Clifford Unhappy with Hornets' Effort in Latest Loss

Not a good night in Atlanta for the guys in teal.

If you didn't catch the game last night, you can get a pretty good feel for how things went for the Charlotte Hornets in Atlanta on Sunday by a quick glance at the box score and one simple quote from head coach Steve Clifford.

"It really happened in the first quarter when we broke the lineup. As soon as we started subbing our intensity went downhill and we never really got it back," Clifford said in his postgame interview with Ashley ShahAhmadi of Bally Sports. "That was as poor an effort for a team that's played hard all year, we just didn't try very hard. We're not going to be able to do that. I thought Miles (Bridges) was very good and really in terms of effort, it ended there."

🎙️ Steve Clifford on the loss:

"We broke the lineup. As soon as we started subbing, our intensity went downhill and we never got it back. Poor in effort, we didn't try very hard. I thought Miles was very good... and in terms of effort it ended there."pic.twitter.com/SYnJwfm2Mm

— /r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) March 24, 2024

The Hawks only led by two at the end of the first quarter but as Clifford noted, it went downhill after that and did so very quickly. Guys weren't running back on defense, closing out on shooters on the perimeter, and helping down in the post. The Hawks hits 20 of their 42 three-point attempts (47.6%) while also outscoring the Hornets in the paint, 56-36, formulating the perfect storm for a 132-91 beatdown.

I'm not suggesting that last night's result could lead to Clifford's future being in question, but if these types of games continue down the final stretch it makes the situation a little murky.

New Executive VP of Basketball Ops Jeff Peterson told the team he wanted to use the last 20-or-so games as an evaluation period, and that's for everyone on the roster/staff. Peterson does have some history with Clifford having spent some time together in Brooklyn, albeit not much. I don't get the sense that Peterson is the type of guy that will keep coaches or players around because he likes who they are as people.

At the end of the day, it's a business. Even in a lost season with numerous key players out due to injury, the expectation is that the guys who are healthy compete hard until they cross the finish line on April 14th.