Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets vs Toronto Raptors prediction, Hernangomez to debut?
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 Washington Wizards have expressed interest in signing former Hornets’ point guard Ramon Sessions who was waived by the New York Knicks last month. (WashingtonPost.com) In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we preview the Charlotte Hornets game against the Toronto Raptors while also looking at Willy Hernangomez officially joining the team and the Greensboro Swarm’s overtime loss to the Erie Bayhawks.
Hornets vs Raptors prediction (RealSports101.com)
"Walker is good, but he can only take the Hornets so far, especially in this contest against a Raptors team that have looked like a buzzsaw over the past week-plus. Expect it to continue with Toronto posting a 114-101 victory."
The Hornets are 0-2 versus the Raptors so far this season. Entering this game, Toronto sits at the top of the Eastern Conference while the Queen City team is in 10th place and are six games out of the eighth seed. While this would be a huge win for Steve Clifford’s side, they haven’t had the best of form lately as they come into the game on a three-game losing streak.
The only hope for Charlotte is that they have played fairly well against top teams this season picking up wins against the Golden State Warriors, the Washington Wizards and the Oklahoma City Thunder. After losing by 18 last time at home against the Raptors, there is a good chance that this one could be a blowout as well. Unless Kemba Walker goes for 40, I don’t think the Hornets stand a chance against one of the best teams in the NBA this season.
Willy Hernangomez officially joins Charlotte (NumberFire.com)
"With all physicals passed, the trade between the Hornets and New York Knicks is now official. However, without a practice under his belt, it’s unlikely that Hernangomez sees the floor. We should expect Cody Zeller and Frank Kaminsky to hold down the backup center spot in Charlotte."
Although Hernangomez will be active for the Hornets, it’s unclear if he will make his debut. Without any practice time with the team, it’s unlikely that Steve Clifford throws the second-year big man straight into the fire. Garbage time may be the chance Willy has to get into the game so unless Charlotte leads by a lot or is down a lot near the end of the game, don’t expect to see him come off of the bench.
The more likely scenario is that the Spaniard will get a practice or two in with the team and make his debut against the Orlando Magic in their next game. Hernangomez will wear #41 for the Hornets. He joins Tim Kempton (1989-1994), Glen Rice (1996-1998), Elden Campbell (1999), Garrett Temple (2011) and Justin Hamilston (2014) as the only other players in franchise history to wear that number.
Greensboro falls to Erie in overtime (Gleague.NBA.com)
"The Greensboro Swarm suffered a 105-104 overtime setback to the Erie BayHawks. Erie closed the fourth quarter on a 14-5 run and won the game on a Josh Magette jump shot as time expired in overtime."
Next: Kemba Walker named to the All-Star Game
Damien Wilkins led the Swarm once again as he put up 22 points, seven assists and six rebounds. He’s led the team in scoring in all three games since returning to Greensboro. Roscoe Smith added 20 points and nine boards off of the bench. Unfortunately for the Hornets’ G-League affiliate, they dropped their second straight game and this was their third loss in their last four games.