Think Hornets are playing to lose the rest of the way? Steve Clifford has a message for you
Some of the recent evidence externally might have suggested otherwise, accelerated by the pair of roster shuffling moves executed by the general manager.
When the Charlotte Hornets shipped off Mason Plumlee and Jalen McDaniels hours before the trade deadline on Thursday, it signaled a decisive shift in the organization’s thinking for the remainder of the season. But the purpose, if you ask coach Steve Clifford, remains the same.
Sure, the Hornets may be somewhat focused on the future, which is partially why they haven’t required Reggie Jackson to report after being acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers as part of the package for Plumlee and are working on a buyout with the veteran point guard. And the performances in their two games prior to Saturday night’s 119-105 loss to Denver at Spectrum Center didn’t exactly offer the best proof they’re continuously focused enough to hang with the NBA’s elite.
Or middle class. Or even cellar-dwellers for that matter.
These Hornets (15-43) in a precarious position, and it leads you to wonder if the Hornets are stuck in between trying to win while also ensuring their young players gain precious experience.
“It’s a good question and I totally understand what you’re saying,” Clifford said. “To me, I think you can develop and try to win. … You can do both to me. I think this is really important: I think it’s a big mistake when you just say, ‘We don’t care who wins the game.’ A big mistake. Big mistake. Because that’s how you learn.”
There’s been plenty of things for the Hornets to better master lately, enough occurrences of teaching moments to fill an entire chalkboard. The dry eraser is surely getting a workout and probably needs to be replaced.
Almost nothing has gone right for them and they’re still stumbling. In extending their losing streak to seven games, the Hornets unraveled in the second half against the Nuggets (39-18) and once more couldn’t keep pace with an upper-echelon team for the second straight night.
“This has been tough stuff for the players,” Clifford said. “They’re deeply disappointed. That’s how you learn sometimes, too. Because it’s part of it. I think when teams just say, ‘We are going to try to lose,’ it can take a lot of things to change (it). You can’t just snap your fingers after you try to lose for two years and say, ‘OK, now you’re older, now let’s win.’ Winning in this league is hard, and a lot goes into a game that you have to win. So, we don’t have to do that (balance).”
In other words, the desire is still there and that mindset hasn’t been altered even with the Hornets’ youth movement about to be in full force.
“At the end of the day, that’s always our mentality to come out and win no matter who is playing for us,” PJ Washington said. “Obviously, a lot of young guys are playing, but it is what it is. We’ve got to come out there and be aggressive no matter who’s on the court.
“I’ve just got to come in and be vocal. (The younger players have) been doing good, listening, and just trying to learn each and every day. So, I’m proud of them. They’ve been doing a great job and they’ve just got to keep doing it.”
Maybe those chats with Washington can aid in solving the season-long problems that have plagued the Hornets. Failures to finish off possessions – offensively and defensively – along with frequent lapses while guarding have been constants.
It makes uplifting the players while also critiquing their errors vital for Clifford. The last thing the coach wants to do is lose players by riding them too hard, and he gave them some positive reinforcement in a brief film session hours before Saturday’s game.
He showed individual clips of unflattering defensive closeouts in Friday night’s loss in Boston, and then dialed up about five other pieces of footage displaying those same players getting to the open man much quicker in other outings.
It’s part of Clifford’s transparency. For him, being informative isn’t optional. Clifford considers it imperative for the team’s overall success, which he insists he’s not about to compromise just for the sake of trotting out a youthful roster over these next two months.
“We’re going to try to win these games,” Clifford said. “No matter who plays, we’re going to try to win and we’re going to put a lot into it. And it’s not going to be OK if we don’t do the right things.”
These remaining 24 games are also key in the development of the Hornets’ All-Star point guard. LaMelo Ball barely missed out on a triple-double, falling one measly rebound shy yet again while posting 18 points along with 12 assists and nine rebounds against Denver. He tied a career-best with nine assists in the first half.
Continuing to build winning habits now will benefit Ball and the Hornets in the long run.
“Absolutely, and I think he has a great attitude about it,” Clifford said. “His defense has gotten a lot better and I think that there are things offensively that we need to do better structurally that will help him more, that we are going to try to implement in this short stretch and then hit hard when we get back from the All-Star break. But obviously he’s the focal point of it.”
