The Charlotte Hornets are currently in a bad spot. The team has lost its two first games against the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs in blow-out fashion. While they get to go back home to Charlotte, there is no telling whether they can muster up enough to get back into the series from down 2-0, especially with forward Nicolas Batum’s status in the air.
Hornets’ head coach Steve Clifford was asked after the game two loss what adjustments the team needs to make and he gave a very candid answer, via John Schuhmann.
Steve Clifford 4 2+ min. on why adjustments don't necessarily need to be made after allowing 238 points in 2 games: pic.twitter.com/1l9kAH9BtS
— John Schuhmann (@johnschuhmann) April 21, 2016
Although Clifford (very politely) blasts the media for not understanding what actually needs to be changed, he does have a point. The Heat have shot the ball at an insane and incendiary rate. While the Hornets could do better, especially with their man-on-man coverages as Clifford states, it’s difficult to say they have played poorly in their two losses.
Should there be changes made? Yes, but the changes do not have to be some philosophical straying away from the norm in a panic move. The Hornets must be more disciplined on both ends of the floor and hope that they can start hitting shots while the Heat simultaneously stop missing shots.
Clifford has done a phenomenal job coaching the Hornets this entire regular season to get them the fifth seed when most did not even see them in the playoffs before the season began. He knows more about his team than anyone else and while sitting on the outside it’s easy to say he should be making major changes, sometimes it’s a much better strategy to fine tune then sit back and see what happens.
The Hornets have an uphill road to climb to have a fighter’s chance at winning the series, but Clifford’s mentality might give them the best opportunity.
The series continues on Saturday at 5:30 PM EST on TNT.
