Hornets vs Rockets: Coach Clifford Postgame Media Availability | 1/26/2024

Hornets vs Rockets: Coach Clifford Postgame Media Availability | 1/26/2024

That third quarter is where it really got away from you um to say the fouling was the uh my far biggest issue for you guys tonight yeah no I mean it’s it’s just and then you know like what I talked to the guys about is obviously in this

League you’ve got to have you know the right intensity the right concentration for 48 minutes it’s actually one of the things we’ve been good at you have to be able to play well when the game’s not going well for your team or for you and you know that’s one of the things we’ve

Been good at I mean if you look at the number of times this year that we’ve been down you know at 15 16 17 sometime in the third and come back whether we won or not we’ve been resilient that way and we weren’t tonight you know we came out in the third

Quarter and they went 122 and I believe in the first seven possessions we gave up three backd door layups which the way we play you should never like ever the whole year give up a back door layup and we gave up three and we fouled on two of them uh which you

Know were big fouls so again um we don’t have a lot of room for error and and that entails a couple of things you know we’re going to need our better guys and it’s not fair really but they’re going to have to play really well every night

For us to win but we all have to do the team things which we sto doing first half listen you got to give it to those guys we played great in the first half to have it at that at that score without without Brandon and Melo being able to

Play much those guys did a great job but we flipped the script there when we started the third we became just opposite of what we had done in the first half coach Meo and Brandon up their fourth pretty early in that third quarter did you just talk about how that

Impact the game as well yeah but I mean but we had the wrong at you’re right but we had the wrong attitude though you know like again smart and hard is what win is in in the NBA you know playing well possession after possession not making mistakes okay and again we came right

Out and uh and then I thought when it got to 12 which we’ve been good at we just got all halfhazard offensively just quick shots threes and you know we can’t play that way you the ball’s got to get to the second side we got to hit the

Paint those are our better possessions um and we have to be able to stay with that whether we’re up or down men some of the uh I just guys here a little bit the slack Caron I’m guessing miles is one of those guys just what do you see from him how much miles

Is I mean miles is like 20.6 a night um he’s super consistent he plays every night he plays huge minutes he guards primary scorers I mean I’m not sure we can expect him to do a lot more than he’s doing I think really what we need

From him is what he’s been doing there’s not many guys that could be doing what he’s doing right now as a as has an allaround game plus he plays every possession his energy level and just natural competitive spirit is through the roof I mean I don’t you know I don’t

Think you can take you know like you have to be realistic too I mean we look we need those guys those four guys are going to have to play pretty well every night and then we have other guys who are capable of having you know enough so

That we can win but we have to play you know smart and well with the right intensity and the right concentration coach was the first night back to back play jazz tomorrow what are you looking for or what do you want to make fix going to well I I just think our mindset

You know like you know one other game this year that I talked to them during the game about body language you know which in the NBA season to be honest with even you have really good teams that’s a pretty I wouldn’t say normal but it’s a discussion that’s had even with veteran

Teams at time right you play 82 games it’s hard for 82 games right right and tonight was one of the first times in the third quarter like we didn’t want it you know it was the ref’s fault it was my teammates fault it was and we haven’t

Been like that at all nor can we afford to so you know what we have to do we’ve had good spirit all year good togetherness good to resiliency that’s who our team this team has been and we need to get that that’s where it’ll start you got to have the right attitude

Um cuz we’re not going to win any games when we’re not near our best okay so whether that’s fair or not doesn’t matter that’s where we’re at okay and we’ve proven listen we’ve beaten a lot of good teams you know and I’ve also that’s not what the NBA somebody asked me today

Well how can you lose win at Minnesota and lose at Detroit that question you don’t know anything about the NBA that’s the whole challenge of the NBA is can you win some place Monday Wednesday There’s no bad teams this isn’t you know uh at Duke Wednesday and then some team

You’re paying 150,000 to beat by 30 Friday it doesn’t work that way no I’m just saying that’s the reality of the NBA for our team we’re going to have to be able to play really well any night to win any game and yet we’ll be good

Enough to beat any team if we play well but we’ve got to have the right attitude the right intensity the right concentration that’s where it always starts coach curious after game like tonight no one you play tomorrow like P up locker room how ready are they well

Listen I’ll just say this you know my first year on the bench in the NBA I was with a veteran team working for Jeffy and Gundy and we had you know good like uh you know spre well Houston Mark Jackson cambi B and I remember back

Then we used to play five and seven and it was five- seven and we lost the game on the first night and they asked Jeff that after and Jeff said you either have the right people on your team or you don’t listen again you know this there motivational speeches are not what this

League is all about okay it’s about practicing the right way trying to impact your team as a coach I’m talking about where they understand the importance of playing hard of building habits in practice or shoot arounds so that you do the right thing but the one

Thing I feel comfortable with is I do think we have the right people the right type of people you know one of the things I don’t like is because you know I’ve been asked this a couple times about effort look when you’re undermanned sometimes it looks like

They’re not playing hard that’s not what has happened very often even tonight that wasn’t effort that was uh young frustration you know whatever D D D again not the right intensity we’ve played not just okay hard really hard all year and um that part I’m not as

Worried about what we have to do it’s the same thing right everybody wants to talk about all these things right you have to play well when you’re open you have to make the shot when it’s one-on-one you got to be able to guard your guy when there’s a coverage you

Have to be able to execute it that’s this league you know and that does take a lot of work it takes a lot of mental effort and it’s harder for young players and we have to get to that good

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