lamelo has a lot of different game experience, which makes him more mature and sophisticated, and has made him play the way he plays now." A player of his height can better observe the position of his teammates by bypassing the defenders, and for them, there will be much more offensive options and greater threats. The end result is that he can always make his teammates perform better. ”
Big organizer, this is exactly the role tailored for Lamelo. He can find Hayward from a long distance through the gap between the two defenders when switching offenses, he can break through to attract the opponent's inner line to assist in the defense and not look at the clever pass to Zeller who is ambushed in the bottom line, he can find an angle in a small space to feed the ball to Biyombo who is down after blocking and dismantling, or he can find P.J. Washington who cuts through the back after breaking through the cover. He has an innate talent for creating shooting opportunities for his teammates — yes, the kind of talent that Ronzo Ball should have, as "Magic" Johnson and Rob Pelinka promised Lakers fans four years ago.
Of course, Langzo just delivered his career-high 17 assists against the Trail Blazers a week ago, but scouts generally believe he's having a hard time tearing apart his opponent's defenses in slow-paced games like his brother. In this way, in 2017, the sentence of "ball daddy" Raval Bauer, "My three sons Lilamelo has the highest ceiling", is really worthy of a sentence of "Knowing the son Mo ruo father".
And the most surprising thing about him is his shooting. His long-range shooting in Australia's NBL league was terrible, but back in the NBA, he played much better against the farther three-point line. Lamelo currently shoots 40.6 percent from three-point range — a statistic almost on par with Fred VanVleet. He also shoots 36.8 percent from three-point range — a stat that almost catches up with Malcolm Brogdon and Kelly Irving. When he proved his ability to strike a cold arrow two steps from the three-point line, many experts began to see him as a 198 cm Trae Young.
Finally, back to the most basic statistics, Lameló is still extraordinary: in NBA history, the only rookies who have averaged more points, rebounds and assists per game than La Mello are Oscar Robertson, "Magic" Johnson and Michael Carter-Williams. It is worth mentioning that McAvoy's true shooting percentage that season was only 48.0%, and Lamelo's was much better at 56.2%.
What level of rookie is Lamelo? In the ROF season player OBPM (offensive plus-minus) and Usage (ball usage) coordinate systems produced by the US media, the three goals are in a fairly good position. The rookies who can match his positive role on the offensive end are all players of the level of Damian Lillard, Grant Hill, Blanton Roy, Carl-Anthony Towns and Stephen Marbury. Most of them were elected the best rookies of the year.
Through his own on-court performances and active communication with people on the team, Lamelo Ball's appeal has completely changed the style of the entire Hornets, averaging 27.1 assists per game this season, ranking third in the league. The change is subtle, and as a basketball player, it's always fun to play with a teammate who doesn't give up passing for fear of missteps.
As long as it is the ball that should be passed, even if it is a stitch, he will pass. As long as a teammate is cutting in the air or in an empty position, Lamelo's pass will definitely arrive. When such a tacit understanding was established between the players, the Hornets quickly became a very different team. Even in Lamelo's absence, they continued this tacit understanding. In the Hornets' win over the Spurs the day before yesterday, they shot 34 athletic goals, 27 of which came from assists. He has made the Hornets one of the NBA league's favorite passing teams.
Hayward said in his blog that he felt the most important trait in Lamelo was his vitality, which he even compared to Westbrook: "There always seemed to be an air of happiness around him. Whether you're listening or not, his mouth is always talking. You always wish you had someone like Lamelo around you, and no one would hate to be with him, which is a very rare contagion. Plus you've seen his performance on the pitch, and it's really fun to play with him. He's playing in a state of mind like Westbrook – of course, I know they're completely different in technical styles, but their absolute trust in themselves and their endless drive to play is a mold printed out of it. I've never seen him shout tired. ”
Compared with the ability to withstand pressure, Lamelo can be regarded as a leader. His father and brother put far more pressure on him than any of his peers. And although he didn't play in the NCAA, Lamelo played for Tao Wan and the Australian Pro League. There, the same players were all older and stronger than him. His teammate P.J. Washington was not at all surprised by his success: "He [La Mello] grew up to be constantly challenging, he has always been in a high-level competitive environment, so the fierce confrontation in the NBA is nothing new to him." ”
In this short half season, he has responded to questions that were raised about him before his draft with his on-field performances: his shooting ability is completely fine; his passing is already elite; he does not shy away from high-level games; he has improved rapidly on the defensive end, and with his size and ability to read the game, he may soon be an average defender.
Of course, he also has many weaknesses, his physical fitness can only be considered average, and he will also lose his mind when holding the ball. His defense of no-ball players can sometimes drive teammates and coaches crazy. But these are typical rookie problems that can be solved through learning and training. What is really valuable about him is his unshakable confidence and innate feeling of playing. This quickly earned him the respect of his teammates, coaches and opponents. Given the overwhelming questioning of him before his draft, it wasn't easy to make a 180-degree turn in people's attitudes toward him.
After facing the Lakers' performance of 26 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists, James hugged him and praised him in a post-game interview; after the Blazers game against the Hornets, Anthony, nicknamed "Melo", told the media that "Lamelo will stay in the league for a long time, so you will inevitably call him Melo in the future, which is an honor for me"; many players told reporters that after playing the Hornets game, teammates will discuss Lamelo's wonderful performance in the locker room... Lamelo Ball has become a phenomenon in the league, and a Scout of the Western Conference team commented: "Lamelo Ball's lower limit? He's not going to be the mediocre starting point guard on a playoff fringe team. He already looks like a star guard in the league, and he's only played 21 games in the league. ”
As the Charlotte Hornets' games and record become more attractive, their market is improving and the number of League Pass members is rising. It is no exaggeration to say that Ramello Ball, a 19-year-old teenager, saved the otherwise messy Charlotte Hornets in just half a season.
So, Halliburton, Edwards, Wiseman, Quickley... Sorry, even if the three-goal season can only play 41 games this season, the battle for the best rookie this season has ended prematurely. And now it seems that this best rookie is probably just a small footnote to his brilliant career.
"Ball Daddy" didn't fool us this time, Michael Jordan really picked the right guy.