Lack of Intensity, Effort vs. Kings Angers Steve Clifford

It doesn't matter how many of your key contributors are out of the lineup and it doesn't matter that you're playing at home against a team you just beat a little over a week ago. There's absolutely zero excuse for getting beat the way the Charlotte Hornets did on Wednesday night by Sacramento.

The Hornets were out-rebounded 53-36 and outscored in the paint 62-28. That's unacceptable, especially for a team that had a 8-26 record entering the game. You can't take nights off in the NBA and the Hornets are one of a handful of teams in the association that have no business playing with a lack of intensity. It's full on panic mode for them right now, at least it should be. And if you want any shot at making the postseason, and it's a long one, it has to get turned now. 

Head coach Steve Clifford opted to go on one of his five minute-or-so rants in the postgame press conference, essentially answering every reporter's question as to what just happened. It's safe to say, he was none too pleased.

“It takes a good deal of intensity and concentration to play well, no matter how talented you are. They’re all super talented – some of the great ones, obviously, have incredible talent. (De’Aaron) Fox, (Domantas) Sabonis to a certain degree, and then you have other guys but they’re all talented in their own way. Nobody, nobody that I’ve ever been around, nobody can play good if you don’t have the right intensity.

"Tonight, we did not have that. We had a couple guys that did – Terry (Rozier) was good, Miles (Bridges) was pretty good, Brandon (Miller) had stretches where he played better, but for the most part, hopefully this is a lesson learned for our younger guys. Almost to a man, not close to what we were a week ago. Not close. They’re physical. Last week in Sacramento when we were on a back-to-back, we took the game to them on the glass. We rebounded well, we were physical. They still got second chance points, but not like tonight. 

"Tonight, they were on a back-to-back, and right from the get-go, they had more energy than we did, they had more juice than we did. It’s the biggest part of it, outside obviously, the number one reason you win in any team sport is talent, and then the second is readiness. Without readiness, not only do you not execute, you don’t shoot well. …This is one of the first times, we just didn’t put enough into the game. We don’t have that kind of roster, especially right now, and we have to find a way to get back to the other night. You watch the other night … tonight, regardless of who the opponent is, and they’re very good, we weren’t going to win because we had the wrong intensity, wrong concentration, and there’s no way we’re winning like that.” 

One of the few guys that did play with a great deal of intensity, Miles Bridges, echoed a similar sentiment and talked about how he learned from games like these earlier in his career.

“They were getting whatever they wanted. I feel like that was hurting our confidence. Once our offense went down, that’s when all of our energy went down. We’ve just got to play better and come out better with our intensity.

“I was blessed to be able to be with great vets – Marvin Williams, Kemba Walker, Jeremy Lamb, those guys. The main thing I learned from them was just moving to the next game, learning from it, going and watching film. At the end of the day, it’s how we play. If we learn from it and we play better, play with more intensity like we did in those two Bulls games, I feel like we’ll be good.”

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