Swarm and Sting
Fansided

Buzz City Beat: MKG’s Underrated Play for the Charlotte Hornets, Cody on the All Non-Playoff Team

By Jerry Stephens

Mar 4, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (14) and center Cody Zeller (40) defend against Denver Nuggets guard Gary Harris (14) in the third quarter at the Pepsi Center. The Hornets defeated the Nuggets 112-102. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 4, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (14) and center Cody Zeller (40) defend against Denver Nuggets guard Gary Harris (14) in the third quarter at the Pepsi Center. The Hornets defeated the Nuggets 112-102. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the best articles from around the internet surrounding the Charlotte Hornets.

The Washington Wizards and the Boston Celtics advanced past their first round series while the Los Angeles Clippers forced a game seven against the Utah Jazz. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at a spike in Michael Kidd-Gilchrist‘s underrated play for the Charlotte Hornets, Cody Zeller on the All Non-Playoff team and Briante Weber praises Dion Waiters.

MKG’s Underrated Play for Charlotte (NBA.com)

"Kidd-Gilchrist and reigning two-time NBA All-Defensive First Team honoree Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors were the only players in the league 6-7 or shorter to record at least 500 rebounds, 75 steals and 75 blocks this year."

Not only did Kidd-Gilchrist put up these amazing all-around numbers but he did so as only the fourth player in the NBA since the 2002-03 season to do so. He joins Draymond Green, Shawn Marion and Gerald Wallace and being among those names is pretty incredible. While many (including myself) focus on Michael’s shooting struggles, we sometimes forget how much he adds to the Hornets outside of his shooting.

Even as a small forward, MKG led Charlotte in rebounding this past season with 7.0 per game. He was also their number one defender, guarding the opposition’s best player every game. If Michael could just add a consistent jump shot to his game, he would arguably be a top-eight small forward in the NBA.

Cody Zeller on the All Non-Playoff Team (WashingtonPost.com)

"Remarkably, Charlotte went 3-17 without Zeller this season, and 33-29 with him. A solid, dependable center, he’s a perfect depth piece on this roster."

Tim Bontemps put together a 14-man roster of players on non-playoff teams. His question was if a collection of players from non-playoff teams could beat the Warriors? He put together a strong starting lineup with Eric Bledsoe, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Robert Covington, Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns.

So where does Zeller come into play? Well, he made the All Non-Playoff team as the final player of the remainder of the bench. He would be the third string center behind KAT and Kristaps Porzingis. Pretty upset that Bledsoe and Jeremy Lin were named ahead of Kemba Walker though.

Briante Weber Praises Dion Waiters (Twitter/@Sir_Deuce2)

"Man I read my big homie story over and over again man so crazy the lives we go thru to play this game we love Love u big bro @dionwaiters3"

Next: Charlotte Hornets' All-Time Team

After Waiters’ piece for The Players Tribune, everyone one Twitter was praising the Miami Heat guard. That includes Weber who took to social media to shout out his colleague. If you haven’t read Dion’s article yet, make sure to do so. If Briante speaks highly of it, then it must be good.

Home/Hornets News