Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets’ debuts, Steve Clifford praises Marcus Paige
Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the best articles from around the internet surrounding the Charlotte Hornets.
The Hornets fell to the Boston Celtics in their preseason opener, 94-82, as Jeremy Lamb scored a team-high 17 points. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the Charlotte Hornets‘ newest players who made their preseason debuts, Steve Clifford praises Marcus Paige and Michael Carter-Williams is set to be cleared for contact soon.
Hornets’ players make preseason debut against Boston (Twitter/ @TheBallGod)
Dwight Howard wasn’t decent in his Hornets’ debut and had some bright spots but his six turnovers, -9 plus/minus and air-balled a free throw were some glaring negatives. Malik Monk only scored five points in his first game and even though he only played 20 minutes, the rookie managed to get up eight shots. Charlotte’s other rookie, Dwayne Bacon, only played two minutes but made his only shot attempt.
Two-way players, Mangok Mathiang and Marcus Paige, both got their first on-court action for the Hornets as the big man put up two points and four rebounds while the former UNC point guard recorded one assist. Julyan Stone went scoreless in 16 minutes but he did have two rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Steve Clifford praises Marcus Paige (Twitter/ @JustinThomasNBA)
"Clifford says former UNC guard Marcus Paige has been impressive in practice #Hornets."
Paige has received more action during training camp with Carter-Williams being out. Coach Clifford has taken notice of Marcus’ hard work. If MCW is not ready for the start of the season, there’s a good chance that Paige could be called up to serve as either Kemba Walker‘s backup or the team’s emergency third-string point guard.
Being on a two-way deal, the former Tarheel can only spend a total of 45 days in the NBA on Charlotte’s roster. Even if he doesn’t play for the Hornets’ at any point this season, he could have some great games in the G-League for the Greensboro Swarm. It will be interesting to see if Marcus Paige can translate his practice success to the preseason.
MCW to be cleared for contact next week (CharlotteObserver.com)
"However, there’s good news on Carter-Williams’ recovery from procedures on both knees: He told the Observer Sunday he anticipates being cleared for contact sometime early next week."
Next: Five Hornets' players to watch this preseason
Carter-Williams hasn’t been cleared for full-contact since his knee procedure in August. AFter almost two months, the Hornets’ backup point guard is close to returning. Once he is cleared, it will still take some time for Michael to get back to full health and into the rotation. Hopefully, MCW will be able to play in a couple exhibition games before the start of the regular season.