Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the latest news and stories from around the web about the Charlotte Hornets.
NBA All-Star voting is officially underway and will last until January 15th. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we preview the Charlotte Hornets‘ game against the Milwaukee Bucks while also looking at Dwight Howard‘s injury and the Greensboro Swarm defeating the Windy City Bulls.
Hornets vs Bucks preview and prediction (RealSport101.com)
"It’s tough enough to face the same team on back-to-back nights with a three-hour flight in between, but take two All-Stars out of the starting lineup, and the task gets enough tougher."
Not only is this the second night of a back-to-back for Charlotte but it’s also the fourth and final meeting versus Milwaukee this season. The Hornets were victorious in the only previous meeting at home. To win this one, they will need to slow down Khris Middleton who is averaging 29.6 PPG against Charlotte so far this year.
If the Hornets are without both Dwight Howard and Kemba Walker, you can already chalk up the L. Although, if Kemba does play, they might have enough firepower at home to get a win over the Bucks. Charlotte’s 2-8 in their last 10 games and their playoff hopes are disappearing fast with the losses piling up. They need a win and soon.
Dwight Howard dislocates finger (Twitter/ @GeryWoelfel)
"Dwight Howard, who left the game early after hurting his left ring finger, told me he is having trouble moving the finger and will have an X-ray on it Sunday in Charlotte."
It looks like Howard is going to miss at least one game for Charlotte. The team hosts Milwaukee on December 23rd and his X-ray is scheduled for Sunday, December 24th. It’s unclear how serious the injury is but if he is having trouble moving the finger, it could be much worse than expected and he might miss a significant amount of time.
A lengthy injury to one of the Hornets’ best players could spell doom for the team as they have been plagued by injuries all season. With Cody Zeller already out with a torn meniscus, having Dwight go down would severely limit their frontcourt options. Expect Frank Kaminsky to start and for Johnny O’Bryant and Mangok Mathiang to get more minutes.
Mathiang’s monster double-double leads Greensboro past the Windy City Bulls (Gleague.NBA.com)
"Behind career nights from Mangok Mathiang and Luke Petrasek, the Greensboro Swarm held on for a thrilling 105-101 victory over the Windy City Bulls. Mathiang (28 points) and Petrasek (17 points) combined for 45 points and 25 rebounds to help the Swarm (7-11) outlast the Bulls (6-11)."
Next: Reasons to have hope for the Charlotte Hornets
Mangok, by far, had his best game for the Swarm as he put up 28 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. Greensboro has now won four of their last six games after starting the season 3-9. Even though they still sit near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the Hornets’ G-League affiliate is slowly but surely starting to turn things around.