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Hornets Coach James Borrego Calls Out LaMelo Ball Over Bad Habit

Hornets Coach James Borrego Calls Out LaMelo Ball Over Bad Habit

The Charlotte Hornets are currently 6-7 on the year. After starting the season off relatively hot, they’ve cooled since – going 3-7 over their last 10 outings.

As the Hornets have started to lose games, chinks have begun to show in their armor.

It started a couple of weeks ago, when LaMelo Ball called out some poor decision-making by head coach James Borrego.

This week, Borrego returned the favor by calling out his second-year star.

Specifically, Borrego took issue with Ball’s tendency of getting into foul trouble early. He had somehow managed to rack up 40 fouls through the Hornets’ first 12 games.

“He’s trying to do the right thing in his mind,” said Borrego, as reported by Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer. “He’s trying to make a winning play. He’s trying to help the team going after a basketball or making a steal. But at times he just needs to be solid and get back on defense. Don’t try to get it back every single possession.

“That’s on me to teach him, coach him, hold him accountable. It’s on him to understand that and not keep making that mistake, especially in first quarters. We can’t get off to a start where he’s getting consistently two fouls to start games and getting him on the sideline. That’s part of his maturity, his growth and that’s on me as well.”

It will be interesting to see how this dynamic shakes out going forward. Borrego previously has gotten into a war of words with LaVar Ball and emerged unscathed, so beef with the Ball family isn’t something he fears. What does that mean going forward? Time will tell.

Related: Dwight Howard Gets Blunt About Chris Paul Beef (Video)

Anthony Amador

A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.

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