Welcome to Buzz City Beat, Swarm and Sting’s daily roundup of the latest news and stories from around the web surrounding the Charlotte Hornets.
The Charlotte Hornets were able to rebound from a recent loss to the Phoenix Suns as they closed out their six-game road trip with a win against the Denver Nuggets. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at why the team has been so inconsistent this season, Michael Jordan linked to a new golf course and Greensboro Swarm defeating the Grand Rapids Drive on a special night.
Why the Hornets Have Been Inconsistent
“I asked Clifford what the reason has been for an inconsistent season despite relatively consistent stats. (THREAD!) Clifford said that part of it just comes down to their record in close games this season (bad) to last year (good)” (Twitter/ HPbasketball)
This tweet thread from Matt Moore was Steve Clifford explaining to him why the Hornets have been so up and down this year. Coach Clifford highlights Charlotte’s poor fourth quarter defense for their inconsistencies. The team’s poor defense late in games has led to them blowing a number of fourth quarter leads as well as not being able to close out games.
So even though the Hornets look consistent when viewing the team stats, the reality has been that they are either good on offense one game or good on defense one game but never both in the same outing. Clifford made a point that Charlotte needs to be consistent on both ends of the court if they want to make the playoffs.
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MJ Linked to a New Golf Course
“A planned 226-acre golf course — said to be developed by NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan — is still in the works. A second proposal has been submitted after county staff members said the first failed to meet all county regulations.” (TCpalm.com)
The Hornets’ owner is now set to be the principal owner of a new $15-20 million golf course in Martin County. Michael Jordan, along with 25 other investors, will be putting forward $1 million each towards the project. This will be a members-only course and will probably be pretty extravagant considering that MJ is linked.
Swarm Defeat Drive on Special Night
“The Greensboro Swarm held off the Grand Rapids Drive Saturday at the Fieldhouse for a 114-108 victory on breast cancer awareness night. With all five of Greensboro’s starters scoring in double figures and the team shooting 51.3% from the field, the Swarm dominated most of the contest and led by as much as 19 in the first half.” (Dleague.NBA.com)
Next: It's Time for Clifford to Give Youth a Chance
The Charlotte Hornets’ D-League affiliate picked up their 14th win of the season as they were able to beat the Grand Rapide Drive on a special night where they wore pink jerseys that would later be sold to benefit cancer research. Mike Tobey (23 points, eight rebounds), Cat Barber (20 points, five assists) and Damien Wilkins (14 points, 10 assists and six boards) led the Swarm. Ray McCallum who was signed to a 10-day contract with the Hornets earlier this year, only scored four points in his return to North Carolina.