Month April 2016

Playoff Preview: Hornets vs Heat

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By Trace Walker

Sunday afternoon the Hornets will tip off their playoff series with the Miami Heat. Charlotte is currently 0-8 in the playoffs since their expansion into the NBA in 2004. Four of those eight losses came at the hands of the Heat during their sweep of the then Bobcats in 2014.


A lot has changed since that series; a new name, court, roster and atmosphere. The modern Hornets are trying to continue the winning ways of the 90s’ Hornets; from 1992-2002, they made the playoffs seven times.

(NBA.com)

The Heat, Hawks, Celtics, and Hornets all finished with the same record of 48-34, but due to tiebreakers, Charlotte fell to the six seed. The season series is also a draw, as each team went 2-2 against the other. In their last meeting on March 17th, Charlotte picked up an impressive win in Miami. The Heat fell 109-106 in one of the best games played by the Hornets this season.

One of the biggest keys to winning this series is controlling the paint. With Miami’s big man, Hassan Whiteside, roaming the low block; it will be crucial to find the right match ups. The center averages a double-double whilst adding 3.7 blocks per game, a league high.

(http://goo.gl/IECW3f)

The job of guarding Whiteside will mainly belong to Cody Zeller and Al Jefferson. Although Jefferson is not known for his defensive prowess, he makes up for it in his scoring ability. The last time the Hornets met the Heat in the playoffs, one of the reasons for the sweep was Jefferson’s foot injury that he suffered in game one. After dealing with injuries again this year and missing the middle of the season, Big Al is finding his groove again; he finished with 26 in the last game of the season against the Magic. If the Hornets want to win this series, limiting the Heat’s second chance points and boxing out are crucial.

Although the Hornets don’t have any All-Star names like Dwayne Wade, they do have a roster full of players that can effectively contribute to the offense. Charlotte has players off the bench that could be difference makers; one of those players is Troy Daniels, who has seen increased play as of lately. The guard hadn’t scored in double digits since January 25th when he hit eight three pointers, including the game winner against the Kings. Daniels chose the right time of the season to heat up though; he’s scored double digits in three of the teams last four games. In those games, Troy has been especially hot from three, shooting a scorching 52%.

                                                             (http://goo.gl/EFVBU4)

Also important off the bench is the play of Frank Kaminsky. The rookie seven footer should adapt to the playoff atmosphere smoothly after making a run to the National Championship game in last years NCAA tournament.  Frank’s defense will be tested going against Miami big men such as Amar’e Stoudemire. He has struggled against the Heat so far this year, but his length and shooting ability should help to stretch the floor.


(http://goo.gl/zVeQry)


Overall, if the Hornets just play the brand of basketball that they’ve played all year, Charlotte will pick up their first playoff win and have a good chance to win the series. I think the biggest key for the team is to just execute their game plan. Kemba Walker has made extreme growth as a player since his last playoff appearance and is ready to play a bigger role as a leader; in Walker’s blog he recognizes his growth saying

 “I know that it helps that I’ve been here and had that first playoff experience though. That helped me a lot. I’m older and more mature now. A couple of years in the NBA counts for a lot. I can manipulate defenses better, so I’m ready for it. This was the goal at the beginning of the season and we accomplished it. We’re here and it’s been exciting. I lot of people didn’t think we’d make it to the playoffs this year – but we did. It started early in the season because we knew we could be a really special team. We’re here in the playoffs now and looking to make some noise. Everybody’s happy. Everybody is excited. We were all ready to get on this plane and head to Miami to play Game 1. It’s cool to get the chance to be on national TV as well, because we didn’t have that chance this season. It’s a new experience for us and we’re really looking forward to it”

The full post can be found here:

Charlotte and Miami may have finished the season with identical records, but the better team will soon be determined. No matter what happens, the Hornets had a tremendous season and have great building blocks for the future.

Get hyped for the playoffs by watching this preview video

Join Bring Back The Buzz for the watch party on Sunday at 5:30 at Ales University

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What’s The Buzz? : The Home Stretch

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By Trace Walker (  )

“We just grind”

That’s what Kemba Walker had to say following the Hornet’s win over Philadelphia on April Fools’ Day.

