Buzz City Beat: Charlotte’s worst players based on salary, Dwight says Hornets can learn from Raptors
Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the best articles from around the internet surrounding the Charlotte Hornets.
Steve Clifford recently talked with WFNZ about a number of topics regarding the team’s play and what they need to do going forward. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the Charlotte Hornets‘ worst players based on their salary, Dwight Howard saying that the team can learn from the Toronto Raptors and the Greensboro Swarm losing to the Northern Arizona Suns.
Charlotte’s worst performers based on salary (BleacherReport.com)
"MKG: His offensive limitations just hold him back, preventing him from playing more than 25.2 minutes per game for the Charlotte Hornets and making it tough for them to find as much success while he’s on the floor."
An interesting stat in this article highlights just how poor Michael Kidd-Gilchrist‘s offense is. Despite scoring 6.3 more points per 100 possessions when he is on the court, it mainly due to Kemba Walker‘s outstanding play because without the all-star point guard, MKG falls to a -6.9. The question is, does his individual defense do enough to overshadow his poor shooting on the offensive end? Steve Clifford seems to think so.
Kidd-Gilchrist’s $13 million salary ranks as the fifth-worst among small forward in the NBA. Dwight Howard is also mentioned as the second-worst center contract in the league. Even though he is averaging a double-double and has arguably been Charlotte’s second best player, $23.5 million is still a lot to shell out for an aging big man.
Dwight Howard says Hornets can learn from Toronto (RaptorsRapture.com)
"“A team that’s gotten together and really bonded off the court has success.” Dwight told SportsNet Dave Zarum “You can just look at the relationship that Kyle [Lowry] and DeMar [DeRozan] have — they’re such good friends away from the game that it makes it easier to play with each other.”"
The Hornets’ new big new big man praised DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry for their great chemistry and relationship. Based on his comments, it looks like Dwight wants to replicate that same level of chemistry with the Kemba Walker and the rest of Charlotte’s roster. Howard hasn’t been able to develop strong relationships in his recent stops.
He was only with Los Angeles for one season, Houston for three years and Atlanta for one campaign. With all of those teams, he didn’t have a good rapport with his fellow stars like Kobe Bryant and James Harden. Hopefully, the Hornets can follow Toronto’s model because building close relationships should only help boost chemistry and make the team better.
Northern Arizona Suns drop 140 in win over Greensboro (Gleague.NBA.com)
"Northern Arizona opened a 25-point lead in the opening frame, which paved the way to a 140-115 win at the Swarm, a game that was televised on ESPNU."
Next: It's time for Charlotte to unleash Malik Monk
Jalen Jones led the Swarm with 29 points, 11 rebounds and five assists while fellow Pelicans’ two-way player, Charles Cooke, put up 25 points, five boards and four assists. Terry Henderson scored 18 points and Sam Thompson had 16 off of Greensboro’s bench. Cat Barber ended with eight points on 4-11 shooting in his season debut. The main problem was the starters as the Suns’ starting five outscored Greensboro’s, 79-35.