Heat Rumors

Southeast Notes: Hornets, Kokoskov, Heat, Adebayo, Banchero

March 6th, 2025 at 9:30am CST by Dana Gauruder

Have the Hornets already gone into tank mode? It might seem that way, considering they’ve lost 17 of their 19 games. Head coach Charles Lee denies that’s the case.

“I think it would be very easy to sometimes lay down when you are in the position that you are, but we are obsessed with daily improvement,” Lee told Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer. “Part of daily improvement is going into every game and facing a different type of opponent, different strategy, different coverages, different matchups, and adjusting and adapting. And they’ve done a really good job of doing that.”

Miles Bridges says the players aren’t giving up, even as the losses pile up.

“We’ve got to play with pride — we’re in the NBA,” Bridges said. “We are blessed to be in the NBA. That’s my mindset coming into a game. I’m blessed to be here in the NBA, so I want to go out and give 100% and I try to give that to the other guys. Just going out and playing with pride. Being on a losing streak sucks for everybody. If we can get a win next game against the best team in the league (Cleveland on Friday), that will probably turn us up.”

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Igor Kokoskov became an NBA head coach again — at least for one night. The Hawks assistant filled in on Tuesday for Quin Snyder, who was battling an illness. Atlanta lost to Milwaukee, 127-121. Kokoskov was Phoenix’s head coach during the 2018/19 season. “None of us knew until right before tipoff,” point guard Trae Young told Charles Odum of the Associated Press. “He was here early. It kind of surprised us but we still had a game to go play. It sucks we couldn’t get him the win.”
As things stand, the Heat could wind up with two first-round picks in this year’s rich draft. The Heat will keep its own pick if it misses the opening round of the playoffs, most likely by losing in the play-in tournament. The Heat will receive the Warriors first-round pick if it falls between 11-30, which is becoming an increasing likely outcome. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald takes a look at some of the players who might be available in the middle of the first round, including UConn’s Liam McNeeley, Duke’s Kon Knueppel and Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears.
Bam Adebayo‘s offensive production has increased since rookie Heat center Kel’el Ware was inserted into the starting lineup. That’s no coincidence, he told Jackson. “It gave me more energy to play offense,” he said. “I’m not in every pick-and-roll. Obviously, he’s guarding the five [the center]. A lot of four men [power forwards] don’t and do the things that fives do. For me, it definitely let a load off me where I definitely could focus more on scoring.” Adebayo averaged 15.7 PPG in the first 40 games and 21.3 PPG in the past 19 games, including 17 with Ware starting.
The Magic anticipated they’d be on the upswing once Paolo Banchero started producing at his usual levels again. It hasn’t worked out that way. Banchero, who was sidelined for two-and-a-half months with an abdominal injury, has averaged 29.6 points on 47.8% shooting, 6.3 rebounds, 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 34.7 minutes over the past seven games. However, Orlando has lost four straight, including twice to the Raptors. “We’ve got to do some soul-searching,” Banchero told Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel. “The good thing about a time like this is that, really, the only way you can go is up.”

Heat Notes: Larsson, Mitchell, Rotation, Starting Lineup

March 5th, 2025 at 6:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

Before Monday, Pelle Larsson had logged less than a minute of playing time since the All-Star break, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. The rookie shooting guard had to find other ways to stay game-ready while he waited for an opportunity, which often came in the form of one-on-one and two-on-two contests involving Heat teammates Terry Rozier, Haywood Highsmith and Jaime Jaquez.

Those efforts paid off when Miami was down to nine players for Monday’s contest against Washington. Larsson played nearly 28 minutes and contributed a career-high 16 points in the victory, along with four rebounds and five assists.

“We needed some kind of energy, spark from somebody and we talked about it, that’s a challenge, and we definitely felt Pelle,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He brought energy. He brought that extra oomph that carried over to everybody else. And some swing moments of the game he just seemed to have his imprint with the deflections, the steals, the timely cuts, all of that.”

Larsson’s expanded role may continue until the Heat are closer to full strength. The organization has emphasized development for the 44th pick in last year’s draft, and the increased playing time could help speed up that process.

