Buzz City Beat: Hornets’ sleeper, Analyst ranks Charlotte ninth in the East
Welcome to Buzz City Beat, a daily roundup of the best articles from around the internet surrounding the Charlotte Hornets.
The team’s preseason game against the Boston Celtics on October 11th will be televised on ESPN. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the Charlotte Hornets‘ sleeper, where the team ranks in the Eastern Conference and the Greensboro Swarm announce their schedule.
Hornets’ sleeper (BasketballInsiders.com)
"With his combination of high-volume scoring and plus athleticism, Monk will look to open up the Hornets’ offense next season for other players who thrive in the lane, like Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Dwight Howard."
Malik Monk could be the most dangerous player on Charlotte’s roster behind Kemba Walker. For a team that desperately lacks an offensive weapon and creativity on the perimeter, the rookie out of Kentucky is a welcome sight. If his offense can quickly translate to the NBA, there is a good chance that he could start or get plenty of minutes as the team’s sixth man.
My under the radar sleeper for the Hornets is Frank Kaminsky. He averaged 11.7 PPG during his sophomore season and could be in line for more minutes and a bigger opportunity this year. He was quietly the team’s third leading scorer last year and had some impressive stretches when starting at the center spot.
Analyst ranks Charlotte ninth in the Eastern Conference (TheBigLead.com)
"I’m torn between the Pistons and Hornets for the final playoff spot, and I always go against whichever team has Dwight Howard. The Hornets were above .500 for the first two months, then cratered mid-January. Bad sign: MKG and Batum were healthy all year. Forty-one wins."
Jason McIntyre ranks Boston, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Miami, Washington, Philadelphia, Toronto and Detroit ahead of Charlotte in the East for the upcoming 2017-18 season. Putting the Hornets’ ninth with only 41 wins means that they would miss out on the playoffs. While there should be cautious optimism surrounding the team, they should easily make the postseason as a top-six seed.
The analyst fails to recognize that Cody Zeller missed a number of games and the team only went 3-17 without him. With two strong centers in Dwight and Cody, the Hornets are now deeper and more talented squad. The fact of the matter is, the Eastern Conference got weaker and Charlotte got better. The only way I could see them missing the playoffs is if Kemba Walker misses a majority of their games.
Greensboro Swarm announce schedule (Greensboro.com)
"The Swarm, a second-year NBA development franchise owned by the Charlotte Hornets, will play 17 of its 24 home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex’s Fieldhouse on Fridays (10), Saturdays (5) or Sundays (2) during a season that stretches from November through March."
Next: Just how good can Zeller be? Borderline All-Star?
The amount of weekend home game for the Swarm means that their attendance numbers should be pretty good this year. After selling out seven games last year, they will likely beat that number this season. Greensboro’s first game will be at home against the Canton Charge on November 4th. It will also be the first chance to see Charlotte’s two-way players in Marcus Paige and Mangok Mathiang as they look to improve on their 19-31 record from last season.