Buzz City Beat: Chat With Marvin, Charlotte Hornets Right Where They Should be
Welcome to Buzz City Stings, Swarm and Sting’s daily roundup of the best Charlotte Hornets’ stories from around the web.
Buzz City Stings is your daily destination for the latest and best news from around the internet about the Charlotte Hornets. After losing four straight games on the road, the Hornets were able to finally get a big win away from home against the Atlanta Hawks. In this edition, we look at a chat with Marvin Williams, Charlotte is right where they should be, and a big game from Aaron Harrison isn’t enough for the Greensboro Swarm.
Chat With Marvin Williams
“We recently spent some time at the arena with some of the players after practice. While Jay-Z’s The Blueprint album was blaring from the equipment office, Williams hung out with us outside the locker room in the Spectrum Center to talk about J. Cole, The Cheesecake Factory, Marvin Gaye, Charlotte protests, Dean Smith, and much more.” (CLTure.com)
This was a very candid interview with Williams, who is one of the more interesting players on this Hornets’ team. Marvin also dove into some of his thoughts about the Charlotte protests earlier this summer among other things. Even though the interview was mostly about music and culture, I felt like I learned a lot about the veteran power forward.
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Charlotte is Right Where They Should Be
“Defense has been a staple of Clifford’s tenure in Charlotte, beginning in the 2013-14 season when he transformed an unremarkable collection of players into a top-five unit that made the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history. After taking a step back the following season, their offense finally caught up and helped produce a 48-win team. It’s that offense that has taken a sharp turn this season, plunging from a solid ninth to a mediocre 15th. Some of that can be pinned on the loss of valuable role players like Jeremy Lin, Al Jefferson, and Courtney Lee. That was the cost of retaining Williams and Batum, who enjoyed career seasons just as they hit free agency. Yet, the offensive issues don’t concern Clifford too much.” (SBnation.com)
While Charlotte is expected to be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference this season, they haven’t shown that they are there just yet. While that could change, the more likely reality is that they are an above average team that could battle and secure a top-six seed. Are the Hornets exactly where they should be? Probably. They can contend against the top teams but they likely won’t win many of those top tier games.
Harrison’s Big Night Isn’t Enough as Swarm Lose to Raptors 905
“C.J. Leslie’s 28-foot 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left gave Raptors 905 (10-2) a 115-112 win over the Greensboro Swarm (5-10) on Saturday night at the Fieldhouse, spoiling a furious comeback by the host team. Leslie finished with a team-high 20 points as the 905 ran their winning streak to seven games. Guard Aaron Harrison, on assignment from the Charlotte Hornets, led the Swarm in scoring with 34 points along with six rebounds and four assists. Fellow starting guard Archie Goodwin meanwhile had 24 points and eight boards. Perry Ellis (15 points), Rasheed Sulaimon (13 points) and Mike Tobey (11 points) each came off the bench with double-digit performances.” (Dleague.nba.com)
Even though assignee Aaron Harrison scored 34 points, the Swarm weren’t able to close out the game down the stretch. Greensboro looked the better side for most of the night but a late run from the Raptors and a clutch shot from Leslie were the deciding factors in the 905 win. Even though the Charlotte Hornets’ D-League affiliate are only 5-10 on the season, they seem to be doing a great job of developing young talent, which is what the Developmental League is all about.
