LaMelo Ball must 'get stronger,' Hornets coach Charles Lee says - ESPN

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Head coach Charles Lee left no doubt about his offseason expectations from Charlotte Hornets cornerstone point guard LaMelo Ball.

«He's got to get stronger,» Lee said Monday following the team's exit interviews.

Opposing teams regularly stepped up their defensive pressure on Ball this season, trying to get the 6-foot-7, 190-pounder off his game by being extra physical and using hand and body checks on the perimeter and bodying him up on the way to the basket. On the other side of the ball, opponents would often go right after Ball, attack him off the dribble and back him down in the lane, forcing him to defend.

Early in the season, Ball struggled to stay out of foul trouble and even fouled out of some games, but his defense improved as the season progressed.

«Teams are trying to deny him, trying to be physical, and you can see early in the year when teams did it, it definitely bothered him,» Lee said. «As he got used to it, he got a lot more comfortable, so it's going to start with his body. He's got to get stronger and more conditioned to be able to play both sides of the ball and sustain efforts.… When you're one of the best players in the league, you have to be ready for physicality. In order to combat that, you have to be stronger.»

Lee would not say how much weight — or muscle — he wants Ball to put on, saying that is up to the team's conditioning staff.

Ball expressed a willingness to listen.

«I definitely agree,» Ball said. «Just being in the weight room, and everything they're saying.»

It's no secret the Hornets need Ball on the floor. He averaged a career-high 25.2 points this season, along with 7.4 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game, and he is capable of heating up at any point in the game and