Charlotte Hornets guard Brandon Miller throws down a one-handed dunk during action against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
JEFF SINER
jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
No one could have blamed Charles Lee if he kept rubbing his eyes Saturday afternoon, assuring what was transpiring was real and not a figment of his imagination.
When the Charlotte Hornets coach peered out onto the Spectrum Center court for a matinee with the LA Clippers, not long after pregame introductions concluded, he actually had his starting lineup intact for the first time in exactly four weeks, thanks to Brandon Miller’s return from a left shoulder subluxation and LaMelo Ball finally healthy after nursing a right ankle impingement.
But these, of course, are the Hornets, so nothing truly comes easy. And the good times never seem to last very long. Ever.
So even on a day when things should have been rosy and cheery, it’s instead more of the same. Rookie center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who’s had a promising start to his career, along with reserve guard Pat Connaughton, exited the Hornets’ 131-116 loss and ignited more thoughts of how the franchise just can’t catch a break against the dreaded injury bug.
“Yeah, it’s tough,” Kon Knueppel said. “We got, what, eight minutes with the starting … not even like six minutes tonight with the starting unit. Now, we still got Melo and probably Brandon not playing as many minutes. And then Pat — PC and Kalk — go down. It’s just frustrating.
“We’ve just got to keep showing up, keep fighting. Next guy’s got to be ready to go, and we got two assets ready to go, and we’ll keep going.”
For the Hornets and everyone who’s followed the team for the better portion of the past decade, it’s rinse and repeat. Groundhog Day. Deja vu. Name it and the phrase probably applies.
“Yeah, unfortunate, but part of the game,” Lee said. “We will give those guys some treatment and figure out how to get [them] back as soon as possible.”
At least Miller is off the injury list, though. The birthday boy, who turned 23 on the day of his return, canned 8 of 18 attempts and posted 21 points and three assists, not showing a lot of signs of rust despite missing the previous 13 games.
“That felt good, back like I never left,” Miller said. “I feel confident about my game, my energy that I bring to the team.”
The latter is something Miller intends on infusing into the Hornets a bit more. Sitting out over the past month gave him a different perspective, and he’s noticed how he can be of major assistance now that he’s in the lineup again.
“I feel like we start games great,” Miller said. “I feel like that second half is where things kind of, you know, shift the energy. So, just maintain that first-half energy and kind of add it to it, I feel like would be great.”
Expect to see Miller worked in slowly over the coming games. Beginning with Sunday’s tilt in Atlanta against the Hawks, the tail end of a back-to-back, the Hornets are in the midst of a stretch where they’ll play four games over the next seven days. That also includes three games in four days and matchups on consecutive nights.
Increasing his on-court time will be a process.
Collaboratively, with input from the performance staff, the Hornets have a step-by-step ramp-up process to ensure players are not rushed back or immediately overexerted. It’s an important part of their return-to-play program.
“Your first game back, I’m not going to try to push him to the brink as much as I probably would want to, but we want to be smart about it,” Lee said. “I think that we want to be intentional with how we ramp him back up. So hopefully we can keep him in a good controlled space, and then we’ll just kind of just go forward day after day.
“How’s he responding? What’s the plan? For him, it’s a little bit different, obviously, coming back from not a lower leg extremity injury.”
Just having Miller in the mix once more provided the Hornets (4-12) with an immediate emotional lift. His fire was evident from the get-go, when he posted all eight of the Hornets’ initial eight points and flexed on a couple of occasions — like after an emphatic right-handed Statue of Liberty dunk for the game’s opening bucket.
“We’re all excited for Brandon to be back in the lineup for a lot of different reasons,” Lee said. “I think for myself, I’m really happy with how he handled himself during this process. … His whole process as he went through his rehab and his return-to play-program, he came in every day locked in and excited for an opportunity to keep trying to get better. He saw the progress he was making, which was really good.
“I’m happy for him to be back out there after kind of having to go through that journey again. I think it ultimately just made him stronger and better.”
Here are some other key takeaways from the Hornets’ fourth straight loss:
Hard trouble stopping James
Two words essentially sum up what went wrong for the Hornets: James Harden.
Harden was unstoppable, tossing in shots from every angle. He pumped in 27 of his game-high 55 points in the first quarter, setting the tone for the Clippers (5-11). He shredded Charlotte’s defense with ease.
“Making the right decision,” Harden said. “That’s how I play every single game. Some nights I’m really, really good at it. Some nights I’m not the best at it. I try to be great every single night. Yes, it’s just that simple.”
The Hornets lamented their defensive effort against Harden. They know it’s unacceptable, even as good as the 11-time All-Star and 2017-2018 MVP is.
“Obviously, we tried to throw everything we could at him, throw bodies and sometimes it’s hard. It’s hard to scramble in the NBA and play defense that way. He killed us today,” Knueppel said.
No Kon man
Knueppel is quietly continuing his solid stretch.
The rookie paced the Hornets with a team-best 21 points, marking the third straight game he’s been Charlotte’s top scorer. He’s in the midst of an impressive run over the past week-plus alone, during which he registered a career-best 32 points in his hometown of Milwaukee on Nov. 14.
“I’m just trying to keep it simple,” Knueppel told The Charlotte Observer. “I didn’t rebound the ball well (Saturday). I thought I could have been better in that area, but that’s an area I’ve been good in. But just trying to make the right play, do the right thing and my teammates, they’ve been looking for me, and they really help.”
Knueppel is making a serious case for rookie of the year honors. Overall, he’s totaled double figures in scoring in all but three of his appearances and led the Hornets in scoring on five occasions.
He has a fan already in Harden.
“Obviously, he’s shooting the (expletive) out of the ball, but just putting it on the ground, getting to the basket,” Harden said. “It’s just a great pickup for Charlotte and the Hornets. Excited to see what he will continue to do.”
Good bye, CP III
Quite a bit of news broke before tipoff, when North Carolina native Chris Paul announced via social media that this would be his final visit to his home state as an NBA player.
Though he declined to speak about it after the game, citing a preference to do it when the team returns to Los Angeles, the Wake Forest product is calling it a career after 20 years and retiring upon the completion of the 2025-26 season.
Paul signed a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum of $3.6 million in the offseason, joining the Clippers for a second stint.
He’s the only player in NBA history with 20,000 points, 10,000 assists and 6,000 steals and has been a mentor to more than his share of players in the league, including Harden. He’s the definition of a floor general.
