Welcome to Buzz City Beat, a daily roundup of the best articles from around the internet surrounding the Charlotte Hornets.
The Charlotte Hornets are set to take on the Sacramento Kings in their first game of 2018. RealSport101.com predicts Kemba Walker and company to defeat the Kings, 108-100. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at Charlotte’s New Year’s resolution, the Hornets’ offense not being good enough and why the team’s failures are so illogical.
Charlotte’s New Year’s Resolution (SI.com)
"Revive Cardiac Kemba. Charlotte is is currently 6–13 in games where the score’s within five points in the final five minutes (otherwise known as crunch time), which is the third-worst winning percentage in the league. Imagine if the Hornets had a guy who was a great closer!"
The Hornets could really use a dose of clutch play from just about anyone on their roster but the most likely candidate is Cardiac Kemba. If they can revive Walker’s late heroics, it should lead to more victories for Charlotte. They’ve lost a number of close games this season because of their inability to score late in close games.
The team has struggled in clutch situations since last season as they are 0-13 in games decided by three points or less. We’ll have to wait and see if Cardiac Kemba can be revived in 2018. If not Walker, then maybe someone else will step up and knock down some shots in crunch time.
Hornets’ offense needs to step up (Twitter/ @Jim_Eichenhofer)
"Of top 15 NBA teams in offensive efficiency this season, only one has a losing record (Clippers are 16-19). Of the top 15 teams in defense, four have losing records (76ers, Jazz, Hornets, Lakers)"
What this tells me is that offensive efficiency leads to wins in the NBA. For Charlotte, their offense needs to step up and get into at least the top-15 in the league in offensive efficiency. Although the Hornets’ defensive efficiency is 11th in the NBA, their offense ranks 26th which is a major reason why they have a losing record this year.
Obviously, the best teams will be great on both offense and defense but at the very least, Charlotte needs to improve their scoring. While the old saying “defense wins championships” may still be true, scoring at least leads to wins in the regular season games. When the Hornets had their best season (2015-16), they were ninth in offensive efficiency which was their highest mark since returning to Charlotte in 2004.
Why is the team failing? (Twitter/ @HPbasketball)
Next: The Hornets have been historically bad in close games
All the reasons listed are why so many experts had high hopes for Charlotte and predicted them to challenge for a top-six seed in the East. Almost halfway through the season, the Hornets are 10 games under .500 and behind the Brooklyn Nets in the standings. Many will attribute their struggles to Steve Clifford being away from the team but there is no logical explanation for why they are performing this poorly.