Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets’ star proving his value, Swarm continue to struggle
Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the latest news and stories from around the web about the Charlotte Hornets.
The New Orleans Pelicans have signed former Charlotte Bobcats’ big man Emeka Okafor to a 10-day deal. (Shams Charania) He hasn’t played in the NBA his 2013 and was playing in the G-League this season. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at Kemba Walker proving his value to the Charlotte Hornets, the Greensboro Swarm’s struggles starting to pile up and why there is no stopping Treveon Graham.
Kemba Walker is proving his value to the Hornets (NBA.com)
"With Walker in the game, they have the point differential of a team that’s 37-14. With Walker on the bench, they have the point differential of a team that’s 5-46."
Kemba may be the most valuable player to any one team in the NBA. Without him, Charlotte would easily be the worst team in the league. With him in the game, they play like a top-tier team. That 37-14 record would put them in the top-two of the Eastern Conference and among the top-four teams in the entire NBA.
Unfortunately, Walker needs to rest and when he does, the Hornets fall flat on their face. They look like a completely different team with him off of the floor. The stats speak for themselves and without the all-star point guard, this team would probably end the season with the worst record in NBA history.
Greensboro Swarm fall to the Westchester Knicks (Gleague.NBA.com)
"The Westchester Knicks (24-12) defeated the Greensboro Swarm (10-22) 107-93 at the Westchester County Center."
With the loss, Greensboro falls to 12 games under .500. They’ve now lost four of their last five and 10 of their last 12 in total. The Hornets’ G-League affiliate has the third-worst record only ahead of the Delaware 87ers and the Sale Lake City Stars. There seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel for this team and their losses will likely continue to pile up.
Maybe the addition of Damien Wilkins will help turn things around a bit but making the G-League playoffs is out of the question for this season. Considering how poorly they’ve played this season, it’s not surprising that the Swarm didn’t have a single player named to the 2018 G-League All-Star Game.
Why there’s no stopping Treveon Graham (NBA.com)
"The nickname certainly does seem to embody characteristics Graham has had for years: resiliency, toughness and determination. Gifted mentally just as much as he is physically (6’6″ and nearly 220 pounds), not much has been able to slow down the Freight Train lately."
Next: Rumor: Milwaukee Bucks interested in trading for Monk
Treveon “Freight Train” Graham has gained a lot of momentum over the past couple seasons with the Hornets. He went from barely making the roster last year to a key role player off of the bench this campaign. He continues to play well and he doesn’t seem to be slowing down but only gaining more momentum with each passing game. He brings toughness to a Charlotte team that has lacked an edge.