“Just reading the game, communicating, making sure that guys are in their spots,” Harden said, “and (on) another level offensively, seeing where defenses are, how they’re playing and making impact. That time while I was in Houston, he helped me with the load as far as getting in the paint, creating shots and even being aggressive.
“So we’ve had some really good times, and I’m proud of everything he’s accomplished.”
This story was originally published November 22, 2025 at 3:53 PM.
Roderick Boone joined the Observer in September 2021 to cover the Charlotte Hornets and NBA. In his more than two decades of writing about the world of sports, he’s chronicled everything from high school rodeo to a major league baseball no-hitter to the Super Bowl to the Finals. The Long Island native has deep North Carolina roots and enjoys watching “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” endlessly. Support my work with a digital subscription
Charlotte Hornets rookie Brandon Miller (24) guards LA Clippers star Paul George during Sunday night’s game at Spectrum Center.
Photo courtesy of @hornets
The G.O.A.T. was in the building, creating an everlasting memory.
No, not the former majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets, the guy who has the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award named after him. Some label Michael Jordan as the best to ever lace them up in the league, pointing to the six championships — including a pair of three-peats — along with his position as a global icon who changed the game in more ways than one.
Brandon Miller has a different take on the often nauseating debate centering around the greatest player of all time, tabbing LA Clippers star Paul George instead of Jordan or LeBron James. Miller never backed off his statement and caught flak for it. The Hornets rookie missed the team’s December meeting, a rarity for him, so Sunday night’s 130-118 loss represented Miller’s first opportunity to go up against his favorite player.
“That’s my guy, big bro,” Miller said. “I’m looking forward to working out with him this summer. You know he’s going to be a tough match-up every time we play each other. And so I always look for a show when he’s on the court. He’s a great shot maker. And not just that. The whole season, he takes pride on the defensive side and that’s one of the things that stands out for him and his career. I think that’s why my favorite player is Paul George.”
Miller commemorated the night with a halfcourt jersey swap, grabbing a keepsake.
“Dream come true,” said Miller, who posted 22 points, six rebounds and four assists against the Clippers. “Just having one of our favorite player’s jerseys, just hanging (it) up in your house, I think that’s a great accomplishment. Really just out here being on the court with those types of guys — (Russell) Westbrook , PG, (James) Harden, Kawhi (Leonard) — I think that’s just a blessing. And I’m always going out there with the mindset of competing. And that’s what we do every night.”
Even when it’s not simply any old night.
“It was fun,” George said, standing in the Clippers’ locker room holding Miller’s uniform top. “He got a ton of game, and a ton of talent and I’m in his corner. So can’t wait to see him fully blossom and be one of those guys that carried the league for a long time.”
Miller already left a lasting impact on George. He raved about the 21-year-old’s skill set, giving him props for the variety he brings to the table for the Hornets.
“He can do a little bit of everything,” George said. “He can play make, score, shoot it from deep. He can put the ball on the ground, and he’s still figuring it out, figuring his body out. He really hasn’t grown into himself yet. So he’s got a ton of upside. But what’s most impressive is all the things that he can do for his age, and at some point he’s going to figure everything out.”
Matched up on each other for a hefty portion of the game, Miller got tested early and often by the nine-time All-Star, who pumped in a game-high 41 points. George took Miller to school a couple of times, even putting him on skates before failing to knock down a 3-pointer that surely would’ve been shared everywhere on social media had it fallen through the net.
Charlotte Hornets rookie Brandon Miller (center) chats with LA Clippers star Paul George after Sunday night’s game at Spectrum Center. The Hornets lost 130-118. Photo courtesy of @hornets
In similar fashion to how things have gone during these past five months, however, Miller more than held his own. Separating himself with George guarding him in the third quarter was a thing of beauty, displaying his mentality.
Miller said, “I was supposed to make that one. It happens.”
Was that a push off?
“For sure, for sure,” George said with a smile. “But it is what it is. They didn’t call it.”
From the opening quarter, it was crystal clear being on the court with George didn’t intimidate Miller one bit. Swatting George’s first-quarter jumper and throwing down a nifty fast-break alley-oop from Tre Mann over him certainly proved that.
“Yeah, I think (he’s) getting comfortable,” Clippers coach Ty Lue said. “ He said his idol is P.G. and he plays a lot like P.G. — off the dribble threes, when he gets in the pick and roll getting downhill, shifty moves. And just getting comfortable understanding how to play the NBA game. Like I said, (Coach Steve Clifford) has done a great job just bringing him along, making sure he plays the right way even though they want him to be aggressive scoring the basketball but also making the right play. And so he’s been doing that since I’ve been watching him on tape.”
Miller has put together a solid season, climbing up the rookie ranks in many notable categories. He drained his 160th 3-pointer of the season Sunday, moving him into ninth place, and is close to surpassing the 166 Charlotte’s prodigal son Steph Curry posted during his first year.
Leading into Sunday, Miller averaged 2.4 made 3-pointers per game, tops among rookies this season, and he’s on pace to set a new franchise rookie record for 3-point makes per game, topping LaMelo Ball’s 1.8 in 2020-21. In fact, Miller has drained at least five 3-pointers eight times, which leads all rookie and marks a franchise record.
Still, perhaps the most telling number is this: Seven. That’s the number of games Miller hasn’t been available, which is no small feat on the Hornets’ injury-ravaged roster that’s second only to Memphis in games missed because of injury.
“One thing that stands out after the other night is the durability piece,” coach Steve Clifford said.. “He turned his ankle badly, came in, went back out, one drive, hurts his other ankle, wanted to stay in. I asked him (Saturday), ‘You OK?’ ‘I’m good.’ And he’s done that two or three times.
“In a league where I’d say the value of durability isn’t what it once was, he is a guy, he wants to be out there, he wants to play with his teammates, and he’s shown a real toughness to do that.”
Opponents are taking notice, too.
“It’s huge, it’s huge,” Lue said, “especially having your best players on the floor every night, and you build some consistency with your team. With your best players on the floor, you can run things through your best player, especially a young good player. You can only get better and better. If he wasn’t on the floor all this year, I don’t know how much better he would have gotten. Being on the floor, being able to go through the experiences — end-of-game situations, blowout situations, close game situations, it’s no better experience than being on the floor. So that’s what Brandon Miller has been able to do.”
Which, in turn, should put him in position to keep ascending.
