LaMelo Ball delivered a blunt assessment after the Charlotte Hornets were eliminated from the play-in tournament with a 121-90 loss to the Orlando Magic on Friday night at Kia Center in Orlando.
The Hornets guard pointed to the early deficit as the turning point. “We dug ourselves a hole that was too big. Couldn’t get out of it. That’s pretty much what you seen,” he said.
Charlotte trailed by 31 at halftime after Orlando opened the game with a decisive physical edge and maintained control throughout. The Magic’s defensive pressure limited the Hornets to 34% shooting and forced them into a difficult offensive rhythm.
Physicality was a recurring theme in Ball’s postgame remarks. “Yeah. Pretty much,” he said, acknowledging the contact-heavy nature of the matchup.
He also noted that the team anticipated that style of play. “We knew that was going to be real physical. So we were telling all our teammates, players, and everything, be physical, you feel me? Make the screens, do all that. But sometimes it’s just the way the game called, you know?”
The loss ended Charlotte’s push for a playoff berth, extending its postseason drought. Ball admitted the emotional weight of the result. “Obviously it hurt a lot, but I feel like it’s all just learning lessons. You live, you learn, you evolve, and you move on, you know.”
Charlotte finished the season with signs of improvement compared to previous years, but the guard emphasized the final outcome still fell short. “I mean, obviously it was better than the previous season, so that’s good. But still not making the playoffs and anything, so that hurt, but just doing better than the years before,” he said.
Looking ahead, Ball stressed the need for urgency and growth. “Hopefully next year no play-in, you know,” he said while reflecting on the team’s trajectory.
He also described how the defeat should shape future preparation. “You watch what you did wrong. I mean everybody you feeling a type of way after the game for sure that you obviously don’t want to feel in the future. So it’s just like keep that burn right there and just remember it so you ain’t even got to go through it again.”
Ball finished the game with a strong third-quarter stretch but admitted his aggressive approach should have come earlier. “I just feel like it was just too late. I should have been doing that from the jump for real,” he said.
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The Hornets were outrebounded 49-34 and never recovered after Orlando’s opening run, with Paolo Banchero leading the Magic’s push into the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Charlotte now turns its focus to the offseason after missing the playoffs for the 10th straight year.
