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Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets are Looking for a Boost, Kemba Walker’s Stellar Play

By Jerry Stephens

Dec 20, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Hornets mascot Super Hugo dunks the ball during a timeout in the second half against the Los Angeles Lakers at Spectrum Center. The Hornets defeated the Lakers 117-113. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 20, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Hornets mascot Super Hugo dunks the ball during a timeout in the second half against the Los Angeles Lakers at Spectrum Center. The Hornets defeated the Lakers 117-113. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Welcome to Buzz City Stings, Swarm and Sting’s daily roundup of the best Charlotte Hornets’ stories from around the web.

Buzz City Stings is your daily destination for the latest and best news from around the internet about the Charlotte Hornets. The team’s coming off of an incredible 19-point comeback victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in their last game. In this edition, we dive into how Steve Clifford is looking for a jolt, Kemba Walker‘s stellar play, and Marvin Williams needing to break out from his slump.

Hornets Looking for a Jolt

“The 16-13 Hornets have not gone under .500 this season. However, substandard defense and sluggish first quarter performances are an issue. “I’m looking for a jolt,” coach Steve Clifford said after Tuesday’s 117-113 win against the Los Angeles Lakers. “I’m looking for a push here in these next two weeks where we play better, we put 48 minutes together and we do it a few nights in a row. Then we’ll see if we can be a good team or not.” (TheCharlottePost.com)

I think it’s been clear that Steve Clifford has been looking for a boost for some time now. He hasn’t been happy with the slow start in most games or the lack of intensity/physicality on other nights. It appeared that Coach Clifford lit a fire under his team in the second half of their comeback win over the Lakers and that may have been the “jolt” he was looking for.

More from Swarm and Sting

Kemba Stepping Up with a Near Triple-Double

“Walker didn’t have the most efficient night as he went 11-for-26 from the field in 41 minutes. He did, however, add four three-pointers while committing only three turnovers. The 28 points were the most Walker has scored all month as he is averaging only 19.8 points in 10 games in December. Surprisingly, Walker is topping his breakout 2015-16 season by posting career-highs in points (22.6), field goal percentage (46.0), and three-point percentage (41.3) through 28 games this season.” (NumberFire.com)

What a game from Walker. He finished the night with a game-high 28 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds. He recorded his fourth double-double of the season, second in a row, and nearly his first triple-double of the year. Kemba is hitting his groove and after already playing at an all-star level, seems to be taking yet another step in his progression as of late. One of the best stats from the game against LA was that he recorded seven rebounds in the fourth quarter with five of them being offensive. Pretty big from the smallest guy on the court.

Marvin Williams Needs to Break His Slump

“The fact is, there’s plenty of reasons for inconsistent play. One of those is disappointing play from one of their most important pieces – starting power forward Marvin Williams, who’s been so disappointing this season that The Ringer’s Jason Concepcion created the Marvin Williams All-Stars to “honor” players that have underachieved in their first year after signing a new contract. Williams has missed six games, but his rough play can’t entirely be blamed on injury woes. Concepcion’s analysis feels a tad harsh, but he’s not completely off-base. The fact is, Williams was perhaps the third-most important player for Charlotte last year and hasn’t lived up to that standard so far this season.” (HashtagBasketball.com)

Next: Should the Hornets Look at Nerlens Noel?

Marvin has been one of the more disappointing Charlotte Hornets’ players so far this season because there were such high hopes surrounding him after a career-year and being rewarded with a big contract. He hasn’t matched his play from last season but Williams seems to have begun to turn things around as of late. The 30-year old power forward is a key piece for the team going forward and they need him playing at his best if they want to compete in the Eastern Conference.

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