That quote summarizes more than just the 76ers game, but the entire season. There have  been times this season where it has seemed as if the Hornets were completely out of a game, only to make a late push and come back. The team seems to always be in that mindset of “we can win this game,” which has led to the best season Charlotte has seen since rejoining the league.

Although the Hornets have had a great regular season, the team is still looking for one thing; a playoff win. In their eleven seasons, Charlotte has only made it into the playoffs twice. In the franchises’ playoff debut in the 2010 playoffs, the Bobcats were swept by Dwight Howard’s Orlando Magic. In their second playoff appearance in 2014, the team was swept yet again, this time by Miami’s big three of Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh.lebron-james-kemba-walker-nba-playoffs-charlotte-bobcats-miami-heat.jpg

(http://goo.gl/fO7S9Z)

So what makes this year different and how will the Hornets be able to celebrate their first playoff victory?

The first thing you need to know is that the Hornets are hot. In March, the team recorded an impressive record of 13-3. Thirteen wins, a team record for W’s in a month, led to Steve Clifford winning Eastern Conference coach of the month. The highlight of the winning streak was March 21’s win over the Spurs. The Hornets came back from 23 to beat San Antonio 91-88. The comeback was the worst largest lead surrendered by the Spurs in the Tim Duncan era.

Next, Charlotte has completely revamped their offense, which led them to 109.2 PPG in March, second in the East. This graphic which was featured in a fantastic SB Nation article, shows the substantial improvements Charlotte’s offense has made this year. The full article can be found here: http://www.sbnation.com/2016/3/29/11320144/charlotte-hornets-breakdown-analysis-offense-three-pointers-steve-clifford.charlotte_hornets_has_changed-1.0.0

Charlotte has clearly made great strides in their ability to shoot from last year. Marvin Williams has been one of the biggest contributors to the increase in 3’s as he is having a career year shooting the ball. William’s fantastic year puts him in elite company in Hornets history as him and Jamal Washburn are the only to record 100 threes and 500 rebounds in a season. Screen Shot 2016-04-03 at 11.58.21 PM.png

Another reason for the Hornet’s success is that the team doesn’t have to rely on one player for production. Kemba Walker is the highest scorer for Charlotte at 21 PPG, but there are multiple players on the roster that can step up at any time to lead the team to a win. This was shown in the Spurs game where Kemba struggled shooting a mere 2-11. Jeremy Lin stepped up in his place dropping 29 points on the second best team in the NBA.
One of the biggest downfalls of the 2013-2014 Bobcats whom fell to the Heat was that they mainly depended on Al Jefferson for offensive production. When Big Al was hurt with a foot injury during the playoff series, the team struggled to find ways to put up points. During the 13′ season, only five Bobcats averaged over 9 points a game; Al Jefferson, Kemba Walker, Gerald Henderson, Gary Neal, and Ramon Sessions.
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This year though, the scoring is more evenly spread amongst the team. Five players are averaging over 10 PPG; those of which are Kemba Walker, Nic Batum, Jeremy Lin, Al Jefferson, and Marvin Williams. It’s also important to note the production of Courtney Lee, Cody Zeller, and Jeremy Lamb whom all average nine points a game.
The Hornets also have for the first time ever, a true home court advantage. When Charlotte scores over 100 points at home, chances are they’re taking home the W, as their record in these games is 22-1. The Buzz is growing around the team, during the year of their last playoff appearance, the average attendance at games was 15,234. That number has greatly grown compared to this years average of 17,466 attendees, a difference of 2,000 more fans at each home game.

What’s Next?

Now that the Hornet’s have secured a playoff spot,

The team will look to finish strong in their last few games. What playoff spot Charlotte will finish with is still a great mystery due to how close the East is. At one point they had worked their way up to third, but a loss to the first place Cavaliers dropped them all the way to sixth. Right now it looks like the Hornets will most likely have to play either the Heat, Pacers, Celtics, or Hawks.

Fortunately for Charlotte, there are some great opportunities to pick up some wins before the end of the season. After a tough game in Toronto on the fifth, the Hornets will face the Knicks, Nets, Wizards, and Magic. All teams that Charlotte has found success against this year. The toughest remaining game is April 11’s matchup against the Celtics in TD Gardens.

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(hornets.com)

Also, Happy Birthday to Frank Kaminsky, the Hornet’s big man turned 23 Monday.