Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the latest news and stories from around the web about the Charlotte Hornets.
With John Wall undergoing knee surgery, he will miss the All-Star Game meaning that Adam Silver will need to select an injury replacement. The consensus seems to think it will be between Kemba Walker, Andre Drummond, Goran Dragic and Ben Simmons. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at where the Charlotte Hornets sit in the Week 15 NBA power rankings, Kemba Walker not focusing on trade rumors and Cody Zeller being close to returning.
Hornets fall in Week 15 power rankings (USAToday.com)
"Seven of Charlotte’s nine games before the All-Star break will be played on the road, where they’ve won six games (in 20 tries) this season."
After coming in at No. 20 last week. Charlotte fell one spot to No. 21 this week. They went 2-2 this past week with wins over the Sacramento Kings and the Atlanta Hawks while losing to the New Orleans Pelicans and the Miami Heat. With so many of their upcoming games being away from home, things could get rough for the Hornets as they are only 6-15 on the road this season.
There’s a good chance that they could go on a losing streak and fall even further in the power rankings in the weeks ahead. The Golden State Warriors remained in the top spot while the Houston Rockets, the Boston Celtics, the Toronto Raptors and the San Antonio Spurs rounded out the top-5. The biggest climbers were the Milwaukee Bucks who went from No. 16 to No. 13.
Kemba isn’t thinking about trade rumors (IndyStar.com)
"Did Walker enter the game thinking that Bankers Life Fieldhouse would soon be his home arena? “Nah, that’s not something I’m thinking about. I just control what I can control. Try to play for my teammates and coaching staff, and win, that’s the most important thing. Trade rumors and stuff like that, that’s something I couldn’t control. I just try to look past it and play.”"
In Kemba Walker fashion, the Hornets’ point guard ignored the trade rumors and reiterated that he is only focused on helping his team win games. The 27-year old remains fully committed to Charlotte as he knows a potential trade is out of his hands. The Indiana Pacers was a rumored landing spot for Kemba but nothing has really materialized since Michael Jordan essentially took Walker off of the trade market.
The Bronx-native continues to handle this situation with class as he is saying all of the right things to the media. In the article, Kemba also praised Victor Oladipo for his breakout season and said that he knew Oladipo would make the leap after spending part of the summer with him in Paris. He called Victor a “good dude” and said that he respects the Pacers’ all-star.
Cody Zeller cleared for full-contact (Twitter/ @Rick_Bonnell)
"center Cody Zeller (knee surgery) has been cleared for contact, so it’s conceivable he could be activated Wednesday in Atlanta or Friday at home."
Next: Rumor: Detroit offered Tobias Harris and a pick for Kemba and MKG
This is great news for Charlotte. The 25-year old is one of their best role players and is averaging 7.2 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per game off of the bench so far this season. This should not only help strengthen the second unit but also give Dwight Howard some addition rest when needed. His return could be even more important if Marvin Williams is going to miss some time with his ankle injury.