What Steve Clifford said after Charlotte Hornets’ latest injury in loss to Miami Heat
Injuries and the Charlotte Hornets seem to go hand-in-hand, and now there’s yet another name to add to the team’s ever-growing list of walking wounded.
On a night they were already without starters LaMelo Ball and Mark Williams, reserve PJ Washington got hurt and missed the bulk of the Hornets’ 115-104 loss to the Miami Heat at the Kaseya Center. The Hornets had less manpower than usual in dropping their second game to their Southeast Division foes in three days.
And that’s saying something for a team that hasn’t been fully healthy yet all season.
“Our guys fought hard,” coach Steve Clifford said. “Look, we are super short-handed here, so I was proud of them for the way they played.”
As for Washington, it wasn’t immediately clear when or how he injured himself and there’s little certainty about his status leading into this weekend’s back-to-back games against New Orleans and Philadelphia, beginning on Friday night at Spectrum Center.
“No, idea,” Clifford said. “I’ll talk to him after.”
Here’s what else Clifford had to say about the Hornets’ loss in Miami:
On what went wrong
“Live ball turnovers, which they’re good at,” Clifford said. “They play smaller, they’re quick. They get the ball up the floor quickly and they got some easy baskets.”
“They do a good job of creating turnovers. We had 21. So they scored 32 points off our 21 turnovers. We had some problems there at the end with some rolls. But I thought for the most part our halfcourt defense was solid.”
On trying to hang in there despite all the injuries
“We’ve got to find out who’s available,” Clifford said. “Hopefully, these guys aren’t out much longer and (we) string good days together.”
On Brandon Miller
“I think he learns from every game,” Clifford said. “I think that’s just his makeup. Such a good competitor. So, I think he’s already becoming more seasonal. I think he has a better idea of what it takes to play well in the league. I think he’s got a better feel for playing three or four games a week versus one or two, which is a big deal. He’s guarded primary scorers and obviously he’s a big part of our offense.”
On what’s noticeable when Miller gets in foul trouble
“He reaches a lot, which he knows,” Clifford said. “It’s just he’s got to be more cognizant of just the Jimmy Butler drive. If your hand is up there, he’s coming up through. That’s one of the things about playing in the league, is guys are older, they have tricks. Jimmy Butler would be at the top of that list. So, when you make a mistake, he’s going to take advantage of it.”
