Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the best articles from around the internet surrounding the Charlotte Hornets.
Dwayne Bacon‘s Air Jordan XIII Low were featured on SLAM Magazine’s “Kicks” Instagram page. Dwight Howard picked up his sixth technical of the season versus the Cleveland Cavaliers and will be suspended if/when he gets his 16th. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we preview the Charlotte Hornets matchup versus the San Antonio Spurs, look at the team’s poor play during the clutch and recap the Greensboro Swarm’s loss to the Westchester Knicks.
Hornets vs Spurs prediction (RealSport101.com)
"This game could prove too tough on a quick turnaround for the Hornets after a difficult loss at Cleveland, and it’s too much to expect both Mills and Green to endure a second straight poor shooting night. It might get scrappy at times, but San Antonio should grind out a 98-91 win."
Charlotte’s three-game win streak was snapped with their heartbreaking loss to the Cavs. They will now look to bounce back as they host the Spurs who are 11-7 so far this season but have dropped their last two road games and are only 3-5 away from home. That could bode well for the Hornets who have dominated their opponents at The Spectrum Center this year with a 7-2 home record.
San Antonio will be a bit shorthanded without Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker. Leonard has yet to play this season. Even though they are missing key players, the Spurs are still a dangerous team as long as Gregg Popovich is at the helm. Considering that the Hornets are at home and that Kawhi is out, this is a game Charlotte should win.
Charlotte’s poor play in the clutch (Twitter/ @Awaytoworthy)
"The Hornets are just exceptionally bad late in games. 12th straight loss in a one-possession game, one shy of tying NBA record since 3-pt line was implemented per Elias."
Against Cleveland, the Hornets were up 98-93 with 3:33 left in the game and only managed one point from there on out as they lost 100-99. They shot only 5-23 in the fourth quarter. It doesn’t help that this poor performance in the clutch was against LeBron James who is now 21-0 against Kemba Walker and 25-1 versus Charlotte since Michael Jordan took over in 2010.
Steve Clifford’s side looks like a completely different team late in games. Their struggles in the clutch date back to last season and still haven’t been solved. The team’s offense drastically slows down in the fourth. They are only shooting 32.9% in the clutch (five-point game in the final five minutes) which ranks 26th in the NBA.
Greensboro Swarm falls to Westchester Knicks (Gleague.NBA.com)
"The Westchester Knicks (6-3), the official NBA G League affiliate of the New York Knickerbockers, defeated the Greensboro Swarm (3-4), the Charlotte Hornets’ affiliate, with a final score of 117-107."
Next: Two unlikely heroes have led the Greensboro Swarm
Jalen Jones led the Hornets’ G-League affiliate with 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists. As for Charlotte’s two-way players, Marcus Paige put up 17 points while Mangok Mathiang recorded his third double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 boards. The Greensboro Swarm have not lost four of their last five games and have hit a bit of a rough patch early in the year.