Welcome to From The Logo, a collection of opinions, analysis, and locker room insights from theScore's lead NBA reporter, Joseph Casciaro.
What the Hornets are doing isn't normal
Bad teams can put together midseason runs, but very few teams have ever shocked me the way Charlotte has over the last month.
The 11th-place Hornets have won five in a row and 10 of their last 15 since an 11-23 start. Charlotte now boasts the league's sixth-ranked offense and the same point differential (plus-1.5) as the East's fourth-place team (the Raptors), with a 9-8 record in its last 17 games against winning clubs. The Hornets have also performed like an all-time squad away from home throughout January.
Everything except the Hornets' overall record suggests this is a legitimately good team hiding in plain sight, especially when their three cornerstone youngsters are healthy and share the floor. Thursday's thrilling win in Dallas improved their record to 17-11 when LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, and Brandon Miller all suit up.
I've criticized Ball's unserious approach ad nauseam, and he still makes his share of indefensible decisions with the ball in his hands, but the star guard has fine-tuned his game. The head-scratching moments are becoming fewer and further between while Ball is doing more of the little things and making more of what coaches would call "winning plays." I'm not ready to fully buy into him as a franchise pillar, but I'm at least cautiously optimistic about what we're seeing.
Knueppel's shooting and tireless off-ball movement have unlocked so much for Ball and the Hornets' offense as a whole, while Miller is transforming into a more complete and efficient three-level scorer before our eyes. All three young stars are thriving in head coach Charles Lee's entertaining offensive system, which features a heavy dose of pick-and-rolls and plenty of movement. Among the 300 most frequently used three-man combinations, only Nikola Jokic-led lineups in Denver have scored more efficiently than Hornets lineups featuring Ball, Knueppel, and Miller (127.4 points per 100 possessions).
It's outrageous, and it makes you wonder how scary the Hornets would be if they could land a defensive anchor (like Anthony Davis) without sacrificing much of their core or any of their own first-round draft picks.
Even with a more patient approach, the Hornets could put a scare into any East contender if they find a way to sneak into the playoffs - or they could emerge as the conference's most promising squad if they stumble into some lottery luck.
The Hornets own the NBA's longest playoff drought and are one of only two franchises (along with the Pelicans) that's never made a conference finals appearance. Charlotte's fans deserve this promising run.
The Jokic-less Nuggets are inspiring
Like many NBA observers, I envisioned a rude awakening for Denver when Jokic was sidelined by a knee injury in December. Instead, the Nuggets have gone 10-6 without the three-time MVP despite Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Christian Braun each missing between four and 13 of those Jokic-less contests. Cam Johnson hasn't appeared in any of them, with four-fifths of Denver's starting lineup already missing considerable time this season.
Jokic has missed 16 games. Johnson has missed 20 and is still working his way back from a bone bruise in his knee. Gordon has already missed 25 contests and was just ruled out for another four-to-six weeks due to a hamstring injury. Braun has missed 34 games and remains sidelined by an ankle ailment. Even reserve center Jonas Valanciunas, whose presence was supposed to help Denver survive the usually calamitous minutes when Jokic rests, has missed 12 of the last 15 games after suffering a calf strain three days after Jokic went down.
That the Nuggets have survived this stretch - let alone that they're on pace for 54 wins and clinging to third place in the stacked West - feels like a miracle. A negative point differential in the 16 games without Jokic and an 8-2 record in clutch games during that time suggests the Nuggets have benefited from luck. But take nothing away from a decimated team that keeps finding ways to win. It also helps to have a cold-blooded closer like Murray, who's shot 61% from the field and 60% from deep in clutch minutes since Dec. 31.
Everyone involved deserves a ton of credit. Murray has surely cemented his first All-Star selection. Peyton Watson - averaging 22.1 points and 2.6 steals plus blocks since Jokic went down - will get some Most Improved Player love. And David Adelman's name should be in Coach of the Year discussions.
Inside the locker room
What I'm hearing from players and people around the Association.
KAT can't hear you: It's no secret that Karl-Anthony Towns once again finds himself in trade rumors. The Knicks big man, who was acquired from Minnesota about 16 months ago, is New York's highest-paid player, and his $53.1-million salary could be the centerpiece of a blockbuster trade for a superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Towns is averaging 20.2 points and a league-leading 11.6 rebounds per game in what's been considered a down year for the five-time All-Star. His defensive limitations came under scrutiny as the East-favorite Knicks stumbled in January, and he's posting his lowest true shooting percentage since his rookie campaign (though he's still scoring on above-average efficiency).
Still, the 30-year-old swears he doesn't see the headlines.
"I feel like I've been in trade rumors a lot ... every year, damn near. It don't matter to me," Towns said after a recent victory in Toronto, adding that he doesn't check social media. "I focus on the job at hand, which is trying to get wins every single night. As long as I do that - do my job - I go home happy and feeling accomplished. I'm not worried what anybody's got to say or what people write, or anything like that."
Can someone in the public spotlight like Towns - an NBA All-Star whose celebrity fiancee has nearly 12 million followers on Instagram - really block out the noise? How does he resist the temptation to check what's being said about him?
"Man, I've been in the league 11 years. I was there when internet came out. I remember AOL, telling mom to get off the phone (so I could use the internet)," Towns joked about not needing social media.
"Honestly, I ain't worried about any of that. I stay in my lane. I stick to my bubble. I just worry about my family. My niece, my nephew, how they're doing in Little League and dance and hip hop class and all that, that's what I care about. I just want to do my job well. Like I said, there's only one thing I want to talk about. It's about winning, and how I can help this team, this city win every single night. That's been my focus since Day 1 when I got traded here. It's been my focus since Day 1 when I walked into Minnesota. It's about winning. That's how legacies are made."
Raptors rookie impresses: Towns also had praise for Raptors big man Collin Murray-Boyles. Despite being undersized at center, the rookie has filled in admirably for injured starter Jakob Poeltl, and his tremendous defense played a key role in limiting Towns to 3-of-11 shooting in Toronto.
"I think he's a hell of a player. He's got great athleticism and great feet," Towns said about Murray-Boyles, whose combination of defensive versatility, playmaking, and smarts has attracted comparisons to Draymond Green. "I love what the future of our game has, and he's one of those guys in that next generation of hoopers who's going to take the game further. He's a great dude, from the time I got to talk to him on the court. I'm excited for him to be in the Rising Stars game. I think he's got a bright future."
Player of the Week
Donovan Mitchell: 34.8 PPG, 61.3% TS, 4.8 RPG, 6.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, 4-0 record
I also considered Luka Doncic for this award, which takes into account games played since last Friday, but the Lakers barely won Doncic's minutes this week (plus-1), while the Cavaliers were a plus-54 in Mitchell's minutes.
The Cavs have quietly embarked on their longest winning streak of the season (five games), and Mitchell has been the leading scorer in each of those contests. He's gone somewhat under the radar as Cleveland has struggled through a disappointing season thus far, but Mitchell has been unreal all year. The six-time (soon to be seven-time) All-Star is averaging roughly 29 points, six assists, and five rebounds on 62% true shooting. If Mitchell is healthy, one of the safest bets in basketball is that his team will finish with a top-10 offense.
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