“I think that is just a mindset thing,” Miller said. “I know my teammates want me to play, so I’m just going to go out there and do everything for them. I know they are always going to have my back and I’m going to have theirs.”
Particularly when it comes to matching up with his G.O.A.T.
“When I stepped on the court it was all basketball, just business,” Miller said. “Going into the game knowing that it was a tough match-up, I was looking forward to this game. I was excited to play this game and I think it was a great game by both teams.”
Roderick Boone joined the Observer in September 2021 to cover the Charlotte Hornets and NBA. In his more than two decades of writing about the world of sports, he’s chronicled everything from high school rodeo to a major league baseball no-hitter to the Super Bowl to the Finals. The Long Island native has deep North Carolina roots and enjoys watching “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” endlessly. Support my work with a digital subscription
LOS ANGELES — After missing all of last season, Kawhi Leonard opted to wait a little longer before making his much-anticipated return for the LA Clippers.
For the first time with the team, Leonard decided not to start in order to maximize his limited minutes. He ended up finishing the game as the Clippers beat the Los Angeles Lakers once again. Leonard scored 14 points, including a 21-foot jumper with 52.3 seconds remaining to help seal a 103-97 win at Crypto.com Arena.
The Clippers beat their hallway rival for the eighth straight time despite their franchise player not checking into the game until the 6:25 mark in the second quarter and playing three stints that totaled 21 minutes.
“It was long,” Leonard said of his wait to come into the game. “But I waited 82 games last year, so I didn’t think 15 minutes would be that long.”
In his first game back since tearing his right ACL in Game 4 of the second round against the Utah Jazz on June 14, 2021, Leonard was a reserve for the first time since November 2013, when he was with the San Antonio Spurs.
Leonard said he made the decision to not start after going over data and running simulations in practice with him starting and subbing in. Leonard and the Clippers’ goal is for him to stay healthy and be at his strongest for the postseason with the team expected to contend for a championship. They want to maximize his minutes as he works his way back, and have him play those minutes during the most impactful stretches and finish the game.
“One scenario with me starting, I would have been sitting like 35 minutes real time,” Leonard said of starting and still being able to finish the game. “That’s way too long. So I just thought this was the best situation. But we’ll see how it goes moving forward.”
Leonard didn’t waste any time once he finally got back on the floor. He buried his first two shots, both from midrange, where he so often likes to operate.
“First [Leonard] got the rebound, went coast-to-coast and hit his little patented fadeaway,” said John Wall, who hit 7 of 15 shots and scored 15 points in 24 minutes in his first game since April 23, 2021. “It’s all about rhythm and pace for him.
“He’s a guy that’s like a machine and he works on his stuff, he sticks with what he wants to. And he basically treats it like a workout. Like he doesn’t see anybody in front of him. It’s all about him missing or making a shot.”
Leonard didn’t have his rhythm from 3-point range, where he shot 1-for-4. But he made some pivotal plays, drawing a charge off LeBron James late in the fourth and knocking in that jumper with under a minute to go to give the Clippers a six-point cushion after the Lakers erased a 15-point, second-half deficit.
“I did this before,” Leonard said of coming off the bench. “This is how I started my career. That’s how I approached it mentally. Act like I was in foul trouble, and once I check in the second quarter, it’s time to play basketball.”
Leonard acknowledged that he likely will not play in at least one of this weekend’s back-to-back games at Sacramento and then at home against Phoenix.
“You gotta gradually play minutes in order to get the ACL strong,” Leonard said. “Once you start playing 38 minutes first game, it could easily weaken up, but I’m listening to the doctor with that.
“It’s a long season. We wanna get in the playoffs and want me to play in the playoffs.”
As for how long he plans on coming off the bench, Leonard said he likely needs to see his minutes increase back to around the 34.1 minutes he averaged in 2020-21.
“It’s all about how my knee responds,” Leonard said. “We’ll see how it feels tomorrow and then gradually go as time goes forward and I’ll start adding minutes and once I’m ready to play 35 minutes — I think I played 33 minutes when I was healthy — that’s probably when you’ll see me starting.”
It’s time for our silliest preseason tradition: The 11th (how???) annual League Pass Rankings, a watchability scale to help you avoid wasting time on things like, “Wait, has this team actually ordered its players to tie their shoes together as part of its Lose-A-Rama for Victor Wembanyama campaign?”
These are not power rankings! They are derived from a formula Bill Simmons found scrawled on parchment paper inside a glass bottle that washed up on the shores of Malibu.
Teams are scored 1-10 in five categories:
ZEITGEIST: When you talk about this team at parties, do people slink away?
HIGHLIGHT POTENTIAL: Do you linger on games in case a superstar does something amazing?
STYLE: Where are they on the continuum from “Golden State Warriors beautiful game” to “Julius Randle just took four jab steps and launched an 18-footer”?
LEAGUE PASS MINUTIA: All the little things that mean too much to damaged die-hards: announcers, court designs, uniforms.
The Jazz aren’t really a basketball team after detonating the Donovan Mitchell–Rudy Gobert-Quin Snyder-Making-Amazing-Faces era. They are an airport waiting area for players, only those players have to play together a bit because the NBA mandates the Jazz field a team instead of working together “Ocean’s Eleven”-style to rig the lottery.
They are the NBA Spider-Man Pointing meme of shoot-first combo guards: Jordan Clarkson, Collin Sexton, Talen Horton-Tucker, Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Lauri Markkanen and Malik Beasley aren’t exactly prime John Stockton, either. Poor Mike Conley can bring the ball up, pass it once and head into the stands for a drink. (I am excited to watch Sexton again. He averaged 24 points on 47.5% shooting two seasons ago, and purists dismissed it because the Cleveland Cavaliers stunk and Sexton’s a blah passer. Putting up those numbers is not easy. Sexton plays with classic little guy bravado, flinging himself inside for rebounds and going at larger superstars as if they should be scared of him.)
We are only one year removed from the Utah broadcast team shrieking at Rudy Gay’s debut as if the Jazz were getting prime Karl Malone. I can’t wait to hear how the Jazz are not really tanking, how dare anyone suggest it, the honorable caretakers of this community treasure would never allow that toxin to infect your beloved Jazz Men.
The new uniforms are a crime against NBA art:
The black and yellow ones are high school gym class-level. Why is a team with such a rich color palette going all-in on black? The white ones are passable only because the Jazz note — a perfect piece of sports art — is front and center, but they’ve even sullied that by removing the blue, yellow and green in the note head in favor of (yup) black.
