Charlotte Hornets

Buzz City Beat: Kemba is an Elite PG, How Much You Can Trust the Charlotte Hornets

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 12:51 p.m. ET

Fansided, Jerry Stephens/FanSided via Swarm and Sting

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. The team is looking to get back in the win column against their divisional rivals in the Orlando Magic. In this edition, we look at Kemba Walker joining the elite point guards, how much you can trust the Hornets this season, and Elfrid Payton praises his Charlotte counterpart.

With Hard Work, Walker Joins Elite NBA PG’s

“What Kemba did last summer is what he has done every summer since he has been here and probably had done every one his whole life,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “He has gotten better. “He uses the offseason wisely. He picks two or three things to work on. He is a very serious-minded player. He has gotten better every year in the league. That’s what the best players do. Range-shooting, his pick-and-roll game and now he has put himself in a place where he is viewed as one of the top point guards in the league.” (Courant.com)

Kemba’s development has been nothing short of remarkable as his growth with his three-point shot and pick-and-roll ability has made him one of the best guards in the NBA. Walker continues to take his game to new levels each season and he will likely (should) reach the all-star mark this year. His story is one of hard work and dedication to getting better. While he has natural talents and abilities, the Hornets’ point guard has also worked tirelessly at perfecting his craft.

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How Much You Can Trust the Hornets

“The Hornets are a trickier case. Nicolas Batum and Marvin Williams both have struggled after signing big contracts, and Kemba Walker can do only so much. This is a team that regularly relies on Marco Belinelli for offense and plays Roy Hibbert double-digit minutes. The combination of Steve Clifford’s defense and Kemba’s stubborn offense is enough to make them competitive with anyone, but they can be beaten by anyone just the same. I trust them to find a way to make the playoffs. Beyond that, all bets are off.” (SI.com)

Andrew Sharp of Sports Illustrated believes that you can “probably trust” the Hornets this season. That seems like a fair assessment after the team’s up and down start to the year so far. The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors are the only Eastern Conference teams that people can definitely trust but being just a half-step below that, Charlotte is in a good spot.

Magic’s Elfrid Payton Praises Kemba

“Payton said Walker is one of the toughest opposing point guards for him to cover. “I like playing against Kemba,” Payton said. “He poses so many threats. He can get to the rim. He’s got that mid-range [game]. He can knock down a 3 now. His energy — they feed off him. So it’s always a challenge going against him, but it’s fun.” (OrlandoSentinel.com)

This praise for Walker from Payton is nothing new as just last season, Elfrid said that Kemba was the hardest player in the NBA to guard. Not many players in the league are complimentary of their opponents but the Magic point guard seems to have immense respect for his Charlotte Hornets’ counterpart. These comments make sense since in five career games against each other Kemba is averaging 25.2 PPG, 7.8 APG, and 4.4 RPG with a 3-2 record.