Your morning links. Happy Christmas Eve

• Not too many Hornets links out there today, so I'll start by linking some recent content on At the Hive that you may have missed. First, a defense of Trevor Ariza. Second, a look at the ten best Hornets of the last decade. Next, an explication for why we need statistics. And finally, a look at our recent offensive rebounding surge.
• At Swarm and Sting, James Grayson details the early season success of the Southwest Division.
• Chris Miller reports for WWL.com that the Hornets have nine remaining games to meet the required attendance benchmark.
• Finally, Gerry V talks (mostly) Hornets in his latest column at the Times Picayune.
• Around the league: LeBron James says contraction "would be great for the league," Kevin Pelton takes a look at the best players from the 2006 draft (spoiler alert: Hilton Armstrong is not one of them!), Blake Griffin nearly hits the rim with his face, and you're no longer allowed to call the NBA the NBA in China.