“He understands what his role is,” Spoelstra added. “He came in as a role player, an elite role player in college, on a very good basketball team. And some people view that as a negative. We view it as a real positive and somebody who also has upside still, because of his work ethic. He’s tenacious behind the scenes. That’s why he’s able to stay ready. He puts in so much time, it’s two, three workouts a day. You have to kick him out of the gym. But he wants to continue to improve. He wants to find ways he can help.”

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Davion Mitchell will return tonight at Cleveland after sitting out Monday’s contest due to a quadriceps contusion, per Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Mitchell said the injury occurred in Sunday’s game when he ran into a screen set by Mitchell Robinson. It bothered him for a day, but it’s feeling better now.
Even though the Heat were missing several players on Monday, Spoelstra kept Highsmith, Kyle Anderson and Duncan Robinson in reserve roles, Jackson adds. Spoelstra explained that “rotation continuity” was behind his decision. “Whenever Duncan plays well, it has a massive impact on our team,” he said. “I want him feeling comfort. He has played really well. That spark, that energy off the bench is important. and Kyle is a plug and play guy. I’m really impressed with his IQ and feel for the game. You put the ball in his hands and he can do a lot of stuff that Bam (Adebayo) does at the top of the floor. He can run offense.”
With Tyler Herro sidelined by a head cold, the Heat are once again using a starting lineup tonight that has never played together before, Jackson tweets. Adebayo, Mitchell and Rozier will be joined by Kevin Love and Alec Burks.

Kevin Love Talks About Adjusting To Reduced Role With Heat

March 5th, 2025 at 5:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

As Kevin Love returns to Cleveland tonight for the first time since agreeing a buyout in 2023, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald points out that he’s filling a role with the Heat that he wasn’t willing to accept with the Cavaliers two years ago. Love has become an elder statesman in Miami, dispensing knowledge more often than taking the court. He told Jackson that he “wasn’t ready yet” to be a part-time player at age 34, but that has changed now that he’s 36.

“I’m certainly understanding of where I’m at,” Love said. “It’s one of the things I told coach (Erik Spoelstra). I get it. I want to keep pouring into this team and doing whatever I can. Stay ready, and if I do or do not get time, I’m going to keep being a mentor or sounding board for (teammates).”

Love has appeared in 20 games this season, averaging 5.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 11 minutes per night. Jackson notes that he has only gotten onto the court in five of the past 27 games when he’s been on the active roster and has played just 36 combined minutes since January 1.

However, Love occasionally shows flashes of the talent that earned him five All-Star appearances and has enabled him to remain in the league for 17 years. With the Heat short-handed Monday against Washington, Love came off the bench to grab nine rebounds in 12 minutes.

Love inherited the veteran leadership role that Udonis Haslem used to fill before he retired. He uses a mix of humor and serious discussions to keep his teammates focused, adding that the conversations often spin off into other directions.

With one season left on his contract at $4.2MM, it’s a role that Love figures to occupy for at least another year.

“I let Tyler (Herro) come to me about stuff non-basketball related,” he said. “I’m trying to create a really great ecosystem here where we can celebrate each other, celebrate small wins, and build guys up. I know how this thing goes. It’s monotonous. Guys can get into a situation (where they’re wondering), ‘Are we headed for the play-in again? Or what are we doing?”

Love told Jackson that returning to Cleveland will be meaningful after missing both games last season — one due to injury and another for personal reasons. Tonight is Miami’s only trip to Rocket Arena this season, although the teams could meet in the playoffs if Miami winds up with the No. 8 seed.

“I have so much love for that organization and city and Ohio,” Love said. “When you go on a Finals run with special players, that will always be a part of you. I’ll probably go home and look at my ring and reflect a little bit.”

Southeast Notes: Suggs, Champagnie, Heat Injuries, Nurkic

March 4th, 2025 at 7:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

With point guard Jalen Suggs out for the season after undergoing knee surgery, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley will rely more on his frontcourt players to create offensive opportunities, he told Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel.

“It’s going to be different handlers at different times of the game,” he said. “If we realize a team is fully aggressive picking our point guard up, we might have to play through our bigs. Wendell (Carter Jr.), Goga (Bitadze), JI (Jonathan Isaac), those guys being able to handle the basketball and get us into easier sets. If they’re not pressuring Paolo (Banchero) and Franz (Wagner), those guys become our point-forward play-makers. That’s going to be a big key but that’s also going to vary game-to-game as well.”

