Charlotte Hornets

Buzz City Beat: Clifford Calls Out the Charlotte Hornets and Making Sense of Frank

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 1:07 a.m. ET

Fansided, Jerry Stephens/FanSided via Swarm and Sting

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Buzz City Stings is your daily destination for the latest and best news from around the internet about the Charlotte Hornets. The team played uncharacteristically in their loss to the Washington Wizards and Steve Clifford had some choice words for his side after their third straight loss. In this edition, we make sense of Frank Kaminsky and look at players who have underperformed after a contract year like Marvin Williams.

Steve Clifford Tells Team to Toughen Up

“Clifford used the word “physicality” in just about every sentence of a severe critique of his team’s play. The summation: “I’m sick of looking at it,” Clifford said. “The game came down to physical play. If guys aren’t willing to be more physical, we’ll be an up-and-down team, we’ll struggle to make the playoffs,” Clifford said. “If we want to play with the physicality we choose to at times, we have a chance to be a good team.” (CharlotteObserver.com)

After three consecutive losses on the road, head coach Steve Clifford seems pretty fed up with the Hornets’ recent performances. Rightfully so, as they are playing uncharacteristically and keep finding new ways to beat themselves. Whether it be with turnovers, poor shooting, or allowing offensive rebounds, Charlotte need to find their rhythm and return to form before this losing streak begins to linger because coach Clifford is right about this poor play (lack of physicality) hurting them in the long run.

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Making Sense of Frank Kaminsky

“Therefore, the third big man spot behind Cody Zeller and Marvin Williams is actually a good place for him. When the match-up’s right and there is a good hiding spot on defense or a need for his offensive play, coach Clifford can up his minutes or close out games with him (as he has done). Despite the shabby results, playing Kaminsky at the five definitely should be explored in fourth quarters or against teams that don’t offer much of penetration. His ability to shoot and put the ball on the floor is a premium for a center. In a similar vein, Clifford can rely more on his starters in games where the new age fours could cause Kaminsky problems.” (BballBreakdown.com)

This breakdown of Frank Kaminsky gives an optimistic outlook on the future of the second-year big man and that is the right approach even though he is struggling a bit at the moment. The former Wisconsin Badger is going through a sophomore slump but he has also developed his game in some ways that this article highlights. Making sense of Kaminsky is difficult because of where he was drafted and how the situation in which he was but Frank is proving, at the very least, to be a decent bench scoring stretch four at the NBA level.

The Marvin Williams’ All-Stars

“I feel bad about this. After a decade in the league as a nondescript, fringe NBA starter haunted by his high draft position, it was, in retrospect, too much to expect that Williams’s inner light bulb had finally turned on. He had done this before, after all. In his previous contract year, 2008–09, Williams averaged 14.5 points per-36 minutes on 56.9 percent true shooting. Both were career highs at the time. But the fall-off wasn’t anything like this. Williams is posting the steepest regression in effective field goal percentage in the league this season.” (TheRinger.com)

As the year goes on, the whispers are starting to get louder about the poor play of Marvin Williams. After a great season in his contract year last campaign, the Charlotte Hornets’ starting power forward seems to be regressing. He missed a few games due to a knee injury but when healthy, he hasn’t been great. For the team’s sake, hopefully, he can turn things around and prove to be worth his four-year, $54.5 million deal.