Welcome to Buzz City Beat, a daily roundup of the latest news and stories from around the web about the Charlotte Hornets.
Could the Charlotte Hornets have a retro night at the Spectrum Center like the Milwaukee Bucks did with their MECCA court? In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at a potential trade for Eric Bledsoe, Dwight Howard continuing to hit new heights and Malik Monk‘s key to success.
Hornets potential Eric Bledsoe trade (BleacherReport.com)
"With that said, their dare-to-be-great, screw-it-let’s-pay-the-tax scenario includes offering the Phoenix Suns Lamb, Marvin Williams and a first-round pick for Eric Bledsoe and Jared Dudley."
The reason for making this move is that Charlotte needs another playmaker. Although Jeremy Lamb and Malik Monk have looked good at times, it’s clear that just about everyone on the court takes a step back offensively when Kemba Walker exits games. The article states that “getting Michael Carter-Williams back won’t do anything,” which remains to be seen as he has not played in a game so far this season.
Getting Bledsoe would be a huge addition for the Hornets and probably a positive one but it would be difficult to pull off. Would Eric want to come off of the bench in a Jeremy Lin 2015-type role after having “playing time” issues in Phoenix? And if Rich Cho traded Marvin Williams, it would leave the team a little thin up front. Still, it is an interesting proposition.
Dwight Howard matches 1999 Charles Barkley (ClutchPoints.com)
"After a 15-point, 19-rebound effort against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, the much-maligned big man became the first player since Sir Charles Barkley to pull down at least 15 rebounds through his first four games to start the season, according to Justin Kubatko of StatMuse."
After four games with Charlotte, Howard is averaging 18.0 rebounds. In his first two outings against Detroit and Atlanta, Dwight grabbed 15 boards in each of those games. Versus Milwaukee, he pulled down 22 rebounds while following that up with a 20 rebound performance against Denver. The eight-time all-star shows no signs of slowing down.
Steve Clifford is allowing Howard to focus mainly on defense and rebounding and it’s showing. If he continues at this rate, Dwight will not only lead the league in rebounding but he could set multiple individual and team records as well. Even after all the great big men who have played in the NBA since 1999, including Howard, he’s the first player in about 18 years to reach this mark through the first four games of a season.
Malik Monk’s key to success (CharlotteObserver.com)
"“He has amnesia: Whatever happened before, he doesn’t remember,” Calipari said before the Hornets beat the Denver Nuggets 110-93 Wednesday. “The amnesia, it’s hard to teach. Some guys can’t get by two misses. He’ll miss five in a row and keep shooting.”"
Next: Has Superman Dwight Howard returned?
Having shot amnesia could be an asset as a great scorer like Monk will continue to shoot with confidence despite missing a couple. It would also be a downfall for some players who will continue to take bad shots even though they keep missing. Malik is too talented to keep missing and he will eventually shoot himself out of shooting slumps. Having that shot amnesia is a huge key to his success, especially now that he’s in the NBA because he’s going to miss more than he makes.