Hornets Venom GT Hosting Heat Check Gaming For Regular Season Home Opener

By Sam Perley 

• Hornets Venom GT (2-0) vs. Heat Check Gaming (0-4)
• Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 7:45 PM EST (2 games)
• NBA 2K League Twitch and YouTube Channels
• Last time out: Heat Check Gaming won, 61-58, on Aug. 6, 2020 (won series 2-1)

3-Point Shooting, Ball Security Leads Hornets Venom GT to 2-0 Start

Charlotte made its 2021 2K League regular season debut last Thursday night against Hawks Talon GC, knocking down 25-of-43 three-point attempts and committing just eight total turnovers to help seal the nightly sweep. Four players – guard Justin “Sherm” Sherman, guard Craig “rigby” Burnett Jr., forward Kingsley “Crown” Braggs and center Pete “PeteBeBallin” Malin – all notched at least one 20-point game in the series, paving the way for a well-balanced Hornets Venom GT attack.

Heat Check Gaming Still Searching for First Victory Following THE TIPOFF Run

After going 3-1 and advancing to THE TIPOFF Tournament money round, Heat Check Gaming has come back to earth following regular season-opening sweeps by T-Wolves Gaming and Grizz Gaming. Former Lakers Gaming point guard Sten “Sav” Valge-Saar, who Miami acquired on draft night in exchange for the seventh overall pick, is averaging 17.2 points, 11.8 assists and 4.2 turnovers for a squad averaging the third-most giveaways heading into Week 2 (8.5).

Matchup to Watch: PeteBeBallin vs. Hotshot

PeteBeBallin looked strong in his regular season team debut, putting up marks of 17.5 points on a crisp 85% shooting, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steal. Not to be outdone, his Heat Check Gaming counterpart, Juan “Hotshot” Gonzalez, is averaging a double-double and currently the team’s leading scorer at 20.0 points per game on 75% shooting, 10.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals.

With much of Miami’s offense – which owns the NBA 2KL’s fifth-worst field-goal percentage after Week 1 – running through its big man, Charlotte will count on PeteBeBallin to set the defensive tone down low. Look for Hornets Venom to keep the ball out of the paint and into the hands of Sav and British-born two-guard Jamie “Gooner” Bull, who is back in the 2KL following a two-year hiatus.