LAMELO BALL HAS has already seen the future.
Two seconds earlier, he watched Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen vault over Mason Plumlee to tomahawk a ferocious slam to give the Cavaliers a nine-point lead three minutes into the second quarter. He saw the Cleveland reserves on the bench rise in exaltation, scream hysterically, flicking their white towels. He heard the Quicken Loans Arena crowd roar its approval.
Still, optimism flows from the eyes of Ball. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees it: Miles Bridges sprinting down the middle of the floor.
Before the Cavs' reserves can even sit down, Ball hurls the ball 80 feet down the court over all five Cavaliers and directly into the hands of Bridges. It's a Sunday afternoon pass on a Friday night, one that's thrown in what seems like a different time and space.
Less than four seconds after Allen picks himself up off the floor following his throwdown, Bridges drops the ball through the opposite hoop with a reverse dunk.
"He really is a basketball savant," says Charlotte Hornets' teammate and 12-year veteran point guard Ish Smith. "You watch him make these calculated-risk passes, and I'm like, 'How did he even think about throwing it like that?'"
Sheer chutzpah.
A 20-year-old with nothing more than an abbreviated NBA season on his résumé has the audacity to stunt the opponent's momentum with a pass that couldn't possibly have a success rate leaguewide of greater than 10%. Tracking platforms with probability scores -- eat your heart out. For the second consecutive game to start the season, the Hornets are behind early to a middling opponent. And for the second consecutive game, Ball is poised to drag the Hornets by the scruff of their necks back into the contest.
Ball has already solidified himself as one of the league's most dangerous transition players, as demonstrated by the number of times in the first week Charlotte's possessions in the open court were stymied by quick fouls by a hapless defense. If the NBA wisely decides to clamp down on the plague of "take fouls" that halt fast breaks, it could just call it the LaMelo Ball Rule.
Asked how many possessions he'd like to play in transition in a 100-possession game, Ball responds, "A hundred."
"It's fun being out there on the floor with him because he's not afraid," says Hornets forward Gordon Hayward. "If you cut and get open, he'll throw it to you. He's not afraid of that turnover. A lot of players hold back on those kinds of plays -- a baseball throw, an underhanded pass, threading the needle. He doesn't."
Ball isn't defensive about anything -- it's simply not in his nature. But he's well aware of the question, one posed internally by a Hornets front office that nabbed him No. 3 overall, about his capacity to organize the brand of pick-and-roll offense that commands today's half-court game, especially in high-stakes situations.
"I feel like you get that from just hooping," he says. "You learn when to pick your spots -- knowing when to stay in the play, knowing when to break the play. You just play basketball. I feel confident coming off any ball screen. Any action like that? I'm solid."
For the Hornets, Ball represents their best chance ever to have as the face of their franchise a high wattage talent who can truly change the fortunes of the organization -- a player who can maximize the potential of his teammates and draw national attention to what remains among the NBA's most anonymous franchises, and one of its most futile.
But this is the NBA's highest of high-wire acts. Everything that could go right with its prized new franchise cornerstone; Charlotte could get a full, healthy season from Hayward -- their multipurpose star free agent who came in with Ball during the past offseason; young contributors like Bridges and P.J. Washington could make jumps and add to production provided by Terry Rozier, who has been a revelation since arriving from Boston a year before Hayward. Ish Smith could pace a fun second unit, and coach James Borrego could fully Spurs-ify the operation.
And yet, still, the experiment might fail.