Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the best articles from around the internet surrounding the Charlotte Hornets.
After defeating the Washington Wizards, the Charlotte Hornets have extended their winning streak three straight games which ties a season-high. They will look to extend it to four consecutive victories in their next match against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at what the Hornets should be thankful for (mainly Kemba Walker), Scott Brooks commending Dwight Howard and the latest rumor on Nicolas Batum‘s injury.
Hornets should be thankful for all things Kemba (BleacherReport.com)
"The Charlotte Hornets without Kemba Walker are like a race car without the driver—and the engine. The 6’1″ point guard is everything to Buzz City basketball."
Charlotte should be eternally thankful for Walker. The point guard is by far the team’s best player, has become a legitimate star in the NBA and is on his way to a second consecutive all-star game appearance. Kemba will also probably go down as the greatest Hornets’ player of all-time and hold multiple franchise records when it’s all said and done.
And if we are talking impact, no player is more precious to their team than Walker who leads the league in on/off Net Rating. The Hornets should also be thankful for the resurgence of Dwight Howard, Rich Cho who drafted Kemba and Jeremy Lamb who is having an incredible breakout year this season. I’m pretty thankful that the throwback pinstripe uniforms are back.
Scott Brooks praises Dwight Howard (Twitter/ @Rick_Bonnell)
"“It’s intimidating: He’s strong and athletic, and he seems to have his juice back.” Wizards coach Scott Brooks on @hornets center Dwight Howard."
Scott Brooks, like many others, has taken notice of how well the eight-time all-star has played in Charlotte so far. Howard is averaging his highest point total since 2014-15 and his highest rebounding mark since the 2011-12 season. It’s safe to say that Dwight does, in fact, have “his juice back.” The only part of his game that is down is his free throw shooting which is at a career-low 44.1%.
Many were skeptical about how he would fit with the Hornets but the reunion with Steve Clifford has given Howard a real boost. In turn, Dwight has been a real boost for the team and has arguably been their second-best player early in the year. The 31-year old looks healthy and his strength and athleticism have been on full display this season.
Rumor: Nic Batum injury isn’t serious (Twitter/ @QCHSpencer)
"Source close to the team tells me that Nic Batum will “hopefully just miss a few games”. Doesn’t sound serious. Good news. Batum suffered confusion last night on same left elbow he missed 6 weeks for earlier this season."
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If true, this is great news for Charlotte. When first announced, it was a bit concerning that the contusion happened on the same elbow that Nic had already suffered a serious injury on. Since returning, Batum has averaged 11.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 3.8 APG in five games. Jeremy Lamb should fill in as the starting shooting guard for however long Nicolas is out.