Steve Clifford appeared to be a godsend for the normally-hapless Charlotte Hornets/Bobcats, leading the team to the playoffs behind a completely revitalized, innovative defense. Following his success, as well as the addition of Lance Stephenson over the summer, expectations were understandably high coming into this season.
The Hornets haven’t lived up to those expectations – not even close. Stephenson in particular has underwhelmed, but the team as a whole has underperformed to the point where they’re just barely in the playoff picture. There are many reasons for Charlotte’s disappointing season, but one person who should not bear the brunt of the blame, as Kemba Walker tells the Charlotte Observer, is coach Clifford.
“It has nothing to do with him,” Walker said of the Hornets sitting 10th in the Eastern Conference, two spots out of the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. “He does a great job, he’s a fantastic coach. He always does his best to give us the right game plan, to try and get wins.
“I’m 100 percent behind him. I believe in him.”
Clifford was praised last year for transforming the Hornets’ defense into a top-flight unit despite the individual shortcomings of players like Al Jefferson. That transformation wasn’t a one-year wonder, as the Hornets still sport a top-seven defense, allowing just 100.4 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com. Clifford’s hallmark, then, hasn’t faded.
The problem is on the other side of the ball, where the Hornets score a paltry 98.3 points per 100 possessions, third worst in the league. It’s not a drastic dip from last year’s squad that averaged a little over a 100 offensive rating, but that it dipped at all is still troubling. Last year, they’d suffocate opponents on defense and do just enough on offense to eek out a win. If the Warriors offensive rating dipped three points, they’d still be fine, both because they’d still be scoring at a high rate and because their defense is good enough to carry them through. That’s not the case for the Hornets. Defense wins championships, fine, but it’s not going to win anything if a team can’t also put the ball in the hoop at an at least acceptable rate.
It would be easy to blame Clifford for the impotent offense, but take a look at the Hornets roster. They’re simply not built to be an offensive juggernaut. Jefferson is an elite low-post scorer, but with Walker dealing with injuries and Stephenson struggling, there really aren’t many other players they can turn to for offense.
Stephenson was supposed to be the guy they could rely on to create his own shot, but that just hasn’t happened this year. He’s yet to find a rhythm this season, either on the court or with his teammates. There were reports of the Hornets shopping Stephenson around the trade deadline, and even though they were just rumors, there was enough of them to see the fire through the smoke. This was the danger in signing Stephenson in the first place. His talent has never been in doubt, but his inability to exist in harmony with his teammates is a problem that’s dogged him throughout his career. That’s perhaps one reason why the offense has struggled so much. The Hornets relied on precise ball movement to create open shots last year. With Stephenson, a player who likes to operate freely while the ball is in his hands, the ball sticks.
Clifford could have an easy out, if he wanted it. He could blame the lost season on injuries, or on Stephenson wrecking their valuable chemistry. But he’s not the type of coach to deflect blame or hide from harsh truths. In fact, he’s said repeatedly that he was one of the biggest advocates of signing Stephenson.
“Lance is here because of me. I’m the one that wanted Lance,” Clifford said after not playing him for the second consecutive game. “It’s simply that I can’t find a group that plays well when he’s out there.”
Clifford isn’t wholly absolved of blame, obviously. Still, there’s only so much a coach can do when he has to play most of the season without an entirely healthy roster and a player that hasn’t fit in on the court or in the locker room. It’s also important to remember that he’s just a second-year head coach, and coaches grow as much, sometimes more so, than any player. If anything, that their defense is still among the league’s elite amidst all of this turmoil should assuage most fears about his validity as a head coach.