Longtime veteran Cory Joseph made his first start of the season in place of Suggs on Tuesday.

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Justin Champagnie had his two-way contract converted into a standard four-year, $10MM deal by the Wizards on Monday. He’s been angling for a standard contract since going undrafted in 2021. “It means a lot,” he told Varun Shankar of the Washington Post. “I’ve been working hard these past four years of my career, trying to get to this point, and I’m super happy. I’m super thankful. I’m grateful that I got the opportunity here to be myself.” He will earn $1.8MM for the remainder of 2024/25, well above this prorated minimum. The final three seasons of the contract will be non-guaranteed.
Jaime Jaquez (right ankle sprain), Nikola Jovic (broken right hand), Kel’el Ware (left knee sprain) and Andrew Wiggins (right ankle sprain) will miss the Heat‘s game against the Eastern Conference-leading Cavaliers on Wednesday, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. Undrafted rookies Keshad Johnson and Isaiah Stevens, who have been playing the G League, are expected to suit up for the NBA team to add depth.
After losing his starting spot with Phoenix and getting traded to the Hornets, Jusuf Nurkic is eager to reestablish himself, he told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. “I’ve been in this league long enough. I know what the situation can be and how it’s good for the player to change the situation and have a fresh start,” he said. “I have an eagerness and excitement for the game again. I can’t wait to play again on the court.” He’s averaging 7.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists and 1.2 blocks in six games with Charlotte.

Southeast Notes: Okogie, McClung, Ware, Robinson, Mitchell

March 3rd, 2025 at 7:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hornets forward Josh Okogie has begun individual on-court workouts as he continues to rehab a left hamstring strain, the team’s PR department tweets. He will be reevaluated in two weeks.

Okogie has been sidelined since late January. He had given Charlotte a boost after being acquired earlier that month, averaging 10 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 1.4 assists in 21.3 minutes per game over seven appearances.

Okogie was traded from Phoenix to Charlotte as part of the Nick Richards deal. A rotation regular with Phoenix for two-and-a-half seasons, Okogie played 25 games with the Suns this season. He’s in the first year of a two-year, $16MM contract, which includes a non-guaranteed salary of $7.75MM next season.

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Three-time dunk contest winner Mac McClung suffered a broken right thumb while playing for the NBA G League’s Osceola Magic on Sunday, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets. McClung, who is averaging 21.1 points in the G League while on a two-way contract with the Magic, plans to play through the injury, according to Charania.
Heat rookie big man Kel’el Ware was sidelined on Monday against the Wizards due to a sprained left knee. It’s the first game he has missed with an injury or illness since sitting out the Heat’s Dec. 2 loss to the Celtics due to right foot tendinitis, according to the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang. Ware was benched for virtually all of the fourth quarter in an overtime loss to the Knicks on Sunday, then played three-plus minutes in OT. “Every game I sit back, I watch it, I try to learn from it and see where I can get better,” Ware said. “So it’s a developmental process.” Ware underwent an MRI on his knee, which showed no structural damage, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets.
Duncan Robinson had a combined 44 points and 11 assists in two Heat victories prior to being held to 10 points and five assists in 32 minutes on Sunday. Robinson can become a free agent this upcoming summer by terminating next season’s $19.9MM salary by June 29. If Robinson opts in for 2025/26, the Heat could make him a free agent by waiving him by July 8 — in that scenario Miami would only be on the hook for $9.9MM. However, Robinson’s strong play may make that a difficult choice, Chiang notes. “He’s really improved in all aspects,” coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Heat guard Davion Mitchell has been receiving heavy minutes in nine appearances since being acquired in the Jimmy Butler blockbuster. Mitchell has averaged 10.1 points, 4.2 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 53.9 percent from the field in 33.1 minutes per game. “We want to encourage him to continue to be more aggressive,” Spoelstra said, per Chiang. “I think he still can be a guy who can generate some easy opportunities when he touches the paint. He’s a very willing passer, he wants to get guys involved, he wants to get our main guys the ball almost to a fault. We’ll clean that all up. But I like his game when he’s assertive because he has the right intentions to move the ball.”

