With Ball out for a second straight game with an ankle injury, frustration boiled over for Charlotte coach Steve Clifford, who had to be held back after getting tossed from the game in the final period. After the game, he explained the state of frustration for his team.

“To be honest last year was difficult and this year has been brutal,” Clifford told reporters.

Critics fall on both sides of the debate. While some fans saw the behavior of the Charlotte bench as childish and disrespectful, other fans had a tough time blaming LaMelo and his boys.

“this was mad disrespectful to laugh at your coach getting ejected. he was out there advocating for YOUR teammates. glad we don’t have this type of foolery on the Knicks,” said one New York fan on Twitter/X.

“Melo got millions and hella hoes I would be laughing too,” said a sympathetic viewer.

The Hornets have only won 10 out of 45 games, but outside of that, the young millionaire athletes are living lives that most people could only dream of, and a loss to the Knicks won’t change that one bit.

What did the coach say about Ball’s antics?
The video clip went viral before the end of the game, allowing for reporters to see it and ask Clifford for his thoughts on the behavior after the game. The ejected coach minimized social media’s concerns.

“No matter what anybody says, our guys have done a good job of competing, working hard,” he said to reporters. “To think that they’re not serious or they don’t care, I don’t worry about that because I’m here.”

“I’ve been around teams that aren’t (serious). These guys are.”