Charlotte Hornets: Dwayne Bacon sets Greensboro Swarm record in G-League debut
In Dwayne Bacon‘s debut with the Greensboro Swarm, the Charlotte Hornets’ second-round pick set a franchise record with 45 points.
Dwayne Bacon was assigned to the Greensboro Swarm to play in their game against the Wisconsin Herd on December 28th. The Florida State product didn’t take long to make his mark on the Charlotte Hornets‘ G-League affiliate as he set a franchise record with 45 points in his first game with the team. Even though Greensboro lost, Dwayne had a game to remember.
In 38 minutes of action, Bacon dropped 45 points to go along with nine rebounds and five assists while shooting 18-40 from the field and 6-15 from three. He also had two steals and only committed one turnover despite being a primary ball handler. Even though he led his side in scoring, Dwayne was a -13 in +/-.
This performance comes just days after fellow rookie, Malik Monk, played in a game with the Swarm where he scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Bacon was supposed to play in that game as well but after travel issues, he could not make it on time. As a result, Dwayne was recalled to the Hornets and instead assigned back to Greensboro at a later date.
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Fellow assignee, Julyan Stone, had a fairly pedestrian game with only eight points and six assists in 23 minutes. Both of the Hornets’ two-way players had good outings as Marcus Paige put up 20 points, five rebounds and five assists while Mangok Mathiang recorded a double-double with 18 points and 16 boards.
1,283 fans showed up to The Fieldhouse to watch Dwayne Bacon’s debut and although the Swarm fell to the Herd, 125-115, the people in attendance were treated to an outstanding game from the Hornets’ rookie.
In his one outing for Greensboro, the 40th overall pick from the 2017 NBA Draft proved that he can light it up in the G-League. After a strong beginning to the 2017-18 season where he started in six games for Charlotte, Dwayne proved that he could compete at the NBA level. Now that he’s fallen out of the rotation, this assignment was for him to get reps and confidence.
The most impressive part of Bacon’s performance was his three-point shooting. He made six three’s while shooting 40% from beyond the arc.
Next: Malik Monk scores 25 points in G-League debut
Bacon is expected to play a few games with the Greensboro Swarm before joining the Charlotte Hornets at some point during their current four-game road trip out west. We’ll see if he can have a couple more big games while in the G-League. If Stephen Silas continues to not use Dwayne going forward, there’s a good chance that we could see him play with the Swarm more this season.