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Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets rookie named POTG, MCW to have shoulder surgery

By Jerry Stephens

CHARLOTTE, NC - FEBRUARY 27: Michael Carter-Williams #10 of the Charlotte Hornets handles the ball against the Chicago Bulls on February 27, 2018 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - FEBRUARY 27: Michael Carter-Williams #10 of the Charlotte Hornets handles the ball against the Chicago Bulls on February 27, 2018 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the latest news and stories from around the web about the Charlotte Hornets.

After falling to the Brooklyn Nets and dropping their fifth straight game, the Queen City team’s playoff odds are down to a season-low 3%. (FiveThirtyEight.com) In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at Malik Monk being named Player of the Game, Michael Carter-Williams potentially having shoulder surgery and the Charlotte Hornets being one of the least entertaining teams to watch this season.

Malik Monk named Player of the Game (Twitter/ @Hornets)

"Malik Monk is tonight’s @Sprite Player of the Game with a strong performance off the bench. #BuzzCity"

Monk finished the game with 13 points on 6-14 shooting with five assists and three rebounds in 21 minutes. (Video Highlights) This was the Hornets’ rookie’s best outing in over four months and the first time he’s scored in double-digits since November 7th. It’s also the first time he’s played at least 20 minutes in a game since December 9th.

It wasn’t an incredible game from Malik but it was a positive one considering that he’s been riding the bench for most of the season. He should get plenty of playing time to close out the season and we should see him get more comfortable leading the second unit and with his shot selection. His passing skill and vision did look a lot better and he’s already developed a bit of a connection with Cody Zeller.

MCW to have shoulder surgery (Twitter/ @QCHspencer)

"Strong belief from @QCHBlog [source] close to the team that Michael Carter-Williams will elect for surgery and be done for the season. Looks like we’re about to get a 17 game sample size of Malik Monk."

Carter-Williams originally suffered the shoulder injury during the first half of Charlotte’s game against the Raptors on March 4th in Toronto. Although he later returned to the game in the third quarter, it’s clear that the injury was more serious than originally thought. Even if Michael doesn’t have surgery, there’s a good chance that rehab could keep him out for most of the remaining season.

It makes sense for MCW to have surgery because the Hornets probably won’t make the playoffs and there’s no reason for him to play injured. If his season is over, we very may well have seen the last of Michael Carter-Williams in a Hornets’ uniform as he is set to be a free agent this summer. On a positive note, it does mean that Malik Monk will finally get more playing time.

Top-10 least entertaining teams to watch this season (FadeawayWorld.com)

"Charlotte’s core is old, the team has a very small market and has constantly stricken out with their prospects, and up to this day, the lone reason why anybody would like to watch a Hornets game is to hope Michael Jordan shows up in the arena."

Next: How the Hornets should handle the rest of the season

Outside of Kemba Walker and maybe a few highlight-worthy dunks from Dwight Howard, there hasn’t really been that much of a reason for people to watch Charlotte this year. They don’t make a lot of three’s, have many uber-athletic players and haven’t been playing their young prospects which makes them almost no fun to watch. Losing doesn’t help either. Although, with Malik Monk getting more minutes to close out the season, more fans will be excited to watch.

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