Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets most overrated player, Dwight Howard resurgence
Welcome to Buzz City Beat, a daily roundup of the best articles from around the internet surrounding the Charlotte Hornets.
Rich Cho recently talked about the team’s young players, the Dwight Howard deal and his path to the NBA with Nate Duncan on the Dunc’d 0n podcast. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the Charlotte Hornets most overrated player, why Dwight Howard’s resurgence is so compelling and Jeremy Lamb being the breakout player we didn’t see coming.
Hornets most overrated player (FadeawayWorld.com)
"Kidd-Gilchrist is currently on his 6th season in the NBA with little to show in the previous season, at least not what the media expected. Last season was the first season that he didn’t miss any matches, and he posted 9.2ppg, 7 rpg, 1spg and 0.9 bpg. This season he’s been a complete bust, even when Nicolas Batum was missing, so it is safe to say that he might need a trade to rejuvenate his career."
This article ranks MKG as the ninth most overrated player in the entire league. Looking back at the 2012 NBA Draft, Charlotte missed on Bradley Beal, Damian Lillard and Andre Drummond when they decided to take Michael with the second overall selection. To Kidd-Gilchrist’s credit, he’s a good defender and an above average rebounder for his position. He’s also worked tirelessly on his shot and it seems to be paying off this season as he’s shooting 42% from midrange which is up from 38% last year. Still, MKG leaves a lot to be desired from a second overall pick as he’s never panned out into a star or even an all-star type player and probably never will.
He’s also worked tirelessly on his shot and it seems to be paying off this season as he’s shooting 42% from midrange which is up from 38% last year. Still, MKG leaves a lot to be desired from a second overall pick as he’s never panned out into a star or even an all-star type player and probably never will. I wonder if the team would consider trading him but even if they did, I can’t imagine that the trade market would be all that high for a wing player that can’t shoot outside of 17 feet.
Why Dwight’s resurgence is so compelling (TheDoubleTechnical.com)
"We are witnessing a man fervently fight against the tides of time that are trying wrestle the relevance of his craft from his clutches. The ground upon which Howard based his game is being pulled out from under him, swept away by the quicksands of modernization."
Howard’s entire career has been compelling. From being the first overall pick out coming straight out of high school in 2004 to being the best big man in the league for about five years (2007-2012). Now that he’s in the later stages of his career, what makes him intriguing is seeing if he can capture some of that magic that made him a superstar in the first place. Obviously, injuries have taken their toll but D12 looks to have revitalized his game with Charlotte and Steve Clifford.
Although he will probably never reach the same heights that he did earlier in his career, Dwight has a chance to end his time in the NBA on a high note with the Hornets rather than on a sour one like he did with Orlando, LA, Houston and Atlanta. He is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer but after not living up to expectations the past few seasons, many have completely written off Howard despite the accomplishments earlier in his career. Whether or not fans like him, they are still interested to see if he succeeds or fails.
Charlotte’s breakout player we didn’t see coming (BleacherReport.com)
"Lamb is one of five wings averaging more than 19 points, six rebounds and four assists per 36 minutes with a true shooting percentage better than 55. He joins Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Tyreke Evans and LeBron James."
Next: Kevin Durant praises Kemba Walker
Jeremy hasn’t just been a pleasant surprise, he has been outstanding and probably the Hornets’ second best player so far this season. It looks more and more like the 25-year old can be a starting caliber shooting guard in the NBA as he’s taken the next step forward in his career. Everyone’s been waiting for Lamb to finally make the leap for years and now it looks like he is realizing his full potential with the Charlotte Hornets. In my opinion, the team needs to find more minutes for him going forward.