Where do you stand with Clifford right now?

[JJman]

So, including the playoffs, Clifford's record as a head coach for the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets is 47-55. That's mediocre. Yes he did a nice job building a good defensive team last year and he did wonders for Al. Then we got our asses handed to us in the playoffs and one could argue we didn't really deserve to be there considering how weak the East was.

Now, he's running questionable rotations by giving minutes to players who don't really deserve as much as they get. He's sitting Lance in the 4th quarter even when his numbers aren't that bad (if he's not scoring he's passing, rebounding, play good defense, etc.) and replacing him with players who are inconsistent, inexperienced or just bad. That's on him.

I will say Cho fuged up by signing Williams over McRoberts and by signing Brian Roberts to multi-year deal as our primary backup to Kemba.

Anyways, what's it gonna be? Fire him, or no?

[TheMostInterestingMan]

Not just yet. It's an awful start to the year, but it's still early and I think he is a good coach. We sorely miss MKG (I continue to lol at MKG haters) and this team hasn't meshed. Maybe this squad won't pan out together, but on paper we should be winning games. I think Clifford is capable of pulling it together. I'm not ready to jump ship just yet

[cbarrier90]

So, including the playoffs, Clifford's record as a head coach for the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets is 47-55. That's mediocre. Yes he did a nice job building a good defensive team last year and he did wonders for Al. Then we got our asses handed to us in the playoffs and one could argue we didn't really deserve to be there considering how weak the East was.

Now, he's running questionable rotations by giving minutes to players who don't really deserve as much as they get. He's sitting Lance in the 4th quarter even when his numbers aren't that bad (if he's not scoring he's passing, rebounding, play good defense, etc.) and replacing him with players who are inconsistent, inexperienced or just bad. That's on him.

I will say Cho fuged up by signing Williams over McRoberts and by signing Brian Roberts to multi-year deal as our primary backup to Kemba.

Anyways, what's it gonna be? Fire him, or no?

I will say it's been absolutely bizarre how quickly he has fallen out of favor with folks.

I would be tempted to say this is simply a regression to the mean, but the team we have now is deeper and more talented than the one he had last season. I understand mcbob and mkg are important players but we should not look like the post LeBron apocalypse cavs just because we lost those two guys. Those two are just aren't THAT good.

I appreciate that he gave a wayward franchise a sense of direction but the collection of players he had were choir boys and easy to coach. Now for the first time he is having to deal with a headstrong personality in Lance and so far he is fighting a losing battle.

We will never know if he actually wanted lance on the team but at the end of the day there are combinations that work. The problem is Clifford is very old school in terms of his vets first mentality and his offensive game plan. He strikes me as a guy that doesn't believe in the new age of metric stats and other "moneyball" ideas designed to improve teams overall performance.

That said, the bigger issue is Cho, who has built a roster incompatible with what Steve Clifford is trying to do. Clifford can't help that McBob isn't there and Cho signs an upgrade at shooting guard that doesn't really solve any issues and keeps drafting project players instead of contributors right away.

There is a big disconnect there and something there has to change. I'd rather keep Clifford because coaching stability is something this franchise really needs desperately, and he and his staff have done a great job developing the young talent on the roster.

[Keith Moons Liver]

Our roster just isn't very good. The talent level is still low and the pieces we do have don't fit. For some reason limited success last year in a pathetically bad conference and a first round sweep convinced people we were close to being competitive. We've still got a long way to go. I don't know if Clifford is the long term answer or not but replacing him isn't going to magically make us as good as we wished we were. 

[pantherfan49]

It is incorrect that Cho decided to sign MW over McBob.

McBob wanted to go to a winner for a chance to win a championship and he thought Miami was that chance. McBob was offered a very nice contract by Charlotte.

If there was any failure on he part of the FO with McBob, it was thinking that MW could replace what McBob did and also believing that Kemba would elevate his game with McBob gone.

The FO did what they were supposed to in the offseason. They went and signed the shooter the team needed. But the contract to Hayward was matched and the FO thought Lance was a good backup plan.

If you want to fix this team, get MKG healthy, start Zeller and play Biz, and upgrade the PG position.

[PantherGuy]

It is incorrect that Cho decided to sign MW over McBob.

McBob wanted to go to a winner for a chance to win a championship and he thought Miami was that chance. McBob was offered a very nice contract by Charlotte.

If there was any failure on he part of the FO with McBob, it was thinking that MW could replace what McBob did and also believing that Kemba would elevate his game with McBob gone.

The FO did what they were supposed to in the offseason. They went and signed the shooter the team needed. But the contract to Hayward was matched and the FO thought Lance was a good backup plan.

If you want to fix this team, get MKG healthy, start Zeller and play Biz, and upgrade the PG position.

 

He was offered more by Miami. Cho may not have decided on MW in particular over McRoberts at that point, but he just didn't think McRoberts was worth it. We actually could have kept him here if we had really wanted to. We had more money than the Heat, yet we chose not to use it on McRoberts (link for proof). That should be considered a failing of the front office. 

[TheRed]

Every time I see him he looks like a completely defeated recovering alcoholic who just relapsed for the 20th time.

If we keep losing then show his ass the door.

Maybe I'm just tired of hearing excuses after witnessing Ron Rivera coach for 4 seasons though, who knows.

[JJman]

Clifford looks more like a 90's porn director

[Eazy-E]

Clifford doesn't like young players for some reason. Last year he was only giving MKG 20ish minutes per game. Even with his limited offensive game he is still our best defender. He showed great flashes against Miami in the playoffs.

Now this year when he was healthy he looked to have taken his game to a new level. He looked to be our best player in the floor at some points yet he was being benched in the 4th and didn't even really play the second half of some games.

Biz has proven to be a high energy rim protector and pairs very well with Zeller in the second unit. Clifford for some reason decides to give the minutes to Maxiell who most didn't even expect to make the roster. Now with injuries Biz has shown he deserves the back up center minutes yet Maxiell is still seeing the floor.

This brings me to my last point of our 2 rookies. Why Vonleh doesn't see the court is beyond me. PJ has played but has been because once again Clifford was forced to due to injuries.

There is a major disconnect between the coach and FO. If Clifford wants to play vets why did Cho keep our first round picks. We could have used them to trade for an established player or 2. I rather we lose and get to see what we have in our young prospects. No one right now has any idea what our #1 pick can offer.

I believe Clifford is just a stubborn ass and wants to run things his way. He never seemed to be a fan of the Lance signing, even by saying Lance is still young and benefitted from playing on a good vet team.

Tldr. Clifford doesn't seem like he is on the same page as the front office and he doesn't seem to care. We need a coach who is willing to take chances with our young players and give them a chance to grow and develop together.

[Goondal]

I would definitely wait until this season is concluded before even considering getting rid of him.

[ThinkAboutIt]

No, but I'm not voting "no" because I don't rationalize it the way it's written in the poll.

 

No, because the team has no players that "pop." Name one player on the Hornets who would be the primary player on any other team.

 

Jefferson wasn't even that guy on Utah.

[Rise of The Hive]

I think he should be fired.

[ThinkAboutIt]

I think he should be fired.

 

And they still won't make any shots. They are still a team without a franchise player. 

 

I thought they should've gone after Jefferson before he went to Utah. He's only going to get you so far now. 

[YoungPanthers89]

Let us suck with all our players before saying fug it