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Buzz City Beat: MVP odds, How the Charlotte Hornets match up against the Celtics

By Jerry Stephens

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - AUGUST 4: Kemba Walker and Kyle Lowry of Team World practices for the 2017 Africa Game as part of the Basketball Without Borders Africa at the Ticketpro Dome on August 4, 2017 in Gauteng province of Johannesburg, South Africa. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - AUGUST 4: Kemba Walker and Kyle Lowry of Team World practices for the 2017 Africa Game as part of the Basketball Without Borders Africa at the Ticketpro Dome on August 4, 2017 in Gauteng province of Johannesburg, South Africa. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the latest and greatest news and stories from around the web about the Charlotte Hornets.

Kemba Walker is featured prominently in NBA 2K18’s most recent trailer while Malik Monk makes an appearance as well. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at early NBA MVP odds, how the Charlotte Hornets match up with the Boston Celtics and Marvin Williams to play in alumni tournament.

Where does Kemba rank among MVP favorites? (CSNMidAtlantic.com)

"It’s obviously very early to be predicting who will win the MVP award next June, but this sets up a fun debate."

Kemba is the 32nd favorite to win the MVP award this season. While Russell Westbrook is the favorite with 7/2 odds, Walker is a bit of a longshot at 150/1. Still, that puts the Hornets’ all-star point guard ahead of Bradley Beal, Mike Conley, Dirk Nowitzki, Andre Drummond, Jeff Teague and Hassan Whiteside.

The surprise name on the list is Dwight Howard. He comes in at 250/1 odds to win the award. Although it’s pretty clear that Kemba won’t win the Most Valuable Player award, he could insert himself into the conversation by upping his numbers a bit from last year and Charlotte having a bit more success in terms of wins in the East.

How Charlotte matches up against Boston (HoopsHabit.com)

"The Celtics will be a formidable foe to Charlotte, having finished last season as the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, and also reaching the Conference Finals before getting knocked out by the Cleveland Cavaliers."

Call it a hot take but I don’t think Charlotte is that far off from Boston. I’m not saying they will finish with similar records this season but if they met in the playoffs, the Hornets would challenge the Celtics in a best of seven series. Although Boston won all four meetings last year, Charlotte never lost by more than 10 points.

Kemba can match up with Isaiah Thomas and even though the Celtics added Gordon Hayward this summer, the Hornets acquired an all-star of their own in Dwight Howard. Looking at player match ups, MKG-Crowder and Williams-Morris is a wash while Al Horford/Hayward haven’t proven to be world beaters and arguably aren’t that much better than Howard/Nicolas Batum.

Marvin Williams to play in Alumni basketball tourney (KitsapSun.com)

"One look at a Bremerton roster including Marvin Williams and one might wonder if the tournament’s other three teams — Olympic, Central Kitsap and South Kitsap — have much of a chance."

Next: Analyzing Charlotte's 2017-18 regular season schedule

Williams will suit up for his high school for an alumni tournament this summer. The Washington-based school is the favorite as they have the Hornets’ veteran on their roster. Marvin was named a McDonald’s All-American while at Bremerton and is one of the biggest names to graduate from there.

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