Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets take on Miami in third preseason game, MJ donates $7 million
Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the best articles from around the internet surrounding the Charlotte Hornets.
Chinese team Xinjiang Flying Tigers, are interested in signing former Hornets’ big man Roy Hibbert. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we preview the Charlotte Hornets‘ third preseason game against the Miami Heat, the team’s boom or bust potential and Michael Jordan donating $7 million.
Hornets @ Heat preview (ExStreamAl.com)
"The Charlotte Hornets are 1-1 (1-1 away) while the Miami Heat team is 1-2 (1-0 home). It’s hard to say which team is in a better position from these facts alone. Both the teams need the victory direly to improve their score this NBA [pre]season."
Charlotte will get their first look at their divisional rivals this season as they travel to Miami. Both teams will be without key players in this one as Nicolas Batum, Michael Carter-Williams and Treveon Graham are out for the Hornets while the Heat are missing Goran Dragic. It is yet another chance for Steve Clifford to get an extended look at Dwight Howard, Malik Monk and other new players.
This is Charlotte’s first game since Nic’s elbow injury which means it will be the first game with Jeremy Lamb inserted into the starting lineup. Even though results don’t mean much in the preseason, the Hornets could use a confidence boost after losing Batum for at least six weeks. This will be their final road game before the regular season.
Charlotte has big boom or bust potential (DetroitBadBoys.com)
"If everything goes right for the Hornets they could get into that 46-48 win stratosphere and be a lock for the playoffs. But if things go wrong they could really go wrong. They could win 36 games again this season except this time only have themselves, and not bad luck, to blame."
It’s unclear just how good or bad the Hornets can actually be in 2017-18. They have a somewhat strong roster on paper but there are still plenty of question marks surrounding the team. If Dwight Howard flops or they suffer more injuries like the one to Nic Batum, they could easily miss the playoffs. On the other hand, if everything goes according to plan, they could be a top-four or five seed in the East.
On the other hand, if everything goes according to plan with new players fitting well and Nicolas returning from his injury relatively soon, they could be a top-four or five seed in the East. The expectations are high for Charlotte this season. Whether that’s warranted or not remains to be seen.
MJ donates $7 million to open medical clinics (CharlotteObserver.com)
"Hornets owner Michael Jordan is donating $7 million to launch two medical clinics in troubled Charlotte communities, in one of the largest gifts ever from the basketball legend with deep ties to North Carolina."
Next: Batum's injury puts added pressure on Kemba
The Hornets’ majority owner continues to make a positive impact in the community. This article notes that Michael Jordan was “largely spurred” by a study in 2014 by Harvard and UC Berkeley that showed poor children in Charlotte have the worst odds of those in any big U.S. city to lift themselves out of poverty. The clinics are expected to open in 2020.