East Notes: Hornets, LaMelo Ball, Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton, Hawks

Hornets

• Point guard LaMelo Ball has begun doing individual workouts as he progresses toward a return from an ankle injury, per Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer. Ball will be re-evaluated in a week.
• Ball shed his walking boot early in the week. “Considering multiple reports suggested he would be sidelined for a lengthy period of time after he initially went down in the first quarter in Orlando on Nov. 26, Ball’s increased progress should be considered a positive development,” Boone wrote.

Pacers

Point guard Tyrese Haliburton looked at his wrist in an obvious “Dame Time” celebration after making a big shot in the Pacers’ In-Season Tournament win over Damian Lillard and the Bucks on Thursday.

“It was just in the heat of the moment, having fun,” Haliburton said of his reaction, via Scott Agness of FieldHouse Files. “I know I kind of pounded my chest and said it was my time, whatever, but I think really looking at it, it’s our time. It’s our time as a group. We’re playing the right way, and like I said, we’re shocking the world right now. We’re going to continue to do that.

“As long as we play the right way, we know we’re going to be in every basketball game. We have a lot of confidence in ourselves. It doesn’t matter who believes in us. It really doesn’t. As long as the guys in the locker room do. We’ve got all the trust in the world in ourselves, and we’re going to continue to have that.”

• Without a doubt, Haliburton continues to do his best Magic Johnson imitation. You can read the full post on the Pacers’ big win right here. Indiana, by the way, is 6-0 in the tourney and 6-8 in all other games.

Hawks

• Despite the changes to the coaching staff, front office and roster over the past year-and-half, the Hawks remain “stuck in the middle,” wrote Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 
• Atlanta ruled out star guard Trae Young for Friday’s road game against the 76ers, as relayed by Lauren Williams of the Journal-Constitution. Young is suffering from an undisclosed illness and did not travel with the team.