The new court at least has the smoky white-gray shadow of that note along the sidelines.
The Pacers are one trade from challenging the San Antonio Spurs as frontrunners for the league’s worst record. They fall behind the Spurs here only because of the “zeitgeist” category; winning five titles buys San Antonio gravitas, especially when their last tank job kick-started that dominance.
Tyrese Haliburton is more entertaining than the entire Spurs team. He operates two steps ahead of defenses, and takes joy in passing. He gets off the ball early instead of hunting assists. When Haliburton is on the floor, the ball flies. He celebrates assists more loudly than baskets. You will sometimes catch Haliburton shouting with glee as his big man is about to cram one of his feathery lobs. (Haliburton and Isaiah Jackson are a fun alley-oop connection.) He might lead the league in assists.
Indiana’s young (and raw) bigs seemed to catch Haliburton’s spirit; the Pacers had the ball shifting side-to-side. Terry Taylor is the most ferocious offensive rebounder you don’t know. He will Kool-Aid Man through four guys to snag a second chance.
T.J. McConnell must be furious Jose Alvarado seized his throne as the king of the back-court sneak steal. I expect McConnell to respond by wearing a Hamburglar mask and hiding in the stands.
Chris Duarte bobs and weaves behind screens with liquid veteran guile. Bennedict Mathurin is a blast of athleticism for a team that ranked 27th in dunks. There’s plenty of room on Aaron Nesmith Island!
28. SAN ANTONIO SPURS (21.5)
The Spurs were for so long the League Pass nerd team: Manu Ginobili driving Gregg Popovich mad with thread-the-needle passes; Boris Diaw’s roly-poly, spinning, shoulder-checking drives; Kawhi Leonard snatching the ball from people. They birthed the Spursgasm, and raised the sport to perhaps its stylistic zenith in 2013-14.
Welp.
Can I interest you in the Low-Risk Point Guard Sibling Olympics between Tre and Tyus Jones? What about Point Josh Primo? Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell should develop into really good support starters, but it’s hard to hone your secondary playmaking on a team this light on first-option types to bend defenses — even if Popovich will have everyone sharing and moving. (Vassell is the biggest draw — a potential 3-and-D monster who has flashed ball-handling chops.)
At least Jakob Poeltl free throws have drama; he has hit below 50% over three seasons, and that will be a big deal if Poeltl — a fine player — ends up on a playoff team again.
Jeremy Sochan is fun, and leads three 2022 first-round picks who should see minutes.
Is this the best non-fiesta jersey in Spurs history — maybe the best, period?
I love that spur jutting out of the “X” in that new “SATX” wordmark. That gorgeous pattern down the sides is rendered in the style of Mexican serapes. The Texas state logo is a nod to the team’s origins as the Dallas Chaparrals in the American Basketball Association.
This 50th anniversary court, though …
The gold doesn’t go, and the center-court logo looks as if someone draped a carpet over the big spur.
27. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (21.5)
They’d be at least three spots higher with Chet Holmgren healthy. Without him, the roster is a morass after the strange-but-cool Shai Gilgeous-Alexander/Josh Giddey/Luguentz Dort trio. I mean this in a good way: It is really hard to find a perimeter trio with almost zero overlapping skill among them.
Giddey is the tall genius passer who dares long-range, no-look lasers with zero margin for error. Dort is the brick wall who lofts ceiling-scraping 3s and bulldozes inside. Gilgeous-Alexander is the ungraspable phantom, everywhere and nowhere at once as he slithers into the lane — different limbs seemingly operating at different speeds, and moving in different directions.
Good luck distributing minutes beyond that. If you’re chasing wins, you’d play Kenrich Williams and Mike Muscala. Then there are at least seven young guys who merit time — including three of the first 34 picks in the last draft.
Aleksej Pokusevski has shown hints that he’s a basketball player, not just a gangly novelty. He has vision, and a knack for blocking shots. (Does he think you get more points if jumpers go in at higher velocities?) Tre Mann is crafty. If a Darius Bazley corner 3 hits the side of the backboard, does it make a noise? (Don’t sleep on the Thunder hiring Chip Engelland — longtime assistant coach and shooting guru for the Spurs.)
A juicy subplot: midtier playoff teams cannot afford losses to the Wembanyama Brigade. Those can be the difference between No. 6 and the play-in. The Thunder signaled doom for the Los Angeles Lakers last season with two massive early comeback wins.
The broadcast is less propaganda-y than it once was. Progress!
26. Washington Wizards (24)
The cherry blossom uniform is the best thing to happen to this franchise since the Charlotte Bobcats took Michael Kidd-Gilchrist No. 2 in 2012. They should give these uniforms a no-trade clause.
The team with perhaps the most blah art collection of the last 15 years — this is the first season they’ve used multiple courts! — nailed every detail: the soft-pink; the gradual shift to gray on the shorts; the stenciled flowers dripping down the sides.
Gandalf is back!
After years of ignoring their kooky wizarding heritage, the team is tiptoeing into some semi-ironic hipster embrace of it. It took me years before I realized the contrast between the wizard’s white beard and black cloak formed a “W.” (I might have problems.)
Oh, the team! The Wiz could push for a high-end play-in spot, or skid early and Avada Kedavra themselves into the Wembanyama sweepstakes.
For a team that has been under-.500 since 2018, they have few (if any) young prospects you are dying to watch. Deni Avdija is a heady ball-mover who enjoys defense — remember when he started forming an “X” with his forearms after stops? — but needs to do more on offense. Rui Hachimura was empty calories last season; he has a lot to prove in the final year of his rookie contract.
Kyle Kuzma was awesome across the board, and elevates NBA fashion. Bradley Beal is one of the league’s most artful three-level scorers — a sleek blend of old school and new school. You often hear how Beal can’t be the No. 1 guy on a title team, but who cares (other than Wiz fans who can recite his salary cap hit in 2027)? How many such players exist? Beal is a star, and would look incredible as the second-best player — and maybe No. 1 scorer — on a great team stacked with defenders. (In other news, the Wiz had a three-year window in which they could have traded Beal for a gazillion draft picks.)
The funniest random NBA streak is Orlando’s 10-season run ranking 20th or worse in points per possession. That is Dimaggio-level consistency in offensive incompetence. I really hope they are 20th on the last day of the season and go all-out for 19th.
