Hornets vs Pacers: Coach Clifford Postgame Media Availability | 2/4/2024

Hornets vs Pacers: Coach Clifford Postgame Media Availability | 2/4/2024

To the offense maybe a little while to get going there in the second quarter and maybe you got it to four there the start of the third you remember anything about the uh the run in Indiana had Midway to the third that kind of pulled

Them back out front I think by 24 yeah I mean we had a couple turnovers that hurt us and then uh I mean to me it’s the biggest thing is like right now we’re moving the ball you know we’re not trying to play like ISO which we’re not

Good at we’re pretty good offensively but there’s just too many possessions when that doesn’t happen spoke a lot about Brandon this year have 35-point game and just what he’s been able to do in terms of adjusting to seeing more defensive attention and uh he still every night surprising you with the way

He’s kind of rising I surprising me but I mean you know look he works hard he’s very diligent and that’s the way it works he’s got a lot of talent he works hard you’re going to get better so he’s getting better for the right reasons

Being double team now he did a good job against that passing out of it and um I think he’ll get better and better coach I know this may not be ideal because you guys are underand but is there any kind of positives of getting these young guys

Some good playing being able to kind of work those Kinks out on the qu time um I think that what you want to be careful of in a situation like this is that you where they’re going to learn the most is to play in intense games

That really matter you know so I mean let’s call it what it is so tonight you know halberton didn’t play in the fourth quarter right or played very little they’re not going to learn as much I I see I would when people say that this is

Just me over the years watching you have to be careful like it’s important that they do learn and that we have an environment where we’re playing to win which tonight they are we’re trying hard our effort is good but that’s the stuff that you’re going to pay for like you

Can’t you don’t want to be picking and choosing when the most important thing is not winning I know that for a fact just been around a a lot of different kinds of teams and when you go in the locker room and you start doing the well let’s just see how Joey does tonight

You’re sending the entirely wrong message they know who deserves to play and not play and I can’t tell you over the years um because obviously this can be a conflict between coach and management right or whatever but uh I can’t tell you you know how many times

You know whatever you draft somebody and you’re so committed to them that you’re cheering for them instead of evaluating them guys have to earn their minutes and that’s the way we’re going to do it I won’t coach here I won’t coach anywhere because you’re hurting the player so can

You learn some things yeah and guess what I learn stuff in practice every day too you can learn something every day you can watch a guy every day but yeah I’m not I’m not a proponent of that I want us to play better I want us to get

Our guys back so the games are more uh we have a better chance to play well every night and that’s when they’ll learn more not that they’re they’re not now this is good and all that but it’s it’s it’s not what Brandon Miller was getting the first 10 12 15 games of the

Year it’s a different intensity that’s just the fact of it so you know I always think I won’t even tell you who told me this but a long time ago somebody said be careful of the teams who are eliminated that put too much stock into the last 20 25 games because you can

Make a lot of mistakes on players or even the way you play because the games are different okay and uh I have been proud of the way our guys play even tonight we tried hard um but that stuff how you evaluate all of it all of it

Including what you’re doing you have to be careful with good yep I’m sorry how do you think your back Court held up tonight I was pretty injured yeah I I mean but you know they you know both both is and Nick got three fouls in

The first half you know so we got a little bit messed up there you know we used Brandon handle and initiate offense a little bit which he did a good job but it just hard because they were double teaming him um and again you know we got

Back into you know even in the fourth we had it to eight so I mean again the effort’s good we got to move the ball better you know to me like that’s the biggest thing is when we’re hitting the paint the ball’s getting to the second

Side of the floor our offense is good it’s flowing we got to learn how to trust the passive more trust each other and um you know that that’s part of this how we have to evolve without you know I mean you’re playing without one of the most creative players

In the world and Melo Terry obviously creates a lot of shots and Gordon is the other one so when you you know when you get used to playing a certain way and now we just have to you know just flick the switch a little bit and move the

Ball move our bodies a little bit more and we have more than enough offense on the floor to play well for four quarters and any update on if l will play tomorrow yeah no idea he was really sore today so I I you know I don’t know is

There a chance you guys shut him down for the rest of the year I’ll be honest and I mean this truthfully I think all I care about is I’m GNA watch the film I’m G to figure out what we you that’s not my stuff there I got to get ready for

The game it takes a long time to get ready for an NBA game so I don’t sit around and worry about that they’ll tell me who can play tomorrow we’ll have play a these guys play Plan B then you got to figure out what to run what you’re going to do defensively so

That’s that’s not in my that’s not in my area assuming you guys have the same setup tomorrow in the back what do you want to see differently obviously from maybe is or Bryce Nick I mean what well I mean no I mean I think they did well I

Mean it’s not listen you know what what you have to do is you have to play to your strengths and help your teammates play better they all try to do that so I mean I don’t you know I I don’t I don’t know you know I love when people say you

Know they step up well if they step up they’re probably like you know really you know what I mean like prolific scorers you know like we’re not looking for those guys to get 15 I thought they played fine um I think we got to move

The ball better you know I think we got to get to more loose balls you know which tonight we didn’t do um you know we screwed up some pick and roll coverages in the first quarter which we did the same thing in Oklahoma City which was a big reason why we were

Behind early you know so we’ve got to get that part down but I I mean again I haven’t watched the film but I thought those guy you know when you get three fouls in the first half that takes away your Rhythm and it hurts things thanks everyone thank you go

Ahead you’re a positive guy and just from a human level say that again so he can hear how are you not letting it wear on you well the one thing I do know is this just because I’m old enough to have done this and experience not not quite like

This but before is this it’s like anything you do and I’ve told them this in life it can’t be about you you know this is a team sport and what I have to think about more right now although you should do this as a coach all the time

Is them because you guys don’t see how disappointed a miles Bridges is a Brandon Miller is how upset Cody Miller Cody Martin when they lose you guys don’t see that but I do Mike does and you know the guys that it really hurts and some guys not as much okay and my

Job job is to make this next whatever it is I don’t even know how many games we have left but two months a positive where we are getting something out of it where that messaging what I talked about today about playing to win that’s a big

Deal in my opinion a big deal because you know there’s a difference between uh you know losing a lot of games and being a losing player and it and it’s all about stuff like that the easiest thing is you say oh let’s play the young guys and then there are no

Expectations who’s going to get anything out of that you know we can all work less our staff won’t do that none the performers people want the strength and that part is absolutely critical but I do think that you know you have to have a perspective and objectives and goals

Of what you can do for the rest of the year and what we can do is play hard which we did tonight and we can get better on offense and better on defense and have goals for them individually to get better and that is not what you want

As a coach but it’s where we’re at and that’s you know sometimes you have to adjust you know in midseason and that’s what we’re doing

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