Basketball Intelligence For 3/3/26
Today's Best NBA Reporting And Analysis
TEAM-SPECIFIC
ATL: The Hawks’ bizarro season
Mike Shearer, Basketball Poetry
BKN: Nolan Traore’s growth as Nets point guard has the NBA taking notice
Brian Lewis, NY Post
BKN: Brooklyn’s Distressing Development
Steve Lichtenstein
CHA: The Hornets Aren’t Checking the Standings, and That’s Exactly the Point
Will Eudy
There’s a version of the Charlotte Hornets that would be glued to the playoff picture right now. Refreshing the standings after every game, calculating magic numbers, and letting the external noise creep into the locker room. After years of losing, you could forgive them for it.
But that’s just not who this team is. Charlotte has won 14 of their last 17 games and is playing some of the most meaningful basketball this city has seen in a long time. Spectrum Center is loud and the fanbase is bought in. And yet, when asked Monday at practice whether there’s any temptation to peek at the standings, Charles Lee didn’t hesitate.
“No,” he said. “We are still full steam ahead on our daily process, on our improvement, our growth. Not talking about those things has put us in a position to play meaningful games, and if we continue to do what you’re supposed to do, hopefully the chips fall where they should, and we’ll still be in contention for those things.”
That answer says more than you might think. Lee isn’t giving a coach-speak response about taking it one game at a time. He’s making a genuine philosophical point: the discipline of not checking the standings is precisely what created the standings worth checking. The process produced the position, and abandoning the process to admire the position would be exactly the wrong move.
DAL: Meet Ryan Nembhard, the undrafted rookie who went from two-way star to standard contract
Mike Curtis, Morning News
DEN: the night jokić stopped absorbing
bang!
GSW: Gui Santos’ fiancée’s heartwarming tribute: “the boy from the village”
Poor Man’s Commish, Let’s Go Warriors
IND: Pacers Notebook: Toppin makes his long-awaited return from foot surgery, and more Pacers notes following a four-game homestand
Scott Agness, Fieldhouse Files
LAC: Darius Garland eases into Clippers debut, then helps lead comeback win
Law Murray, The Athletic
LAC: Garland debuts, Clippers surge to win in second half
Justin Russo
The rest of the team-specific stories as well as Leaguewide and Draft-related stories follow for paid subscribers