I think we are on rebuild No. 3 post-Dwightmare? This one might take. Paolo Banchero is the offense-first fulcrum the Magic have searched for this entire decade — an all-court hub with the passing and shooting chops to lift his teammates. Franz Wagner is an ideal secondary wing — all heady cuts and snappy passes, with the touch and ball-handling guile to take the reins mid-possession. Wendell Carter Jr. is only 23, and he’s already a decent starting center. They should land another high pick in this draft.
Cole Anthony plays as if he thinks he’s the best player on the floor, and I love it. He’s a solid backup and spot starter.
Everything else is a mystery. Unless Wagner becomes an every-possession point-forward — that seems a stretch — the Magic still need a perimeter orchestrator. What, exactly, is Jalen Suggs?
Jonathan Isaac’s return sometime between now and 2030 would introduce some ultra-modern lineup combinations. Can you go giant, with Wagner and all three of Isaac, Banchero and Carter? What about the center-less front-court of Wagner/Isaac/Banchero? I will never give up on Chuma Okeke!
The broadcast trio of David Steele, Jeff Turner, and Dante Marchitelli is tremendous. They have fun without degenerating into shrill homerism.
24. CHARLOTTE HORNETS (24.5)
This is the floor for a team featuring one of the league’s most inventive passers in LaMelo Ball; Eric Collins’ rapturous play-by-play; Kelly Oubre Jr. talking trash to everyone in earshot; and some of the league’s best and most immediately identifiable art. (Here’s hoping they bring back the mint shade they unveiled two seasons ago; the Hornets can own that.)
This alternate court is another hit:
That all-purple silhouette of a scary-looking Hornet leaps off the screen. The stinger theme echoes along the sideline, and on the outside of the “H” and “S” of the accompanying jersey:
The half-basketball with turquoise lining is the rare instance where dividing the circle by color works.
The Hornets played fast and ranked No. 2 in dunks last season, but almost half those dunks belonged to Miles Bridges and Montrezl Harrell. Steve Clifford teams typically don’t play fast, or experiment with the funky “nothing else is working, let’s try this?” zone defenses James Borrego cooked up.
(Clifford is a really good coach. Even so, we have not spent nearly enough time discussing how hilarious and perfectly Hornets it is that Charlotte hired one coach — Kenny Atkinson — only for him to bail once he got a look inside, and then turned to the coach they fired four years ago.)
Pairing Clifford with a chaos agent like Ball will either result in an untenable tug-of-war or a healthy meeting in the middle. (Clifford has little choice but to play a pile of unproven young guys.) I’m curious how Ball finds his footing in slowed-down, half-court sequences — what moves and passes he leans on, how he incorporates teammates.
Terry Rozier has canned an inexplicable number of clutch jumpers over the last two seasons. There is something mesmerizing about watching Mason Plumlee decide, “Screw it, I’m going to unleash this reeeeeeaaaally slooooooowwwww spin move from the foul line. It’s my time to live, baby!” Did you know Plumlee switched to shooting free throws lefty last season? That happened!
23. NEW YORK KNICKS (26.5)
The Knicks played at the league’s second-slowest pace, and their games featured tons of free throws. Their starting five was unwatchable, unless you enjoy Julius Randle, RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson bumping into each other. The rollicking bench shocked them to life, and if the basketball gods are kind, we will see more Barrett alongside Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley. (You never know when Toppin might stage his own in-game dunk contest.)
Toppin is a quick-twitch ball-mover, and Quickley went up two levels as a playmaker last season. Isaiah Hartenstein will have the ball popping, and stitch the bench together. If Robinson isn’t on point, we might see Hartenstein finish games.
Jalen Brunson should restore order and spacing to the starting five. The Knicks boast Mike Breen and Clyde Frazier, Madison Square Garden’s theater lighting and a pristine royal blue court. (I will drop them one spot if they introduce more black-and-orange art. You are the Knicks of New York freaking City. Do not be Team Halloween!)
I would like an in-game feed of Leon Rose and slouching, hangdog James Dolan sitting next to each other in silence, only the Knicks would never risk accidentally broadcasting Dolan shouting back at fans urging him to sell the team. (The camera might also catch them frowning at Tom Thibodeau’s refusal to play Cam Reddish.)
The potential for cranky Randle turning against the fans again adds to the comedy score.
22. HOUSTON ROCKETS (27)
On the one hand: Houston ranked first in dunks and second in pace, and features a bunch of telegenic young players. Jalen Green goes from zero to 100 in a nanosecond, and hunts bodies at the rim. He can also slow down for smooth midrange pull-ups — a nice break from Houston’s dunks-and-3s credo.
How do you even describe Alperen Sengun? He attempts such unusual feats of pivotry that you sometimes wonder if he traveled even though you just watched him shift both feet three times without dribbling. Was that so weird, it was somehow legal? Sengun could carry the ball 20 steps and still be astonished the referees whistled him for traveling.
He sometimes pass fakes to no one — literally to empty space — just to get defenders leaning into that void. Is it genius or madness?
On the other hand: Houston fouled the bejesus out of everyone and gagged up one of the highest turnover rates in recent history; its style of play — young guys running and gunning — lends itself to raggedness.
Tari Eason will clean up the defense. He is here to lock victims up. Jabari Smith Jr. brings some preternatural polish.
Do Derrick Favors and Maurice “I’m coming for Ish Smith’s record” Harkless ever wonder, “Wait, what city am I in?” It hurts the comedy score that Eric Gordon is too professional to write “Trade me!” on his shoes a la Chris Morris.
Boban Marjanovic cameos are always welcome. Every move Garrison Mathews makes — kicking his legs out on jumpers, running smack into picks — carries a hint of danger. Every team needs a Jae’Sean Tate.
21. SACRAMENTO KINGS (27.5)
This is too low for Sacramento.
You never know when the #KANGZZ might appear in-game. Example: Remember when NBA Twitter kicked into Conspiracy Theory mode because Vivek Ranadive sat courtside between the general manager he had recently fired (Vlade Divac) and Divac’s replacement (Monte McNair)? Because it was the Kings — with their “Game of Thrones”-style power structure and habit of hiring coaches before GMs — anything was possible.
