Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets’ Playoff Odds Take a Hit, MKG Pays Off Lost Bet
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After falling to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Charlotte Hornets look to rebound as they take on the Toronto Raptors on the second night of a back to back. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the team’s playoff odds taking a major hit, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist wears a University of North Carolina jacket to pay off a bet to Marvin Williams and Steve Clifford calls out players for lack of effort.
Hornets’ Playoff Odds Take a Major Hit (NBA.com)
"The loss drops Charlotte three games behind Miami for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with eight games remaining."
After fighting so hard to get back in the playoff race and improve their odds to around 7% to make the postseason, the Hornets now sit at 1% after their disappointing loss to the Bucks. (FiveThirtyEight.com) With only a few games remaining on the year, Charlotte’s season is essentially over. Sitting in the 11th seed, behind the Detroit Pistons, the Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat for the eighth seed in the East.
The Hornets simply ran out of time. Their turnaround happened too late in the season after a number of bad losses early in the year. Charlotte made it pretty interesting for a second but it was always going to be a major longshot for them to make the playoffs after the hole they had dug themselves.
MKG Pays Off Lost Bet to Marvin Williams (CampusSports.net)
"Kidd-Gilchrist, who plays alongside fellow Hornets wingman Marvin Williams, was forced to wear a North Carolina Tar Heels jacket after they defeated the Kentucky Wildcats in their meeting in the Elite Eight. Kidd-Gilchrist, who attended Kentucky and graduated in 2012 placed a bet with his teammate that his alma mater would emerge victorious in the juggernaut matchup. He was wrong."
MKG took two L’s as he was humiliated by having to wear a Tar Heels’ jacket after his Kentucky Wildcats lost to Marvin Williams’ North Carolina Tar Heels. Kidd-Gilchrist looked pretty miserable wearing the jacket. The proud Wildcat was forced to walk through the arena sporting the Tar Heels’ gear.
This one had to hurt for Michael as Kentucky only lost by two points on a last-second game-winner from UNC. On the other hand, Marvin was probably overcome with joy because of that result. MKG and the Wildcats just happened to come out on the wrong end this time around. It is pretty strange that both of these players won a NCAA title during their lone seasons in college and then went on to be selected second overall in the year they were drafted.
Steve Clifford Calls Out Players for Lack of Effort (Twitter.com/Chris Kroeger)
"Clifford on #Hornets loss: “You have to try. Hard to win in this league when you don’t try. Said not enough guys had the right care factor.“"
Next: Damien Wilkins is Still Getting Buckets at 37
Steve Clifford was obviously not happy about the loss. While he didn’t drop any names of players or single anyone out, it is clear that some or a number of guys didn’t play up to expectations. It is one thing to lose when trying hard but to lose while lacking effort is a whole different story and Coach Clifford will not tolerate it. Credit to him for trying to hold players accountable.