Mavs’ Washington, Gafford Expected To Discuss Extensions In Offseason

March 3rd, 2025 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Representatives for Mavericks forward P.J. Washington and center Daniel Gafford are expected to engage the Mavericks‘ front office in discussions this offseason about potential contract extensions for their clients, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Washington and Gafford will be entering contract years in 2025/26, with Washington set to earn $14,152,174 in the final season of his contract while Gafford earns $14,386,320 in the last year of his deal. Both players were acquired at the 2024 trade deadline and helped the Mavs make a late-season run and a playoff push that culminated in an NBA Finals appearance last spring.

Veteran contract extensions can typically start at up to 140% of the player’s previous salary and cover no more than five total years, including the years remaining on the player’s previous deal. That means Washington’s maximum extension this offseason would be worth approximately $88.76MM over four years, while Gafford’s would be worth about $90.23MM over four years.

Those projections may end up slightly higher depending on where the league’s “estimated average salary” comes in for 2025/26 — players are allowed to sign extensions that start at up to 140% of the estimated average salary if that figure exceeds their own salary.

I’m skeptical that the Mavericks would go as high as $90MM over four years – or would need to – to lock up Gafford, who was backing up Dereck Lively at the five earlier this season and could now be vying for frontcourt minutes with Anthony Davis as well (though the Mavs are expected to deploy plenty of two-big lineups). If Gafford signs an extension, it likely wouldn’t be for that maximum offer.

Washington has emerged as an extremely valuable role player though — he’s averaging a career-high 8.1 rebounds per game, making 37.4% of his three-point shoots, and providing solid, versatile defense. He’s more likely to warrant the max offer Dallas could put on the table prior to free agency.

Interestingly, Scotto reports that Washington and Gafford both briefly came up in trade talks earlier this season when the Mavericks registered interest in Jimmy Butler. Those exploratory discussions with the Heat didn’t really go anywhere though, according to Scotto, as Dallas pivoted away from Butler and moved forward with their controversial Luka Doncic/Davis blockbuster. The Mavs also expressed interest in forward Kyle Kuzma before trading Doncic, Scotto adds.

Meyers Leonard Announces Retirement

March 3rd, 2025 at 7:58am CST by Rory Maher

Former NBA big man Meyers Leonard has officially retired as a basketball player, announcing the news on Instagram (hat tip to Chris Haynes).

After playing a modest role as a freshman at Illinois, Leonard had a breakout sophomore season back in 2011/12 with the Illini and was selected 11th overall in the 2012 draft.

Leonard, who turned 33 years old last week, spent his first seven seasons with the Trail Blazers prior to being traded to the Heat as part of the Jimmy Butler blockbuster in 2019.

Leonard’s time in Miami was not without controversy, as he was fined $50K by the NBA and suspended from all team activities for a week for making an anti-Semitic comment during a Twitch livestream. Shortly after the incident, he was traded to — and subsequently released by — Oklahoma City.

After missing the entire ’21/22 campaign due to an injury, Leonard was able to find a new team in February 2023, signing a pair of 10-day deals and then a rest-of-season contract with the Bucks. He has been a free agent since the 2023 offseason, when his tenure with Milwaukee ended.

Overall, Leonard played parts of 10 NBA seasons, averaging 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 15.9 minutes per game across 456 regular season appearances, including 95 starts. He mostly played center, but he also saw some time at power forward in his first few seasons. Leonard was known for his ability to space the floor, as he held a career mark of 39.0% from three-point range.

Southeast Notes: Hawks Bench, Poole, Hornets, Green, Smith

March 1st, 2025 at 11:03am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Hawks are receiving strong contributions from their bench since adding Caris LeVert, Terance Mann and Georges Niang at the trade deadline, Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. That trio helped Atlanta defeat Miami on Monday and combined for 50 points on Friday. On Wednesday, the bench – LeVert, Mann, Niang, and Clint Capela – scored 45 of the Hawks’ 109 points.

“I feel like we can keep getting better,” Capela said of Atlanta’s second unit. “Once again, defensively, we’re able to get stops and run get easy buckets for everybody, myself included Caris, Terance, Georges. I mean, I feel like, those are the guys that know how to play, they’ve been in this thing long enough to know how to play, and I’ve started feeling better playing with them.”