In describing that bizarre scene, Jason Jones of The Athletic recalled Ranadive tweeting happy birthday to Jimmer Fredette (whose selection at No. 10 in 2011 after a nonsensical trade down is another #KANGZZ moment) “while negotiating a buyout [with Fredette] at the same time.” Even the tweet in question has a hidden #KANGZ treasure:
Ranadive is making the “hang loose” gesture in front of another photo of him flashing the “hang loose” gesture.
Anyway, Team Play-In-Or-Bust should be a fast-paced scoring machine built around the already sophisticated De’Aaron Fox-Domantas Sabonis two-man game. They are a natural match: opposites in build, but tethered in craft and wink-wink IQ. Sabonis might flip the angle of his screen two, three, four times, and Fox shifts in sync with each move. Sabonis can brutalize switches, push in transition and even run the occasional inverted pick-and-roll.
Malik Monk is a show, Kevin “Red Velvet” Huerter adds shooting and underrated playmaking, and Keegan Murray intrigues. I will miss the Haliburton-Richaun Holmes lob connection, but Holmes’ push shot — the best of its kind — carries on.
The algorithm is angry Miami discontinued its instantly iconic “Miami Vice”-style jerseys.
The Heat are a sneakily hard sell for casual fans. They were 28th in pace and 26th in dunks, and they foul a lot. Watching Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, and Bam Adebayo make magic in tight spaces is an acquired taste. You have to really pay attention to notice all the smart cuts, shoulder fakes, give-and-gos, and slick interior passes that make Miami’s half-court offense hum — when it hums.
Lowry gets them moving with overzealous full-court hit-aheads. I’m excited to see what Tyler Herro does as a permanent starter. He became over-infatuated — with the team’s encouragement to some degree — with becoming a high-volume pick-and-roll ball handler at the expense of some catch-and-shoot 3s. He should recalibrate 15% or so in the direction of Klay Thompson.
There is something beautiful and almost contradictory about Jimmy Butler’s bruising game. He doesn’t just plow into people. He’s violent and physical, but never reckless. In a blink, he can transition from a burrowing drive into a stop-on-a-dime jumper that drips with surprising softness. He brings the same balletic ferocity to his off-ball cuts. (Butler might be the league’s most underrated cutter.)
The flip side of self-serious #HeatCulture is that there is almost nothing funny — unintentionally or otherwise — about the Heat.
19. PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (29)
There is nothing in basketball like an avalanche of Damian Lillard 3s. In Portland, the buzz builds as fans realize: We might see one of those nights. It reaches a euphoric crescendo when one final 30-footer forces a timeout, and Lillard, scowling, stares and nods at the crowd in his house.
On the road, you hear fear — really hear it. It starts with low murmuring: Uh oh. As the streak unfolds, the noise morphs into a sort of collective shriek that begins when Lillard pauses mid-dribble as if he might launch.
For the first time in ages, the Blazers have surrounded their star with some oomph: Josh Hart rampaging end-to-end; Nassir Little testing the limits of his game; Anfernee Simons flicking 3s and hunting tin; Gary Payton II rim-running and committing felonies on defense; the unknown of Shaedon Sharpe.
Simons might have the league’s prettiest floater; he pogo-sticks into the clouds, above reaching defenders, and flips that baby from all angles.
Chauncey Billups might have to start from scratch on defense after last year’s blitzing scheme failed.
The Blazers have the best team name, and maybe the best top-to-bottom art. This floor is close to seizing my No. 1 court design spot from the Lakers:
A few teams have experimented with differently colored painted areas. That contrast works better on the boundaries — as the Blazers have done here. The pinwheel might be the best logo in U.S. sports; whoever decided to extend the striping from the center-court pinwheel onto each sideline deserves a big raise.
Lillard planted the pinwheel smack in the center of the new jersey he helped design — and echoed its striping down the sides:
More teams are trying jerseys showing only their primary logo — no wordmark at all — and the pinwheel is well-suited to that. The Blazers were smart to render the numbers in white instead of black.
18. CHICAGO BULLS (30)
This an eight-spot drop from last year, reflecting Lonzo Ball’s importance as Chicago’s fast-break engine and the connective tissue between the disparate styles baked into the roster.
I was gobsmacked watching from courtside last November as the Bulls ran circles around the Lakers at Staples Center. LeBron James didn’t play, but Chicago’s blowout win was so emphatic, his absence seemed almost immaterial. The younger, bouncier, cockier Bulls looked as if they were playing a different sport. They passed and cut and jacked 3s ahead of the Lakers. Ball and Alex Caruso terrorized L.A. on defense. The Lakers quit. The Bulls danced.
That team vanished six weeks later, and has never returned. It got slower, more predictable, over-dependent on DeMar DeRozan’s graceful but somewhat repetitive midrange game. Zach LaVine is the best dunker since Vince Carter, but wings don’t dunk often enough to warp viewing habits; Lavine dunked 62 times in 67 games. (Derrick Jones. Jr. might literally jump over someone at any moment.)
If LaVine cans one or two fading step-back 3s — he’ll do that from the corners too! — definitely stick around. A high-degree-of-difficulty swish-fest may be coming.
Nikola Vucevic is a footwork artist on the block, but playing alongside LaVine and DeRozan marginalized that part of his game and turned him into a run-of-the-mill pick-and-pop shooter; Vucevic averaged eight post touches per 100 possessions, second-lowest of his career, per Second Spectrum.
Ayo Dosunmu and Patrick Williams offer the appeal of the unknown, and how they develop — and how fast — is of immense importance to a team that could be trapped in upper-class mediocrity. Williams’ career could spin in an unusual number of directions; the Bulls might even spot him minutes at center.
Adam Amin and Stacey King keep the broadcast light-hearted, and lose nothing when Jason Benetti fills in. The logo, court, and jerseys (other than anodyne black alternates) are top-notch.
17. TORONTO RAPTORS (30)
Some fans are concerned about strategic homogeneity — every team playing spread pick-and-roll, chasing the same shots. That concern is overblown, but there is an easy antidote: Watch the positionless, avante-garde basketball experiment unfolding in Toronto!
The Raptors’ rotation amounts to Fred VanVleet and several tall people who can do lots of things on offense and guard everyone on defense. They leverage their length in ways you’d expect, and some you might not: switching, playing wacky zones, bombarding the offensive glass, and posting up size mismatches. They do the unthinkable on defense: allow lots of 3s (basically) on purpose, confident their speed and preposterous arms make for frightening closeouts. (Only Matisse Thybulle has blocked more 3s than Chris Boucher over the past three seasons.)
