Who won first matchup between Wiseman, Ball?
Warriors won the game, but Ball made bigger impact for Charlotte
James Wiseman and LaMelo Ball were matched up for just a moment. Ball came off a screen and drove into the paint, Wiseman stepped up to block his path, and Ball passed to an open teammate. This was not a critical play in the Warriors’ 130121 win over the Hornets Friday, but it did sum up what it is that both of these top picks have been asked to do for their respective teams.
With his combination of passing acumen and confidence, Ball has thrived running Charlotte’s offense as their starting point guard and is the frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year award.
Because of this, the Warriors’ selection of Wiseman with the second overall pick, one pick ahead of Ball in November’s draft, has been met with some second-guessing. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the Warriors made the wrong choice.
It’s too early for conclusions, but the first meeting between Wiseman and Ball likely left both of their teams feeling confident about their draft-day decisions. Here’s a look at how both played in the first of what will be many matchups.
LaMelo Ball
Ball finished with 22 points on 7-for-16 shooting, (3-for-8 from 3-point range), seven rebounds and six assists. It wasn’t his best performance, or the one laced with the most highlights, but he’s clearly become a leader on a young Hornets team.
So far this season, he has exceeded even the loftiest of expectations. Rare is it that a rookie, especially one with so much responsibility, impacts winning in a real way. Ball does. Concerns about this unorthodox shooting motion have been tempered by him making 35% on 5.3 3-point attempts per game. He has quickly put his stamp on the Hornets. The ball moves constantly and quickly as Charlotte has emerged as one of the league’s fastest and best passing teams.
“They like to play fast and he’s such a great passer that if you let him pick you apart, he can really get everybody involved and get their team into a good groove,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said of Ball. “He’s definitely a real point guard — those are few and far between these days. Most young point guards grow up wanting to be Steph (Curry) or Damian Lillard, to be lethal shooters, and LaMelo is old-school. He’s a pass-first point guard who is showing that he can shoot, too.”
But Ball’s limitations were exploited Friday. Though Ball, a 6-foot-6 point guard, has the potential to be a versatile and disruptive defender, he can be prone to losing focus and getting beat on that end. Golden State targeted him early and often by forcing him to switch onto Kelly Oubre Jr., then having Oubre slip to the rim for an easy dunk. This happened three times in the first nine minutes.
“They’re a young team,” Oubre said after scoring 27 points. “So just trying
to exploit the lack of focus in certain areas.”
James Wiseman
Wiseman missed last week’s loss to the Hornets with a sprained left wrist, but he’s given the Warriors reason to be encouraged about his future with his ability to run the floor, block shots and make outside jumpers.
“He can catch, he can run, he can score, he’s only going to get better over time,” Hornets head coach James Borrego said. “I think the Warriors got themselves a very good player.”
Though Wiseman has had his share of highlights — ranging from coast-tocoast dunks to smooth 3-pointers off the dribble — the closest thing to a highlight Friday was when he faced up on the low block and spun into a twohanded dunk.
He finished with 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting and four rebounds. But with Curry scoring 29 points and Draymond Green posting a triple-double, the Warriors needed Wiseman for his rim-protection. Though he’s progressed quite a bit on that end since the start of the
season, Wiseman had an up-and-down game defensively.
This was a fast-paced game, with a lot of running and switching. During the draft process, the big question about Wiseman was whether he could defend in space. At times Friday, he was solid. One time he slid with Terry Rozier, then closed out on P.J. Washington’s 3-point attempt.
Another time he diagnosed correctly Charlotte’s motion, cutting off Miles Bridges and helping force a turnover, which earned him a high-five from Green.
This is what Wiseman has been working on with coaches: Efficient movements, timely closeouts and leaving his feet only when necessary.
But 30 seconds into the fourth quarter, Wiseman was late to rotate on a layup by Hornets guard Malik Monk. Kerr, frustrated, called a timeout. Ball was allowed to play through his mistakes, but Wiseman wasn’t afforded that same patience.
“This was a tough game because it was so fast, and wild,” Kerr said. “He had some really good plays and then some where he was slow to rotate. But you can see the impact he can make.
“He’s a scoring machine when he’s out on the floor,” Kerr continued. “It’s just a matter of him getting more comfortable with our defensive coverages, gaining recognition, that kind of stuff.”
This was Wiseman’s 16th game, and just his third since returning from his injury. Since opening the season as a starter, he’s moved to the bench so the Warriors can bring him along more slowly. Wiseman ranks 16th in minutes (20.4), fourth in points (12.3), second in rebounds (5.8) and first in blocks (1.1) per game.
Meanwhile, Ball has been empowered to do his thing in Charlotte. He is third among rookies in minutes played and first in points (15), assists (6.1) and rebounds (6.1) per game. But the Hornets are also a young, rebuilding team, without incumbent superstars such as Curry and Green that dominate the ball and playing time.
Maybe the most telling stat from Friday’s game is that Ball (37 minutes) played 20 more minutes than Wiseman (17). This speaks to the different stages the Warriors and Hornets are in, and the challenges ahead for their top rookies.
In the months leading up to November’s draft, Wiseman, Ball and Anthony Edwards solidified their status as the top three on Golden State’s draft board, but Wiseman was comfortably at the top. Ball is a ready-made star who will usher in an exciting era of Hornets basketball, but it’s hard to imagine him getting the same opportunity in Golden State as he’s getting in Charlotte.