Hey, I'm Tasmellas, and this is what you need to know in the NBA for Tuesday, January 12th.

The first thing you need to know is that the Hornets Lamello ball is the best player in the NBA.

With the way the media and fans talk about Lamello, it feels that way sometimes, doesn't it?

It does to me.

For a person in the media who is often saying, oh, you know what, this guy can't do this,

this guy can't do that.

Well, now we're talking about what a guy can do.

It's the honeymoon period with Lamello Ball.

I get that, but I am enjoying it. I am basking in it. Take Monday's game against the Knicks, for instance. The biggest thing to come from that game was Lamello's full court pass to his teammate Gordon Hayward. It was a gorgeous pass. What a good one hand leading him perfectly. Now the full story is that Lamello struggled from the floor a little bit. It's going to happen with him. Three of 13, eight points, but he did a lot

of other good things. 14 boards, seven assists, and he's a joy to watch. This Hornist team,

maybe they're not going to win a ton of games, but they're winning

right now. They've won four in a row. They sit at six and five. A big part is Gordon Hayward, although

he got paid $120 million, and many people criticized the Hornets for it, myself included. The guy

is putting it in the hole. He had 28 points in the first half, 34 for the game. Now on the other side,

the Knicks are struggling to do just that. Julius Randall, RJ Barrett, they're just such

tough shot makers that it doesn't come easy for them at times. So that 88 points they put on the

board, it's going to happen from time to time.

They're missing Alec Berks. They're missing Obie Toppin, a rook that could have gone up against

La Mello Ball in a nice little rookie battle. But I said it last week. I still don't believe they've

got enough offense. And the same holds true right now. Will the Knicks score enough? It's going to be a struggle for them. They are five and six. They're going to have to beat teams like the Charlotte Hornets if they're going to want to make the playoffs. The Charlotte Hornets, six and five, one four in a row. They go play the Dallas Mavericks. Next, I'm not sure if that's even going to happen.

We'll get to that a little bit later.

Then they go play a double header with the Toronto Raptors.

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