Playing mismatch ball can be laborious; Toronto possessions after made baskets lasted 18.3 seconds — highest in the league, per Inpredictable. But even the grueling nature of its half-court offense runs counter to trends in a way that makes it appealing.
Scottie Barnes — 6-9 point-whatever — is the perfect foundational player for this ethos, and might soon grasp the superstar tools to lift Toronto’s offense from the muck. He seemed to play last season in second gear, digesting the speed and dimensions of the NBA before pushing the throttle. By the playoffs, he appeared to have a better understanding of how good he could be.
Pascal Siakam is a fine all-around No. 1 option, and VanVleet is that greater-than-his-statistics guy you appreciate more the longer you watch him. Every seemingly innocuous move — every cut, dribble, wink, shoulder fake — opens a few inches of space, and those inches eventually add up to an open shot.
You never know where that first Precious Achiuwa dribble might lead — everything from a dunk to a pass into the fifth row is in play — but his transformation into a stretch center changed Toronto’s offense.
The announcers, court, and red-and-white jerseys are all great. The pitch on Jack Armstrong’s “Get that gah-bage outta here!” call somehow gets higher every season. Thumbs down to the alternate black-and-gold look.
16. DETROIT PISTONS (31)
Cade Cunningham has that rare Luka Doncic-style ability to find life in places where possessions often die — in the extended paint with a live dribble that doesn’t appear to be going anywhere, against a set defense.
Cunningham is strong enough to keep pushing, tall enough to see everything. Most of all, he’s smart enough to know how every pivot and twist might manipulate the defense. One lunge inside from a help defender, and zip — the ball finds a shooter. Once Cunningham refines his touch around the rim, every possibility will open up.
Jaden Ivey’s lightning-bolt drives might form the perfect duality alongside Cunningham’s patient game. Corralling the Pistons could someday be like facing consecutive pitches from Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson.
Bojan Bogdanovic widens the floor. Saddiq Bey should find the right water level in his game. Don’t mess with Isaiah Stewart. Beef Stew should shoot more 3s, and he’s the keystone to Detroit’s switch-everything defense. Jalen Duren is a high-flying, rim-munching backup center who might even share the floor with Stewart in short stints.
The rest of the bench is a bit of a mystery.
There’s also this:
Was anyone yearning for the return of the 1990s teal and flaming horse? Do fans like these now? Is the affection ironic or genuine? Do teal and red mesh? The flaming exhaust pipes and “DP” corner logos are kinda cool.
The new black jerseys — with fat striping as a Bad Boys call-out — are a bust. Black has been every team’s “whatever” alternate for a decade, and the blocky, outlined black lettering looks generic.
I do like Detroit’s two main courts, with the edges of a basketball along each sideline echoing the central logo:
15. LA CLIPPERS (31.5)
The Clips are about as entertaining as it gets for a slowish team that lives on jumpers and rarely flies above the rim. Paul George glides in a way that makes everything (except dribbling through traffic) look effortless.
There is majesty — power, strength, rigid up-and-down precision — to Kawhi Leonard’s pull-up game. Leonard showed two seasons ago that he can still dial up peak Spurs-era sharktopus mode on defense, and there is no wing player alive who instills the same level of panic as Sharktopus Kawhi. He is the rare weakside help defender who dictates terms — vibrating on his toes, arms spread fingertip to fingertip — in that netherworld between a corner shooter and the big man rumbling down the lane. Even the best ball handlers freeze at the sight of that menace: Is Kawhi’s guy open? Oh, wait, Kawhi is gonna apparate into that passing lane. What about the lob inside? Could he snatch that too? Overthink, and Leonard has already won.
If that Leonard is back when it counts, the Clip are in the inner circle of contenders.
John Wall, Norman Powell and Terance Mann are the jolt of head-down, north-south speed this team needs. (The Clips are so deep, a lot of preseason analysis has skirted past Powell. He is a critical variable, and should finish lots of games.) The Clips will play five-out, centerless lineups, and every game will teach us something about which perimeter trios work best around Leonard and George.
You know your art is dull when no one notices the difference between your primary court and the “special” alternate:
This is shockingly low for a 64-win team with a layered pick-and-roll attack, potential for drama with Deandre Ayton, and the return of the classic purple sunburst jerseys.
Phoenix even amped up the pace last season, unusual for a Chris Paul team. Devin Booker is a vintage scorer, with his velvety leaning midranger and a sneaky-nasty post game. He and Paul rain old-school fire. Paul’s maximize-every-edge perfectionism can be irritating — the rip-through is coming the second Phoenix enters the bonus — but it’s what makes him who he is.
(It also results in on-court disagreements, one of which gave us the iconic fake-laughing meme. That thing transcends basketball. Try it out in your life. It’s a great way to end those exchanges of small talk with long-lost high school classmates you don’t really like.)
It is so satisfying when Paul kicks that fastidiousness and decides to preen — showing off fancy yo-yo dribbles, or nutmegging someone just because he feels like embarrassing them.
The young guys will stretch themselves; Cameron Johnson piled up 20-plus-point games last season, and Mikal Bridges has dabbled with quick-hitting duck-ins. (Bridges’ defense is a show. He envelopes people — the rare wing defender so long, he can block his own guy’s shot before the ball really escapes the shooter’s hand.)
But we’ve seen and enjoyed this movie enough for now: Paul and Booker snaking their way to midrangers from the right elbow, the Suns’ steadfast defense forcing those same shots on the other end. They are Team Bizarro Shot Selection.
The algorithm underestimates how interesting it will be watching Trae Young and Dejounte Murray figure out how to amplify each other. There could be hiccups over the first 20-plus games. Will Murray make enough catch-and-shoot 3s? Will Young play off the ball, like, at all?
The variety is welcome. Young can do almost whatever he wants against any pick-and-roll scheme. We know about the 3s ands floaters (and foul-baiting flails), but Young still doesn’t get enough credit for his next-level anticipatory passing. He sees everything early, and can make almost any pass — including long lefty slingshots and other across-the-floor reads off-limits to most 6-1 guards.
Still: Too much of anything gets redundant, and Murray offers a reprieve — plus the ability to float across huge chunks of space on defense.
Young’s lob passing makes Atlanta a perennial top-10 dunk team. John Collins gets way above the rim and finishes with panache and power. Onyeka Okongwu is a two-handed thunder dunker. Okongwu will be a starter sooner than later; he and De’Andre Hunter are the biggest X factors for the Hawks now.
