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Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets Have Underachieved, Defense Remains Key

By Jerry Stephens

Mar 18, 2017; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Hornets head coach Steve Clifford reacts to a foul not being called in the second half against the Washington Wizards at Spectrum Center. The Hornets defeated the Wizards 98-93. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 18, 2017; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Hornets head coach Steve Clifford reacts to a foul not being called in the second half against the Washington Wizards at Spectrum Center. The Hornets defeated the Wizards 98-93. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /
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For the latest and best up to the date news about the Charlotte Hornets, make sure to check out Buzz City Beat daily.

The Charlotte Hornets were able to snap their three-game skid as they picked up a huge win over the Washington Wizards. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the team underachieving, defense being the key and the Greensboro Swarm falling to the Grand Rapids Drive despite having three 20-point scorers.

Hornets Have Underachieved This Season

"Generating offense was always going to be a problem for the Charlotte Hornets in 2016-17. They lost Courtney Lee and Jeremy Lin over the offseason, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist‘s return—while a theoretical defensive boon—did nothing for their spacing."

No surprise that the Hornets are listed as one of the biggest underachievers this season. Fans and experts alike expected more out of this team and Charlotte just never delivered. Kemba Walker has been the only consistent performer while Marvin Williams has regressed and Nicolas Batum has struggled to improve his game after receiving a big contract.

Injuries obviously didn’t help them as multiple players were in and out of the rotation all season long. Bleacher Report believes that the Brooklyn Nets are the only other team in the NBA that has underachieved worse than the Hornets. After being overachievers last year, Charlotte’s on the opposite end of the spectrum this time around.

Greensboro Swarm Have Struggled With Roster Turnover

"The Greensboro Swarm had developed some solid on-court relationships and were beginning to pay off. Then Mike Tobey left for Spain, Archie Goodwin was called up by the Brooklyn Nets and Cheick Diallo was recalled by the New Orleans Pelicans. “Chemistry is so important in basketball, at all levels,” Swarm head coach Noel Gillespie said."

In their inaugural season, the Swarm has gone through a lot of change. Multiple players have left to play overseas, have been traded or have been called up. So while the D-League team has struggled a bit, they have actually done a great job of achieving their goal of developing young talent.

Even though the wins haven’t been there because of the lack of roster consistency, head coach Noah Gillespie has been solid at helping out the prospects that Charlotte is looking to grow and possibly use down the road. Players like Mike Tobey and now Cat Barber, just to name a few, are flourishing in Greensboro.

Defense Remains the Key for Charlotte

"Hornets: improve to 13-0 at home when holding opponents under 100 points this season"

Next: Hornets Sign Weber to a Multi-Year Deal

Well, would you look at that? Solid defense leads to wins. Who would’ve thought? Steve Clifford has preached better play and more effort on that end of the court all season but has yet to get his players to respond and play consistently on defense. When the Charlotte Hornets actually clamp down, they are one of the best defensive teams in the league. Unfortunately, even decent performances on that side of the ball have been few and far between this year.

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