Welcome to Buzz City Beat, a daily roundup of the latest news and stories from around the internet surrounding the Charlotte Hornets.
Dwight Howard is on pace to match Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell with his rebounding. (Basketball-Reference)In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we preview the Charlotte Hornets vs the Washington Wizards, we look at why the team will have playoff success and where Kemba Walker‘s contract ranks among the NBA’s best deals.
Hornets vs Wizards prediction (RealSport101.com)
"Washington can win this game at the forward positions if Porter, Morris and Oubre continue to be on their offensive games against Kidd-Gilchrist and Williams, and Kaminsky to a lesser extent. Look for Washington to have enough firepower to go back to the nation’s capital with a 107-99 win."
This meeting between divisional rivals will feature a great point guard matchup between two star players in Kemba Walker and John Wall. The Wizards come into this one with a somewhat underwhelming 10-7 record while the Hornets (7-9) are looking to inch back to .500. After losing six straight, it looks like Charlotte has begun to turn things around winning their last two.
Even though Washington has clearly been the better side early in the season, Charlotte has been dominant at the Spectrum Center. Their 6-2 home record is one of the best marks in the Eastern Conference. The Wizards will most likely win but I think that if Dwight Howard can grab his third straight double-double, I think the Hornets can be victorious in a close game at home.
Why Charlotte will have playoff success (HashtagBasketball.com)
"The Hornets missed out on the playoffs last season, disappointing many fans that believed the organization could consistently be a contender. Here are the top five reasons why the Hornets will make it deeper into the Playoffs this season. 1. Bench Makeover, 2. Dwight. Howard., 3. Kemba Walker is an All-Star, 4. Dual Threat, 5. It’s Now or Never"
Although it hasn’t shown much so far this season, the Hornets are a deep team with a fairly strong bench. Once they become most consistent, their second unit could be one of the best in the entire league. Howard makes a big difference and if he can stay healthy, should play a major role in the team’s success. If they make the playoffs, it will all depend on who Charlotte faces in the first round because there are certain matchups that favor Dwight and other that can completely take him out of games.
Even though Walker was an all-star last year, the team didn’t make the postseason which means we haven’t yet seen all-star Kemba in the playoffs. As for the dual-threat factor, I’m not sold that the Hornets have a true #2 alongside Kemba. While Nicolas Batum could be that player, no teammate has shown the ability to be a true Robin to Walker’s Batman. There is a sense of urgency in Charlotte. It is almost now or never for them as the roster/key players are starting to get older and the pressure is on Rich Cho, Steve Clifford and company to succeed and finally get over the hump in the playoffs.
Ranking the NBA’s best contracts (BleacherReport.com)
"And he’s [Kemba Walker] still playing for only $12 million per year. Excluding max deals and rookie-scale contracts—the latter of which, again, are still included in these rankings—he’d be the NBA’s fifth-best value in 2017-18, regardless of position."
Next: Steve Clifford benches Malik Monk
Bleacher Report ranks Kemba’s contract as the second-best deal among all point guards only behind Ben Simmons who is still on his rookie deal. Walker is a star and paying him only $12 million makes him a steal for Charlotte. Jeremy Lamb also appears on this list as the third-best contract among shooting guards with his $7 million per year deal behind Gary Harris and Tyreke Evans.