Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets’ biggest flaw, Malik Monk synergy numbers

Welcome to Buzz City Beat, a daily roundup of the latest news and stories from around the web about the Charlotte Hornets.

If you missed it, Russell Westbrook signed a super-max extension (five-year, $205 million) with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Kevin Durant‘s birthday. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the Charlotte Hornets‘ biggest flaw, Malik Monk‘s synergy play-type numbers and Nicolas Batum‘s summer.

Hornets’ biggest flaw (BleacherReport.com)

"But going from Ramon Sessions, Brian Roberts and Briante Weber to Michael Carter-Williams and Julyan Stone isn’t enough. The latter hasn’t played in the NBA since 2013-14, while the former has declined sharply since winning Rookie of the Year with the Philadelphia 76ers."

The backup point guard spot is still a question mark for Charlotte. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the cap space to go after a big name to come off the bench this summer. While MCW might be an upgrade over Sessions, his stats weren’t that much better last season. Michael averaged 6.6 PPG and 2.5 APG while Ramon put up 6.2 PPG and 2.6 APG in 2016-17.

A number of the Hornets’ problems last year stemmed from their poor bench play, mainly from the backup point guard spot. We’ll have to wait and see if Carter-Williams can help fix some of those issues that plagued the team last season. For now, the role is far from secure and there’s a real concern that Charlotte didn’t address one of their biggest needs.

Malik Monk’s synergy numbers (Twitter/ @DuncanSmithNBA

Monk can score the ball. From the synergy play-type numbers, it’s clear that he can do so in a number of different ways. Malik is an “excellent” spot-up shooter and cutter but he is also “very good” coming off screens. He is also “good” in transition, isolation and as a pick and roll ball handler.

The only situation where he is “average” is off of a handoff which was only 5.2% of the time. The rookie is known for his stellar outside shooting and for good reason. He ranked in the 91st percentile in spot-up shooting where he spent 29.9% of his time scoring 249 points on 212 possessions.

The Summer of Nic Batum (NBA.com)

"Heading into his 10th NBA season, Batum has certainly earned his fair share of time off in the summer, especially as a recent first-time father. Physically refreshed and mentally rejuvenated, the 28-year-old Frenchman has officially bid ‘au revoir’ to last season and has the 2017-18 campaign firmly in his sights."

Next: Batum compares Monk to McCollum

Everyone from Kemba Walker to Steve Clifford and Marvin Williams are all raving about how good Nicolas looks heading into this season. Coach Clifford said that Batum is in his best shape since joining Charlotte in 2015. At 28, he is right in his prime and ready to make the most of an offseason where he spent a majority of the time honing his skills.