Hornets are ridiculous, Ayton's delusional, Brunson's tough as nails

Welcome to From The Logo, a collection of opinions, analysis, and locker room insights from theScore's lead NBA reporter, Joseph Casciaro.

Hornets' heater getting ridiculous

I didn't expect to lead off another edition of this series talking about the Hornets only weeks after I had already done so. Still, Charlotte's stunning rise up the Eastern Conference standings is worth mentioning again.

The Hornets were seven games under .500 and stuck in 11th place when we first examined what drove their January hot streak. They're now a ninth-place club with a winning record and have closed to within 2.5 games of a top-six seed, which would guarantee a playoff berth. If we thought this young squad could crash the play-in party and perhaps steal a game or two from an East contender a month ago, it's now time to consider the possibility of an actual playoff run.

I know that sounds wild, especially given Charlotte's 2-7 record against the East's top-four teams, but is it really that far-fetched? The Hornets have won 16 of 19 to vault from 12 games below .500 to one game above the benchmark in just six weeks. They also own the league's second-best record over the last two months. On the season, Charlotte boasts a top-five offense and a top-10 point differential. Since the calendar flipped to 2026, the Hornets have won on the road against Oklahoma City, the Lakers, Denver, and Houston, and have taken down the surging Spurs in Charlotte. Their road performances in January resembled those of an all-time champion, and they're now enjoying the most dominant six-game stretch any team has put together since the 2017-18 Warriors.

Those aren't indicators of an overachieving young squad just happy to be here. They're the marks of a burgeoning contender. Whatever happens over the next couple of months, Hornets fans - who've never experienced a conference finals appearance - should be ecstatic about what the future holds for Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller, LaMelo Ball, Moussa Diabate, and Co. And you better believe Charles Lee will end up on some Coach of the Year ballots.

Ayton wishes he was Capela

Deandre Ayton made headlines last week when he shouted (in a locker room full of media members), "They're trying to make me Clint Capela. I'm not no Clint Capela." The irony here is that the Lakers probably wish the former No. 1 overall pick was Capela.

Ayton's story is one of underwhelming play, inconsistency, and a stunning lack of self-awareness. Perhaps in his own mind, he may still be the extremely gifted big man drafted ahead of Luka Doncic, Trae Young, Jaren Jackson, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jalen Brunson. Yet what does it say about a former top prospect who was picked before those household names but remains a zero-time All-Star eight years into his career?

Once every couple of weeks or so, Ayton will put forth an effort like the 21-point, 13-rebound performance that preceded his Capela-related outburst. To the 27-year-old center, those outings are proof of the star talent he possesses but isn't free to showcase. To the rest of us, it's evidence that his motor doesn't run often enough.

Ayton struggles to protect the rim on defense and fails to space the floor effectively on offense, making it difficult for him to consistently thrive in the modern game. He also lacks the commitment to a screen-setting, rim-running, and lob-finishing offensive role that Doncic-led teams require of their bigs. Although Ayton clearly believes the role Capela filled so admirably in Houston years ago is beneath him, accepting such a job would probably lead to bigger paydays.

If teams believed Ayton could fill the more primary role he clearly envisions for himself, the Lakers wouldn't have been able to sign him to a cheap two-year contract (worth $16.2 million) last summer. If he seems unwilling to play a lesser, more team-oriented role on a playoff club, what will his next contract look like? And how long after that until Ayton's complaints are coming while he's playing overseas, if he's playing at all?

Meanwhile, Capela is now 12 years into a $130-million career that has seen him be a key contributor on several contending teams despite being drafted 25th overall as a project with limited offensive abilities. A respected veteran on the court and in the locker room, Capela's standing among his peers was punctuated by how many active and former players came to his defense after Ayton's remarks.

Ayton may have been blessed with more athletic gifts and offensive talent, but he's correct when he says he's not Capela. It just doesn't mean what he thinks it does.

Can the Pacers bounce back?

