LaMelo Ball scored 50 points against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday and followed up with 44 against the Orlando Magic on Monday.
Only Giannis Antetokounmpo (32.4) is averaging more points per game than the Charlotte Hornets guard (31.0) in the entire NBA.
It might not be translating into wins but LaMelo is still undoubtedly going to make his first All-Star appearance in February if he keeps this up.
And Jeff Teague has now compared the 23-year-old to one player who was an All-Star starter last season.
Teague discussed which player better is better out of LaMelo and the Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton on the latest episode of the Club 520 Podcast.
And, while he did not give an explicit answer, it’s pretty easy to figure out which side of the debate he falls on.
“Austin Rivers said one time, ‘Tyrese Haliburton doesn’t have a bag’. I’m like ‘damn, he might be right’. No disrespect to Tyrese but it’s just the way he plays the game. It’s not the same as LaMelo.”
Teague later explained that the reason Haliburton has perhaps received more praise is he plays for a much better team.
“That’s the only difference,” he added. “He’s been with Charlotte who have been a bad organization for the last couple of years. Tyrese was blessed to come to Indiana.”
Whenever there is an amazing player on a small market team, there are discussions about whether they need to leave for a bigger franchise.
Indeed, former Memphis Grizzlies forward Chandler Parsons has already called for LaMelo to leave Charlotte, suggesting the Los Angeles Clippers as a possible destination.
“Now listen, you put him on like the Clippers, you put him in a big market right now, I think we are talking about a whole different player based on his opportunity and the TV time he is going to get,” he said.
“The average person doesn’t know who LaMelo Ball is because the Charlotte Hornets have been historically bad, so you have to be on a good team.”
But that is not how it has to be. Antetokounmpo is proof that stars can be made in small market cities, and the NBA would be much worse off if that were not the case.
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