Sports

Hornets coach — whose team is getting demolished in the playoffs — had a great response to criticism of his team’s game plan

steve cliffordStreeter Lecka/GettySteve Clifford wants to pump the brakes on making adjustments.

The Charlotte Hornets were one of the feel-good teams of the NBA’s regular season, but the playoffs haven’t treated them kindly.

The Hornets are down 2-0 in their first-round series against the Miami Heat, and they’ve surrendered a total of 238 points in those two games.

Naturally, after playing so poorly and looking relatively helpless against the Heat, reporters asked Hornets coach Steve Clifford about adjustments that need to be made going forward.

Clifford, often regarded as one of the best coaches in the NBA, gave a great response about keeping things simple.

“Not to be disrespectful, but you guys, you watch these games and you come up with something’s gotta change, where sometimes, you just gotta do the basic things better, which is what basketball is,” Clifford said. “Jeff Van Gundy used to always say, ‘Writers love to say they made an adjustment.’ Usually the adjustment is, some guy who went 1-for-8 went 6-for-8.”

Clifford said he’ll watch film and look for adjustments that need to be made, but more than likely, his team just needs to do things better, as he suggests about a player simply shooting better from the field.

It’s great logic from Clifford, and it speaks to the overreaction from the sports world when a team plays poorly. The Hornets have two games to win in Charlotte, and in Clifford’s mind, simply executing their basic principles better could make the difference.

Watch Clifford’s full answer below:

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