What Steve Clifford Said Following the Loss to Brooklyn

Charlotte Hornets head coach Steve Clifford met with the media following Saturday's loss to the Nets.

On the difference in the game

“I think the end of the third quarter was a big part of it. We broke the lineup, and I’m going to have to figure out how to do that. A lot of it is just how you sub, the playing groups. We ended with a tough lineup in there at the end of the third, and they took advantage of it.”

On the team’s defense

“We could’ve double-teamed more. The biggest thing with them, you’ve got to try to put as much pressure as you can or cause as much indecision with Kevin (Durant) and Kyrie (Irving) without running all over the place. We had some good possessions. It was more, they’re going to score. They’re great offensively. Right now they’re the best team in the NBA. They’re playing better than anybody else. They’re playing well at both ends of the floor. The one thing we have to do – not that it’s terrible, we’re getting better – no matter if the ball is going in or not, like tonight, we had stretches where we really got good shots and they didn’t go down. We’ve got to make sure we don’t get frustrated with that. We stay with what we’re doing, how we’re playing and we continue to execute.”

On the team’s shooting struggles

“I just think you’ve got to understand that some nights it’s going to happen. Look, part of it is we have some really good offensive players who aren’t shooting the ball well right now. They’ll turn it around. We’re getting good shots. With ‘Melo (Ball) and Gordon (Hayward) back, it’s much different than it was before. We’re now consistently creating good shots. I think that’ll help guys get back into rhythm and when we do that, that will help. No matter what, you’ve got to play every possession. You can’t give possessions away in the NBA.” 

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