In the eight games since the newcomers arrived, Niang is averaging 14.0 points per game while shooting 41.7% on 7.5 three-point attempts per game, LeVert is recording 15.3 PPG, and Mann is averaging 8.4 PPG while shooting 57.9% from beyond the arc.

“Yeah, I think that’s the thing that’s kind of bringing us together, is our communication and our experience,” LeVert said. “We’ve all played a lot of basketball. So, I think just getting on the same page has been a lot easier.”

Williams adds that the Hawks still need to find a solution for replacing some of Trae Young‘s play-making production when he sits and that Vit Krejci should be considered an option for alleviating that concern.

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Jordan Poole is enjoying a strong second season in Washington after his production dipped in his first season there. As Varun Shankar of The Washington Post writes, Poole is averaging career highs in points (21.0), assists (4.8) and three-point percentage (37.0%). Poole didn’t start in 12 games last season but now he’s a full-time starter and is second on the Wizards in minutes per game.
The Hornets are going through a tough stretch — they won just two games in February and have lost five in a row. Still, coach Charles Lee is optimistic that the team is growing through the adversity, Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer writes. “I thought just as a group, we competed at a much better level,” Lee said after their most recent loss, a 103-96 game against the Mavericks on Thursday. “To judge a man to see how he gets knocked down and to see how he responds, the group definitely responded today.“
Josh Green returned to American Airlines Center for the first time as a member of the Hornets on Thursday. He had “weird feelings” in his return to face the Mavericks, with whom he spent the first four years of his career, according to Mavs.com’s Eddie Sefko. “It’s been different for me,” Green said. “Being a younger guy in Dallas and then to come here and being a veteran, it’s definitely been a shift. It’s fun. I’ve enjoyed it. Looking back at my time in Dallas, my first couple years were some of my really toughest times, not playing, not getting many minutes. Having guys like Dwight [Powell] and Maxi [Kleber] were great leaders for me. And it’s motivated me to be the best [mentor] I can be for guys.”
Roster deadlines are approaching and – as we wrote last weekend – the Heat could conceivably make a two-way contract switch, since Dru Smith is out for the season. However, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald hears that the front office is leaning toward keeping Smith on his two-way deal to avoid another team claiming him and getting the chance to re-sign him in restricted free agency this summer. Asummiing he remains in Miami, Smith could be re-signed to a two-way deal or to a standard contract. He established himself as part of the team’s rotation before his unfortunate injury.

Heat Notes: Highsmith, Mitchell, Offense, Adebayo

February 27th, 2025 at 7:46pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Heat forward Haywood Highsmith made a strong push to regain his role in Miami’s rotation with an impressive showing on Wednesday, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes.

Head coach Erik Spoelstra is still figuring out his post-trade-deadline rotation with a roster featuring many players deserving of regular minutes. That experimentation led to Highsmith not playing in five of the Heat’s past six games.

“Who knows what the right decisions are with this team,” Spoelstra said. “That’s just the reality. I can’t claim that I’m making the right decisions.”

Highsmith finished the game with 14 points while making four of his five three-point attempts to go along with seven rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block. The swingman is in the first season of a two-year, $10.82MM deal.

“I was ready,” Highsmith said. “It was definitely gratifying to get the opportunity and just provide a spark, provide a plus.”

Spoelstra and Highsmith’s teammates were complimentary of his play, which helped the Heat achieve their largest margin of victory since mid-January. The Heat maintained their new post-deadline starting lineup, but utilized Highsmith, Duncan Robinson, Alec Burks, Jaime Jaquez, and Kyle Anderson off the bench. Nikola Jovic is out with a hand fracture while Terry Rozier, Pelle Larsson and Kevin Love didn’t play.

“I’m used to this, to be honest with you,” Highsmith said of his fluctuating role. “Sometimes playing, sometimes starting, sometimes playing seven minutes, 20 minutes, whatever. At the end of the day, I’m a pro. When my number is called, I’m going to be ready. If I’m not playing, I’m going to cheer on my teammates and provide energy on the bench somehow, someway.”

