2023-11-15 03:50:12
Motivational speeches weren’t necessary for Steve Clifford.
In the hours leading up to Tuesday night’s in-season tournament game against Miami, given the Charlotte Hornets’ current injury situation, it was relatively easy for Clifford to get everyone in a game day mentality during their morning shootaround.
“I didn’t have to say much,” the head coach said. “They looked around and said, ’Oh, s – – – there’s only 10 of us.’ You know what I mean? ‘He hasn’t played me yet, but I think I’m going to get in there.’ So, yeah, I didn’t have to say much.”
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Brandon Miller and Gordon Hayward joined the Hornets’ list of walking wounded and sat out against the Heat. So, with Charlotte already minus Terry Rozier (left groin strain), Cody Martin (left knee soreness), the suspended Miles Bridges — who’s eligible to return against Milwaukee on Friday — and Frank Ntilikina (fractured left tibia), the Hornets are down six key rotation players.
It’s not the most ideal of scenarios.
“I love the way you word it, Rod, — you’ve got six of your top nine out and no it’s not ideal,” Clifford said. “I would totally agree with you. No, it’s hard, It’s a good opportunity for the younger guys and I will say this and I believe this: we can win (against Miami). When you have this many guys out, this is not the team you want to play frankly because they are going to be prepared and they are going to play their way no matter who they play.”
Still, there’s no denying the Hornets’ are severely undermanned — again.
“Injuries are the biggest part of this,” Clifford said. “When there’s only five guys on the floor, whoever has the best player on the floor has the decided advantage. That’s it. That’s the way basketball works. Well, if you lose three of your best five guys, it makes it hard.”
Here’s what else Clifford had to say about the Hornets’ current state:
On the health of Brandon Miller and Gordon Hayward
Just over 24 hours prior to tipoff, Brandon Miller and Gordon Hayward were both listed as probable. But following Tuesday’s morning shootaround, they were downgraded to questionable before being declared out with more than 90 minutes left until the game began.
Miller sprained his ankle in the first quarter of Sunday’s loss in New York and Hayward’s issue apparently had been lingering for a while. But Clifford didn’t sound overly concerned about their ailments.
“We don’t play until Friday now after (Tuesday night), so hopefully (they’ll be ready then),” Clifford said. “Brandon did some light, light shooting this morning. You could tell he wasn’t able to go through walk-through. The thing with Gordon, this has been going on for two or three games where he’s played his way through it and then it got a little bit worse in New York.
“His is a hamstring, so that could be four to six weeks, so you can’t mess with that. We need him. We need them both. They’re pretty good defenders and so hopefully we’ll have them by Friday. I don’t think either one is a serious injury.”
On not using injuries as an excuse to slack on fundamentals
“You can’t absolve yourself from the fact that running back on defense has nothing to do with talent,” Clifford said. “Blocking out is physicality. You don’t have to be that talented to block out all the time. And defending without fouling just speaks to discipline. So, that stuff to me is more on me. To be honest with you, what is frustrating is that when I’ve coached, I’ve never had a team picked to go to the playoffs and we’ve always been top five in transition defense, defensive rebounding and not fouling.
“That’s how you can take a team that’s picked ninth and get to seventh. And we’ll get there. But as a coach you can’t sit back and say, ‘Gee, Terry’s out, he’s out, this guy’s out … Still they are not running back on defense, we are not blocking out. So, that, to me, is very much a coaching thing.”
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