Young leaning into WWE-level villainy is great television. Bogdan Bogdanovic punctuates hot streaks with sumptuous snarling trash talk. Aaron Holiday is a little cinder block who attacks the rim with the aggression of someone a foot taller.
12. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (32.5)
We’re in the range where every team feels too low, and this will indeed end up low for the Cavaliers. Between their four stars, Cleveland has something for every fan. Donovan Mitchell supplies the highlights; he is a hunched blur, attacking along sharp diagonals and seeking to inflict pain at the rim. Jarrett Allen fears no dunker at the summit. Darius Garland is all staccato craft and demoralizing ultra-long 3s. Evan Mobley is getting ready to show the breadth of his game. They all complement each other.
I have never liked the Cavs wine-and-gold scheme, but their creative team has produced a clean new jersey set:
Both shades are muted in a pleasing way. The Cavs found a spot — on the left side of the shorts — where their gigantic “C” stands out without dominating. Turning the “V” in “Cavs” into a basket is a nice homage to the Mark Price/Brad Daugherty era.
They’ve cleaned up the court too, refilling the painted areas and erasing the shaded city skyline:
We need another Ricky Rubio–Kevin Love reunion tour. Remember how unhappy Love seemed as the lone championship holdover on a rebuilding team? That story almost never ends with said veteran sticking around to enjoy the fruits of that rebuild, and it’s remarkable Love is here and happy.
J.B. Bickerstaff proved last season that he is willing to buck convention: ultra-big lineups, Mobley lording over the top of zone defenses, copious amounts of Dean Wade.
For reasons I can’t explain, I enjoy how Robin Lopez sits on the floor in the corner instead of on the bench.
John Michael and Austin Carr are a nice mix — the serious one and the silly cackler. Keep an eye on Michael at the broadcast table, standing and leaning and crouching to keep eyes on the action. He does not want to watch through a monitor.
11. PHILADELPHIA 76ers (33.5)
Joel Embiid guarantees a top-12 finish here. Few athletes have ever combined so much grace, power and high-IQ feel. On three straight possessions, Embiid might: rain in a soft midranger; then obliterate someone on the block and dunk them through the floor; and finally pump-and-go from the arc, Eurostep around one sucker, and kiss in a falling layup.
The James Harden-Embiid two-man game was so potent, Embiid so effective scoring off Harden’s pocket passes, defenses resorted to desperate and dangerous counters: Should we, umm, not even leave Embiid and just let Harden drive almost to the rim — and then swarm from one of Philly’s shooters? We get to see a whole season of that cat-and-mouse-and-beard game. (They lose points for how many free throws they generate. It’s a slog.)
Tyrese Maxey takes over when Harden rests, but he’s almost more fun playing off Philly’s two stars. He waits along the arc, like a sprinter in the starting block, primed to catch a kickout and fly through the diagonal crease Harden has unlocked.
Matisse Thybulle teleports on defense. He is way over there, and then suddenly and implausibly, he is blocking your shot. There is a feast-or-famine element to almost every Philly reserve. You can’t look away.
Philly a top-four art team. Kate Scott and Alaa Abdelnaby are talented enough that they don’t have to resort to homerish propaganda. It hurts the credibility of the overall product.
I appreciate referees for allowing Montrezl Harrell to do pull-ups on the rim after dunks. I’d watch a broadcast that just zooms in on P.J. Tucker making life miserable for opponents.
LOS ANGELES — Paul George set aside any ego and made it clear that Kawhi Leonard is the LA Clippers‘ No. 1 option and that he is the second star in the All-Star duo’s pecking order.
As they enter their fourth season together with championship expectations, George was asked if there are any past championship wing tandems that he and Leonard can use as a potential blueprint.
“Yeah, look at the [Miami Heat] wing-wing DWade [Dwyane Wade] and LeBron ]James],” George said Sunday following the Clippers’ 119-117 preseason loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena. “I think it just comes down to — listen, Kawhi is the No. 1. And I am totally fine with that. I think I try to complement him with being able to take the load off of him.
“Everybody says, ‘Kawhi [and] you are 1 and 1, [or] 1A, 1B.’ I’ll publicly say, I’m the 2. Kawhi’s the 1, I’m the 2. So that part we nipped in the bud. Like there’s no ego when it comes to that.”
This is a pivotal season for Leonard and George, who are looking to make their first trip to the NBA Finals together since teaming up on the Clippers in the summer of 2019.
Leonard, describing how he and George have grown together as leaders and their dynamic as a duo, pointed to their “genuine relationship.”
“We’re both unselfish,” said Leonard. “My 12th year, his 13th year … we’ve been through this before, so I feel like just having those years under our belt and obviously, like I said, we have a genuine relationship and it just carries over [into how we lead].”
The Clippers’ season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 20 will be the duo’s first meaningful game together since Leonard tore his right ACL in Game 4 of Los Angeles’ second-round playoff series against Utah on June 14, 2021. George picked up the load and led the Clippers to their first-ever Western Conference finals appearance that postseason without Leonard.
With Leonard missing the entirety of the 2021-22 season, George carried the Clippers until he suffered an elbow injury to his shooting arm that kept him out for three months. He came back late in the regular season but missed the Clippers’ second and final play-in game due to COVID-19.
Since teaming up in L.A., George and Leonard have played in a total of 104 regular-season and postseason games together. Now the two are back sharing the court with George having been the Clippers’ top scoring option since June 2021. And George says he is perfectly fine with Leonard returning to the role of first option.
“I believe in my talent and what I can do,” George said. “And I believe on any night of what I am capable of. But I feel my job is to make everybody better. That is what I try to do when I am on the floor, just make the game easy for everybody, whether it is creating or just being aggressive … and making reads off of that.
“I think we will go a long ways if everybody just knows their role and what we bring to the table. Everything else is easy, we just roll the ball out and we get after it.”
George and other teammates say Leonard has shown a joy in being back after spending the last 13-14 months bulking up and strengthening his knee. Clippers coach Ty Lue says his reserved star has even opened up more.
“I mean I missed a whole year missing basketball,” Leonard said. “I went down in one of the worst ways, in a playoff run. Just don’t wanna take anything for granted and just trying to live in that moment and bring a sense of energy for the team.”
“I’m young still,” added Leonard, who is 31. “So any chance you get that taken away from you and you don’t feel like you’re done … You just miss it, you know what I mean?”
