Charles Lee raves about LaMelo Ball's willingness to be a playmaker despite his hot night originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Charlotte Hornets have been one of the best teams in the league in 2026. LaMelo Ball is one of the driving forces behind their success because he is scoring at a high level and also serving as an elite playmaker. This was quite apparent in their Sunday game against the Washington Wizards.

Ball had one of his best performances this season with 37 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. He was scintillating throughout the game, making 10 three-pointers to lead the Hornets to a dominant win. Despite his hot hand, he always had control of the game because he was still being a floor general.

Ball is ready to keep being a high-level offensive player

Everyone knows that Ball is the Hornets' biggest star. He is the flashiest player on the team, who gets the highlights with his passes and superb offensive impact.  Head coach Charles Lee loves what he keeps seeing from Ball, as they have a good coach-leader relationship. 

Outside the Hornets' circle, people see Ball as a suboptimal leader. That has not been the case this season because LaMelo has been impressive with his offensive impact and leadership as the floor general.

MORE: LaMelo Ball gets winning endorsement from former NBA champion

In the game against the Wizards, no one would blame Ball if he kept shooting. In fact, he had a fantastic 99-second stretch that saw him make four three-pointers in a row. It was one of the most absurd offensive moments of the season, which showed that Ball can light it up when he's on fire.

Lee was glad to see his star guard play to his highest level. However, not only was he shooting the lights out, but he was also generating looks for his teammates, which impressed Lee even more.

"Being as hot as he was, most times guys continue to take bad shots, heat-check shots, and he continued making the right play and got other guys a couple of shots during that stretch... A ton of growth from a lot of people," Lee said after the impressive win.

As long as Ball is playing this way, it will be hard to keep the Hornets out. They are banging on the door as one of the most dangerous teams in the Eastern Conference. Ball, Brandon Miller, and Kon Knueppel are this team's core players, and they are still growing day by day.

More NBA news: 

• Kon Knueppel talks three-point success as he nears all-time record
• Kon Knueppel continues to be a perfect player for Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee
• Former NBA All-Star and champion picks Kon Knueppel as his Rookie of the Year over Flagg
• Giannis Antetokounmpo praises Kon Knueppel: 'One of the smartest rookies I’ve ever seen'
• Brandon Miller is impressed with the Hornets' performance without suspended teammates

The Minnesota Twins are currently in the process of beginning spring training games. With spring training comes big roster decisions. Many players are competing for a spot on the big league roster. MLB.com recently published an article that focused on one "dark horse candidate" who could land on each team's roster to begin the 2026 campaign. So, who was the Twins' candidate?

Matthew Leach of MLB.com named right-handed pitcher John Klein as the candidate for Minnesota. Leach believes Klein could end up on the Opening Day roster as a reliever in the bullpen.

John Klein's 2026 Outlook

Klein, 23, has yet to pitch in the big leagues. He made a total of 31 appearances in 2025 in the minor leagues while pitching at Double-A and Triple-A. 15 of those appearances were starts. It is worth noting that while Klein found success in Double-A -- pitching to a 3.12 ERA across 24 appearances (11 starts) -- he struggled at the Triple-A level. Klein ultimately allowed 19 earned runs across 25.2 total innings of work at Triple-A.

Nevertheless, Klein is a right-handed hurler who features a good fastball that can reach up to the high-90's. He has served in multiple roles between starting and coming out of the bullpen, but Leach expects him to primarily pitch in relief if he ends up making the MLB roster this season.

Twins' Potential 2026 Bullpen

The Twins have question marks up and down the roster. They could end up selling at the 2026 trade deadline and entering a complete rebuild. The ball club should certainly be thinking about the future, and the 23-year-old Klein could be a bullpen option for years to come.

The overall bullpen is intriguing heading into 2026. Minnesota recently signed Andrew Chafin to add more veteran prowess. Other established relievers include guys such as Taylor Rogers and Justin Topa. If Klein performs well in spring training, however, one has to imagine he will be seriously considered for a bullpen spot.

Four of the Twins' potential bullpen options are left-handed. Most teams need left-handed relief help, but Minnesota would benefit from having another right-hand reliever. That obviously is an element of the situation that bodes well for Klein's chances of sneaking onto the Opening Day roster.

Twins fans will want to closely monitor John Klein's performance throughout spring training as the right-handed hurler competes for a spot on the 2026 MLB roster.

PHOENIX (AP) — Donovan Clingan had 23 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots to lead the Portland Trail Blazers past the short-handed Phoenix Suns, 92-77 on Sunday night.

Jerami Grant also scored 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting. The Trail Blazers bounced back from an ugly 157-103 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday and have won five of their past seven.

Portland built a 20-point lead by late in the third quarter and settled for a 71-57 advantage heading into the fourth. Collin Gillespie hit two 3-pointers to cut it to 80-69 with 7:36 left but Grant responded with a 3 to turn back the rally.

Gillespie led Phoenix with 18 points, and Jalen Green had 13. Coming off a 113-110 double-overtime win over Orlando at home Saturday, the Suns shot just 36.9% from the field and the 77 points were a season low.

It was a sloppy game for both teams — the Blazers had 21 turnovers and the Suns had 19.

Portland took a 47-40 lead into halftime after Phoenix shot just 2 of 19 (10.5%) from 3-point range. Grant led the Blazers with 12 points before the break.

Portland lost leading scorer Deni Avdija after just one minute after the All-Star aggravated a lower back injury. Avdija — who has been battling low back issues for several weeks — was listed as questionable coming into the game.

The Suns were missing a big chunk of their regular rotation, including All-Star guard Devin Booker (hip strain), forward Dillon Brooks (fractured hand), guard Grayson Allen (knee/ankle) and guard Jordan Goodwin (calf).

The four players are averaging more than 70 points per game combined.

Up next

Trail Blazers: Host Minnesota on Tuesday night.

Suns: Host Boston on Tuesday night.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA