Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the latest news and stories from around the web about the Charlotte Hornets.
Kemba Walker now leads the entire Eastern Conference in three-point shots made this season as he ranks just ahead of Wayne Ellington and Kyle Lowry. (NBA.com) In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we preview the Charlotte Hornets‘ meeting versus the Boston Celtics while also looking at why the team should start a full rebuild and the bench’s improvement.
Hornets @ Celtics prediction (RealSport101.com)
"The Hornets give the Celtics all they can handle, but Boston have just about enough to edge out Charlotte, 105-99."
This is a matchup between the two hottest teams in the Eastern Conference. Charlotte’s on a five-game win streak which leads the East while Boston has won three straight which is second in the conference. With their recent run of form, the Hornets’ chances of making the playoffs are up to 29%. (FiveThirtyEight.com)
This will be the third and final meeting between the two sides after the Celtics won the first two outings by an average of seven points. Charlotte’s lost seven straight regular-season games to Boston. While the Hornets are playing their best basketball of the year, I don’t see them taking down the second best team in the East. Although, I do think it will be a close affair.
Why Charlotte should start a full rebuild (BleacherReport.com)
"Charlotte needs fresh ideas, and it’s tough to see how either of those candidates provide them. If nothing changes, the Hornets will head into next season with over $117 million in guaranteed salary and primed to scramble for 41 wins."
This has been the Hornets’ problem for years now. Not good enough to compete and not bad enough to get a top-three pick in the draft. They’ve been stuck in mediocrity and haven’t shown any signs of having a plan to get out. Under Rich Cho, they had minimal success but wildly underachieved without having consecutive postseason appearances.
While the current squad isn’t necessarily bad, they aren’t going to contend for a title anytime soon. The first job for the next GM will be to give this franchise a sense of direction. I’m not sure if a full rebuild is the best plan of action but at least it’s a start and it would give Charlotte a real direction.
Second unit’s improvement post-All-Star Break (Twitter/ @Kroeger)
"Hornets 2nd unit (@MCW1, , @jlamb, @FSKPart3 @TreBall21, @CodyZeller) now has +28 scoring differential, T-2nd best of any 5-man lineup in the NBA since the AS break. That unit has posted unreal 128.9 Off Rating, 95.2 Def Rating and 33.7 Net Rating."
Next: Chris Bosh challenges Dwight Howard
Charlotte had one of the worst bench units in the NBA before the All-Star Break but for whatever reason, they’ve turned things around in the second half of the season. Michael Carter-Williams, Jeremy Lamb, Frank Kaminsky, Treveon Graham and Cody Zeller have all improved their games and it is helping the Hornets be more successful. It is a small sample size but it is a promising sign and it will be interesting to see if this trend can continue.