What Steve Clifford Said Following the Loss to New Orleans

Slow start offensively

“I think they helped, they’re long. We didn’t do a good job moving the defense, but we made really poor decisions in the paint, too – not playing off two feet, not playing under control, not looking for the kickout 3s.”

The fouling

“They were in the bonus right away which hurt us. Nick (Richards) got his fifth with nine and a half, 10 (minutes to go). Even then, we made a really bad closeout off a double team down three that led to a (CJ) McCollum layup. Then obviously we don’t block out on the free throws, so that gave them the extra possession. If we get one of those two back, then we’d have the ball to tie or actually go ahead. The big thing in the fourth was getting into foul trouble early. They’re hard – Zion (Williamson) is obviously, it’s hard but you’ve got to play with discipline. It’s doable. Then (Jonas) Valanciunas, he dominated that game.”

Turning defense into offense

“Yeah. Our games we’ve played better defense, our deflection numbers have been up. That’s what really got us going tonight in the third quarter. Hopefully that can be something that we can build on. Our best possessions tonight were that – came out early and Terry (Rozier) deflects it and it led to a layup, Gordon (Hayward) had a deflection that led to a three-on-two. We’ve got to have those things. Our defense has been a lot, lot better the last seven or eight games except for the defensive rebounding. Tonight, they had 13 (offensive rebounds). That’s been our biggest problem.”

On Jonas Valanciunas

“It’s just hard. Number one, he’s a really good player. He’s been a good player for a long time. It’s evident right in the first quarter there they were going to go to him a lot more than usual. He’s big and he’s physical and he really knows how to play. It does two things – it gets them in the bonus early because we foul before he catches it, and then you don’t want to double team everybody. You can’t guard Zion with one guy. (Brandon) Ingram had a stretch where he got going so we started double teaming him. When you’re double teaming three guys, it’s hard. I think (Valanciunas) drew two fouls right away to start the fourth, so that’s how they got in the bonus early.”

Individual + Team Stats: Hornets vs. Pelicans

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