This topic comes from user 'metsryallskings,' who wanted to know if the Pacers have enough excuses to be this bad and whether Indiana can bounce back when Tyrese Haliburton returns from an Achilles injury next year.

The short answers are yes and yes.

Even without Haliburton, I expected the Pacers to be much more competitive than the East's worst team that they've become. However, their wretched season can be tied to injuries, luck, and intent. Indiana was buried by an injury-plagued start to the season, during which four of its first six losses came by five points or less (or in overtime). The club has also dropped more than 65% of its clutch games (when the score is within five minutes in the final five minutes).

At some point, the Pacers - who've lost the second-most value to injury - decided to make the most out of being a cellar-dweller and embrace a tank, or at least a gap year. Then they traded for Ivica Zubac in a deal that left their 2026 first-round pick top-four protected, only to shut down the stellar center for the rest of the season.

Indiana wants to be as bad as possible for the next six weeks, but this is a team completely capable of returning to Finals contention next year. The Pacers have Haliburton, Zubac, All-Star Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Jay Huff, Obi Toppin, T.J. McConnell, Jarace Walker, and Ben Sheppard all under contract next season. Should Haliburton recapture his All-NBA form that led the team to the 2025 Finals, that roster will already be formidable enough. Now imagine the group being bolstered by the addition of a top-four pick in a potentially historic draft class.

Inside the locker room

What I'm hearing from players and people around the Association.

Brunson's the pound-for-pound champ: The risk of building a contender around an undersized guard is that smaller stars don't usually hold up in the postseason, when games can become half-court slogs. Such stars often see their offense dry up in the face of increased physicality, and they become easy targets for opposing offenses on the other end. Though he's yet to make the Finals, Brunson has largely bucked this trend, emerging as an admirable playoff performer in New York and Dallas despite his 6-foot-2, 190-pound frame.

Brunson's underrated strength and unmistakable toughness are the stuff of legend in the Knicks' locker room and across the league, with the high-usage guard finding a way to thrive in big-game settings despite his physical limitations.

That toughness became a talking point again this week. On Tuesday, Brunson overcame full-court pressure and intensely physical play from 6-foot-8, 237-pound Defensive Player of the Year candidate Scottie Barnes to record 26 points and 10 assists in a road win over the Raptors. Just 24 hours later, the Knicks narrowly lost in a defensive slugfest against the defending champion Thunder, who punished Brunson from start to finish. Though he missed 13 of his 18 field-goal attempts, Brunson still recorded 16 points, 15 assists, and a positive plus-minus, keeping New York in the game.

"He's built for that," head coach Mike Brown told theScore about how Brunson manages to thrive against such physicality. "It makes him that much more competitive as the game goes along. If teams want to be physical with him, mentally, he's built that way, and physically, he's built that way."

Teammate Karl-Anthony Towns credited Brunson's broad shoulders and overall frame for making him much stronger than his height suggests. "He's Big Body Brun," Towns laughed. "His footwork is impeccable, he's got great touch, and a high IQ for the game," Towns said, with Brunson's devastating floater and ability to draw fouls key to leveling the playing field (though his floater efficiency and free-throw attempt rate have dipped this season).

"I just try to adjust to how defenses are playing and attack the best way I can," Brunson said about handling teams being extra physical with him. "I think the most important thing is just keeping my composure and trying to stay as levelheaded as possible to make sure I'm being me."

There are bigger stars (literally) and a select few better players, but I'm not sure any modern superstar can match Brunson when it comes to pound-for-pound toughness.

Player of the week

Victor Wembanyama: 24.3 PPG, 64% TS, 12.3 RPG, 3.0 APG, 6.0 STL + BLK, 2-1 record

I also considered Gilgeous-Alexander, Kawhi Leonard, and Anthony Edwards for this week's award (which covers games played since last Friday), but Wembanyama's performance Thursday in a rout over the East-leading Pistons cemented it. Wemby racked up 38 points, 16 rebounds, five blocks, and three assists (with zero turnovers) in 39 minutes of flawless two-way ball.

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