Welcome to Buzz City Beat, a daily roundup of the best articles from around the internet surrounding the Charlotte Hornets.
There’s a good chance that Stephen Curry could miss the much-anticipated matchup against the Queen City team after injuring his ankle versus the Pelicans and leaving on crutches after the game. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at where the Charlotte Hornets sit in the Week 7 power rankings, if Steve Clifford is already on the hot seat and Dwight Howard reaching another milestone.
Hornets move up in Week 7 power rankings (USAtoday.com)
"The Hornets dropped two consecutive games (at Toronto on Wednesday and at Miami on Friday) without Kemba Walker, who’s out with a shoulder injury. Charlotte is 0-5 in the past two seasons without their star point guard in the lineup."
After ranking 22nd last week, Charlotte was able to move up two spots and now sit at No. 20. The Hornets were 0-2 this past week but still somehow managed to move up in the power rankings. They will need to reach at least .500 if they want to continue to climb the ladder. Having everyone finally healthy should be a big boost to the team.
The Hornets are sandwiched between two divisional rivals as they rank just ahead of the Orlando Magic (21) and just behind the Miami Heat (19). There was a shakeup at the top of the rankings as the Houston Rockets took the top spot from the Boston Celtics who fell all the way to No. 3. The biggest climbers were the Utah Jazz who went from 19th to 13th. A home-heavy December should help Charlotte win games and thus move up the rankings.
Steve Clifford already on the hot seat? (BleacherReport.com)
"Scapegoating Clifford for these various breakdowns isn’t ideal. But the Hornets won’t have much choice if they keep tumbling down the Eastern Conference ladder. Fair or not, he’s about the only facet of this product they can change without mortgaging the future or abandoning the present."
Even though Steve Clifford is considered a top coach in the NBA, his team is underperforming and not meeting expectations. Sooner or later, something has to give. Whether him being on the hot seat or even being fired is justified, it may be the Hornets’ only option if they continue to linger under .500 and on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
If Charlotte does decide to make a coaching change, they don’t have to look far for a replacement as Stephen Silas, who is one of the top assistants in the league, could fill in as an interim head coach. Still, firing Coach Clifford still seems like a last resort. Unless something drastic were to happen, I don’t expect for the team to make a move as they will probably let Steve Clifford coach out the season and then fire him if they fail to make the postseason
Howard moves into top-20 on NBA’s all-time rebounds list (NBA.com)
"In last night’s win against the Magic, Howard first moved past Hall of Famer Paul Silas for 20th on the all-time list (12,358) and, by the time the night was over, had surpassed Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo (12,361) for 19th, too."
Next: Rumor: Hornets interested in Jordan Clarkson
Sitting at 19th on the all-time rebounds list, Dwight is less than 200 rebounds away from passing Charles Barkley for 18th all-time. Our very own Chase Pletcher did some research and found that if the eight-time all-star averages 12 rebounds per game over the next 60 games, he will be 15th at the end of the 2017-18 season. Also, if Howard continues rebounding the ball at the same pace he has his entire career for the next two to three seasons, he would 6th all-time.