Maybe the Brooklyn Nets are acutely aware that, in the extremely unlikely scenario the Philadelphia 76ers win each of their final two games, the two teams can tie for the fifth-best NBA Draft Lottery odds.
Maybe the Atlanta Hawks are just clear of the low bar that is the injury-decimated New Orleans Pelicans.
“The one thing I’ve learned is the best player development is minutes, real minutes, right?” said Jordi Fernández before Nets-Hawks on Thursday night. “And you know, you can do all this one-on-one workouts, and teach a guy, and play five-on-five in practice, and so and so forth, and watch film with them.