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Buzz City Beat: Good Defense Isn’t Enough for the Charlotte Hornets, Frank’s Stepping Up

By Jerry Stephens

Feb 25, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker (15) pushes the ball up the court during the first quarter of the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 25, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker (15) pushes the ball up the court during the first quarter of the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Buzz City Beat is your one stop for the latest and greatest news and stories from around the internet about the Charlotte Hornets.

After snapping their five-game losing streak with a win over the Sacramento Kings, the Charlotte Hornets take on the Los Angeles Clippers on the second night of a back to back. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the team’s good defense not being enough, Frank Kaminsky stepping up with Cody Zeller out and Kemba Walker not being able to do it alone.

Hornets’ Good Defense Not Enough 

“Teams that used to rely on low scoring grind it out games with a mediocre offense now struggle, but it’s not as noticeable because it’s effecting the entire the NBA. Take the Hornets for example. It’s confusing as to why they should be losing as much as they are. Perhaps the reason is their super conservative defense just can’t contain the amount of points that are being put up at the moment.” (FanSided.com)

This article isn’t about the Hornets in particular but their style of play is heavily discussed. Charlotte’s good defense used to be enough to get them a respectable number of wins over the last few years but not this season. As it turns out, offense has seemingly become king in the NBA.

In today’s league, you must be able to score the ball in order to win. While good defense matters, it only matters if you can score at a high clip as well. That’s been Steve Clifford’s side’s issue this season as the Hornets just haven’t been able to score enough in a lot of games as their record and stats reflect just that.

More from Swarm and Sting

Frank Kaminsky’s Stepping Up

“Kaminsky collected 23 points (9-18 FG, 5-9 3Pt), 13 rebounds, three assists, and two steals across 38 minutes during Saturday’s 99-85 victory over the Kings.” (CBSsports.com)

Kaminsky knocking down a career-high five three’s against Sacramento, just highlights how good he’s been as Charlotte’s starting center with Cody Zeller out. In his last five games, Frank’s averaging 19.8 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game while shooting 44.1% from the field and 41.6% from three. Over the midst of those five games, he’s been the Hornets’ second best player on most nights, or at least their second best scoring option. His ability to stretch the floor and bring other big men out of the paint has definitely earned Kaminsky some minutes at the five going forward.

Kemba Can’t Do it Alone

“The cold reality for this team is if they want to turn things around, they have to do two things. They need Kemba Walker to always be the best player on the court, and they have to find a way to stop the other team’s guy when it counts. Thursday night their inability to do the second meant that they failed in the first as well.” (AtTheHive.com)

Next: Interview With Cody Zeller, Assessing Deals

The title of the article is perfect because Kemba Walker has proven that he is pretty much unguardable. The fact of the matter is, the Charlotte Hornets don’t have a reliable and consistent secondary scoring option to pair with him. Nicolas Batum hasn’t lived up to that billing and role players haven’t been able to do it consistently. Adding one more scorer should be the team’s target looking ahead.

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