Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford to team, fans: Raise the bar

Coach Steve Clifford sent an interesting message to the Charlotte Hornets fan base Wednesday night.

To sum up Clifford’s comments, he essentially said, "Stop letting us off easy. Expect more from this team than just trying hard in a loss."

Clifford’s strong words came following a 113-103 home loss to the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors. Clifford buys that his team played hard, certainly harder than they did in the first half of Monday’s home loss to the Washington Wizards.

He also knows that the sloppiness his team demonstrated in committing 15 turnovers Wednesday doomed the Hornets’ chances of upsetting the Warriors. Golden State converted those 15 turnovers into a remarkable 21 points.

Among those points, a breakaway dunk by Draymond Green that essentially ended the Hornets’ chances in the final two minutes.

Clifford was asked a question that implied there were positives about how the Hornets performed. Clifford wanted none of that.

"I love this city, but that is also one of the problems," Clifford said of Charlotte’s forgiving nature.

"It’s not OK. We have to get past the point (where trying hard is enough). We’re good now. We’re not the Hornets of five years ago.

"I love our fans, (but) everybody saying, ‘Great effort!’ that’s not OK. If we run back on defense and don’t turn the ball over, that’s a great win.

"My point, and I think this is an important point, is we have to get past the point where there is such low expectations here that trying hard is a moral victory."

Clifford sounded agitated. Not to the point of anger, but annoyed, and I can see why.

There have been times this season when the Hornets have looked complacent. And soft, too. This is a smart team and a skilled team, but not necessarily a fiery group with a great killer instinct. That’s why they are 23-23 and pointed toward another likely first-round playoff loss.

That team they played Wednesday is 39-7 for good reason. The Warriors are the most talented team in the NBA, but they are also ravenous, relentless defenders. They exploit your weaknesses at both ends of the floor.

Clifford absolutely hates giving up transition baskets. Wednesday, the Warriors scored 28 fast-break points to the Hornets’ four.

There is an axiom in basketball that a turnover is the first step to the opposing team’s layup. Wednesday was text-book illustration of that truth.

I took Clifford’s comments as saying the players have to hold themselves more accountable, and a kind-hearted fan base used to losing has become an unintended enabler.

"This isn’t the old Hornets. We are past the 21- and 7-win seasons," Clifford reminded.

True, but those down years have been replaced by first-round playoff failure. There’s still much work ahead.

This story was originally published January 25, 2017 at 11:49 PM with the headline "Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford to team, fans: Raise the bar."