Clifford: Too soon to tell if the Charlotte Hornets are all that

Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford is pleased by his team’s 5-1 start, but he doesn’t see six games as a large enough sample to act as if this group has arrived.

"So much of it is dictated by schedule and travel," Clifford said of six games in an 82-game schedule.

"We’re going to play 18 (games) in 32 (days). Then we’ll know."

Clifford said he likes what he sees, but plenty can and will change. Part of the issue is injuries to Cody Zeller, Roy Hibbert and Jeremy Lamb have kept the group from settling into a minutes rotation.

"It’s hard for me to have any definitive idea of who we’re going to be because we haven’t had our team yet," Clifford said. "Cody was gone the whole (preseason). I’m really glad to be 5-1. But it’s still mix-and-match. Jeremy Lamb is out, and I think he will be a big part of things."

This story was originally published November 8, 2016 at 10:17 PM with the headline "Clifford: Too soon to tell if the Charlotte Hornets are all that."