Dennis Smith Jr. was barely a step outside of the 3-point line, racing upcourt on a fastbreak when he made eye contact with the Charlotte Hornets’ blue-haired high riser.
All it took was that brief moment for Kai Jones to be cleared for liftoff. The bouncy big man caught an alley-oop from Smith and flushed it home with ease, showing his trademark hops.
Jones’ freakish natural gifts should be on display more over the season’s final month, a byproduct of another Hornets injury. With Mark Williams sidelined for the third straight game with a thumb injury and his status for the rest of the season murky, Jones is going to be peeling his warmups off much more frequently, just as he did in Tuesday night’s 120-104 loss to Cleveland at Spectrum Center.