NBA teams
Justin Verrier, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

Hornets try to stay the course with franchise history on the line

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Charlotte Hornets and the Golden State Warriors are the only teams to beat the Heat in Miami since the All-Star break, but a second win, in a crucial Game 5, seemed like a long shot heading into the fourth quarter. Down six points after their worst offensive quarter this postseason, the Hornets seemed on course for a third straight loss, and thus a 3-2 series hole.

That’s when the team that grinded out two wins on their home floor re-emerged in the fourth: Charlotte clamped down on defense, buried the 3-balls Miami has mostly deprived it of all postseason, executed in crunch time, hustled for rebounds and didn’t foul late (at least, officially).

The 90-88 win sent the Hornets home with a chance to close out the series and make it to the second round for the first time since Paul Silas’ first stint as head coach.

When asked what he specifically liked about his team’s most important quarter to date, Steve Clifford, who boasts an advanced degree in basketball film studies, described it as follows: “We scored 25 [points] -- it was our best offensive quarter of the game. We shot 47 [percent]. I think we made four 3s. Uh, I think we had two turnovers, both teams. And then we held them to, like, 32 [percent]. I think they were 2-for-6 from 3. Um, held them to 17 points. So really a balance of offense and defense.”

Many inquiries were made to Clifford and his players after practice Thursday about their emotional state and stakes after the biggest win since Charlotte professional basketball rebooted in 2004 and heading into the biggest home game in the history of their nascent center-city arena. But Clifford’s three-year tenure with the Bobcats/Hornets has largely been defined by his teams’ ability to execute the smaller, often-unseen details, and it won’t change now, with the spotlight shining on their small-market successes.

That, more than anything, was his message in his post-Game 2 sermon to attending media: Sometimes, the biggest “adjustment” is to do the same things better.

“I think the mental part of the game goes way up,” Clifford said about the Hornets’ closeout opportunity. “One, you’re playing against the same team over and over. And so, like Erik [Spoelstra] keeps talking about, the team that continues to study, it’s the little things you get better at from game to game that has the advantage. You can’t make mistakes. The games are magnified; you’ve got to be smart out there. And I think that’s what we have. I think we have smart guys that play hard, naturally.”

The big change that Clifford did make hasn’t exactly worked. Though reluctant to move Al Jefferson into the starting lineup after the Heat frontcourt of Hassan Whiteside and Luol Deng went off for a combined 52 points in Game 1, the coach’s hand was forced when Nicolas Batum was forced out with a left foot strain suffered at the end of Game 2. Since then, the Hornets’ new first unit -- Jefferson, Kemba Walker, Courtney Lee, Marvin Williams and Frank Kaminsky -- is minus-30.5 in 36 minutes, as first noted by NBA.com’s John Schumann, with a minus-31.7 net rating, per NBA.com/Stats.

Clifford was well aware of the opening struggles, but pointed to the bigger picture.

“Everybody talks about changing the starting lineup, and we haven’t been ahead in the first quarter in any of these games,” Clifford said. “But when you do a lineup, the other part of it is, you have to look at the full 48 minutes, and then how you can sub to try to have the best balance of offense and defense. So we’re going to stay with it for now. The bottom line is, since we’ve gone with that lineup our bench play has been terrific, and that’s why we’ve won.”

More change may be inevitable. Spencer Hawes, currently second on the team for the series in plus-minus (plus-5) after providing much-needed stretch and size in the past three games, will miss at least Game 6 with a sprained MCL in his right knee.

But the message, with or without it, remains the same.

“Personally, I’m not approaching it any differently,” Jeremy Lin said. “Obviously we understand the implications, but if I approach it any differently, then I might overanalyze or whatever. So I’m just gonna go out there and play, try to trust my instincts. Game plan-wise, we’re going to keep doing what we’ve been doing. We’re going to stick to it. The biggest thing we saw today is we want to do what we do but do it better. Maybe not change much of anything but do things better.”

^ Back to Top ^