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Highsmith and Davion Mitchell give the Heat a rugged defensive duo when they share the court, Ira Winderman of South Florida’s Sun Sentinel writes. In his starting role, Mitchell is giving Miami some strong point-of-attack defense and is battling through screens. “I knew he was a great on-ball defender, forcing a lot of illegal screens, a pitbull,” Highsmith said. “He kind of fits the Heat culture in a sense. So when we got him, I’m thinking like, ‘Wow, me and him locking up people, that would be something special for sure.’“
The Heat’s 131 points in their win over the Hawks on Wednesday represented their second-highest total of the season, Chiang writes in a separate piece. In the wake of that performance, it’s a matter of stacking quality wins, Winderman writes. Miami hasn’t won consecutive games since late January. The Heat are facing a tough schedule to get back to .500, though, as they have the Pacers, Knicks and Cavaliers on the horizon. As both Winderman and Chiang note, the Heat haven’t beaten a team over .500 since Jan. 7. They’re 8-20 this season in games against teams with winning records.
Bam Adebayo played through a calf contusion in the win over Atlanta, but he still played 35 minutes and scored 20 points, according to Chiang. “Bam was banged up coming into this game,” Spoelstra said. “It just shows you how much he wants this for this group. He put himself out there and then was a force of nature out there with his physicality and his efforts and his voice, his spirit, all of that. There’s probably a lot of guys that would have sat out either for the back or the calf, and he was unquestionably going [to play] in what he felt was a must-win.“

Southeast Notes: Anderson, Suggs, Anthony, Smith, Hornets

February 26th, 2025 at 5:16pm CST by Rory Maher

Although Kyle Anderson has been on five different teams over the course of his 11 NBA seasons, the deal that sent him from the Warriors to the Heat earlier this month was the first time he’d been traded, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Anderson says it’s been an adjustment period as his wife and five-year-old son stayed in California to finish the school year.

“It was a big one,” Anderson said of the whirlwind since the trade to the Heat. “I underestimated it, getting traded. I salute anybody that’s been traded multiple times in this league. There was just a lot going on with my experience in Golden State, then getting traded to a new team, not being with my family, being alone. It’s only been a few days and obviously Miami is a great city, but it still has some type of effect on you.”

Anderson wasn’t actually sure which team he’d end up on after it was reported that he might be rerouted to Toronto as part of the blockbuster Jimmy Butler trade. Instead, he wound up in Miami. The veteran forward said it was important to him to land with a team where he was “appreciated and wanted,” and he got a call from president Pat Riley and head coach Erik Spoelstra letting him know the Heat valued him.

“That meant a lot,” Anderson said. “Just letting me know they were happy to have me. That’s all I needed to hear. I didn’t want to go somewhere where I wasn’t really wanted.”

With Nikola Jovic out at least four weeks with a fractured hand, Anderson should continue to see an uptick in minutes. Spoelstra recently praised the 31-year-old’s two-way versatility and basketball IQ, according to Chiang.

Here’s more from the Southeast:

Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley shared injury updates today on guards Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter links). According to Mosley, neither player was able to practice on Wednesday. Suggs will miss his 14th straight on Thursday due to a left quad contusion, while Anthony is questionable vs. Golden State and considered day-to-day. Anthony sustained a hyperextended left knee in Tuesday’s lopsided loss to Cleveland, Beede notes.
After being buried on the depth chart early on in 2024/25, second-year Hornets guard Nick Smith Jr. was thrust into a significant rotation role as a result of injuries. As Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer writes, Smith has shown flashes of offensive upside as a starter over the past several weeks, but head coach Charles Lee says he needs to make progress on the other end to level up his game. “Defensively, that’s going to be his next kind of mission to improve upon,” Lee said. “We’ve had some good conversations and he’s been challenged in that area. And knowing Nick and knowing the competitor he is, he’s going to respond with a little more resistance, a little more physicality. The grit, the toughness, the energy that he has on the offensive end, I just want to see that same kind of mindset — how the young kids say, ‘Keep that same energy’ — I want that same energy down at the defensive end, too.”
Will the high-post screening and passing of Jusuf Nurkic be beneficial for Hornets star LaMelo Ball? The veteran big man believes so, according to Boone, who says the pairing should prove fruitful on offense — assuming Ball is able to return soon from an ankle injury. The former No. 3 overall pick is not listed on the injury report for Thursday’s game in Dallas (Twitter link), so he’s considered likely to suit up after appearing in just five of the past 14 contests.

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