Charlotte Hornets: Malik Monk scores 25 points in G-League debut

In Malik Monk‘s first game with the Charlotte Hornets’ G-League affiliate, he wasn’t shy about getting his shots up as he led the team with 25 points.

The Greensboro Swarm ended up defeating the Wisconsin Herd, 130-66, but the bigger story was Malik Monk making his debut with the Charlotte Hornets‘ G-league affiliate. After being benched by Stephen Silas, the first round pick was assigned to Greensboro where he could get minutes. The rookie made the most of his opportunity by not only leading the team in scoring but also getting plenty of shots up.

Monk finished the game with 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists while shooting 9-27 from the field and 7-21 from the three-point line. Although he did commit three turnovers, Malik was a +7 in a team-high 41 minutes. The 19-year old exploded for 12 points in the third quarter where he made four three’s.

It was a decent outing for the 11th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. He did score and get plenty of shots up but still had a few defensive breakdowns and mistakes which was the reason why Steve Clifford benched him in the first place.

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Fellow rookie, Dwayne Bacon, was supposed to play with Greensboro in this game as well but missed the game due to “travel issues.” Instead, he was recalled to Charlotte to practice with the Hornets while two-way player, Mangok Mathiang, was sent down to the Swarm. Julyan Stone, who is also on Charlotte’s roster, was sent down for this game as well.

Terry Henderson, who was on the Hornets’ training camp roster and played with them during the preseason, added 17 points in 18 minutes off of Greensboro’s bench. L.G. Gil almost had a double-double off of the bench with 11 points and nine boards. Archie Goodwin (12) and Luke Petrasek (10) rounded out the Swarm’s double-figure scorers.

Former Swarm player, Xavier Munford, led the Herd with 26 points. He and Monk were talking to each other throughout most of the game as they kept trading buckets. Joel Bolomboy put up 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Milwaukee Bucks‘ affiliate. Shannon Brown, who played for the 2008-09 Charlotte Bobcats, scored two points in 11 minutes for Wisconsin.

Here is a sequence where Malik Monk knocked down back to back three’s:

He was able to put his shot making and creativity on display with Greensboro as the Kentucky-product made a number of tough shots throughout the game.

Next: Why shortening the rotation is a bad idea for Charlotte

The expectation is for Charlotte to recall Monk before their game against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, December 27th. If this ends up being his lone appearance for the Greensboro Swarm, he had a memorable outing. Although, if he continues to not get any minutes with the Hornets, playing in the G-League isn’t a bad option for Malik.