Hornets @ Bulls

[Jakob]

This 4th quarter was a disaster. Clifford is fuging up.

[Jshenanigans]

11-24 I can do that bullshit at the YMCA let alone in Time Warner Cable arena  

Have you ever played with NBA players? 

[cbarrier90]

Also painfully obvious why we were able to get Mo for Gary Neal. He's just another streaky point guard and why Clifford feels the need to play both of them at the same time I have no idea.

[My Goodness My Guinness]

Perhaps we should start actually bringing one of the point guards off the bench instead of going small for 20 minutes of the game with Kemba, Mo, and Henderson/Stephenson...

[Chaos]

Steve Clifford, your head looks like a nut sack. Thanks for giving worthless Maxiell all those minutes, meanwhile Vonleh sits.

[cbarrier90]

Steve Clifford, your head looks like a nut sack. Thanks for giving worthless Maxiell all those minutes, meanwhile Vonleh sits.

 

We've already been through this with Larry Brown, and I had concerns Clifford was going to be the same way personnel wise, playing veterans and favorites over rookies simply because they're rookies. Looks like it reared its ugly head again.

 

Marvin Williams, the other option at the 4, who is only here to stretch the floor via outside shooting, took 2 shots in 35 minutes. Still, no(ah) Vonleh...

 

All the more reason to go through a legitimate youth movement next season.

[cbarrier90]

I have a theory...

Clifford was an all around great coach last season; Xs & Os, personnel, gameplanning, adjustments, rotations, etc. Not to mention the players loved him and spoke extremely high of him. His pedigree is impressive having coached under Van Gundy, which is an extension of the Popovich, Thibodeau, etc. coaching tree. And just watching Clifford and listening to him talk you got the impression he knew what he was doing. He's very bright and knows a lot about the NBA game.

At this point I honestly think he's trying to get fired so he can go somewhere else. Or he's just being defiant. Clifford is a reserved guy but last season he was pretty upbeat. This entire season he has seemed pissed off. I don't think he was at all happy with the Stephenson signing or Vonleh/Hairston selections and probably opposed them. He publicly criticized Biz at the beginning of the season, after being repeatedly asked about him by reporters. The only other 3 guys I recall him calling out by name are Stephenson (he's not a star, he's gotta learn to play how I want), Vonleh (he's young, he isn't ready, he can't contribute), & Hairston (well, maybe this one has been deserving). And he's done so pretty regularly without being asked. I don't recall him calling out anyone at all last season.

It's the only thing that makes sense to me. He's unhappy about the roster moves we made, and were possibly made against his spoken wishes. I just can't see how he could just honestly be this incompetent after being pretty good last year.

 

I think your theory is correct in that he is exasperated with this roster that does not fit his plans at all and is being defiant as this season reaches its inevitable conclusion of being on the outside looking in, however, I don't think he's reached the John Fox level of starting St. Pierre just yet.

 

His problem is he has these outdated coaching axioms that he absolutely REFUSES to stray from, similar to John Fox. Rookies need to watch and learn, the floor always needs to be spaced regardless if the players substituted are actually spacing the floor, veterans are better, etc. and there's absolutely no offensive ingenuity whatsoever. Granted, the roster is poorly constructed, but there is talent there to make things happen, the problem is he refuses to think outside this coaching axiom box he has created.

 

The rookie-veteran discrepancy reached an absolute low tonight:

 

Maxiell/Marvin combined - 46 minutes, 2-6, 9 rebounds, 9 fouls, 9 points, -22

 

Noah Vonleh - 1 minute, 1-1, 2 rebounds, 2 points, +2

 

I don't know if Noah Vonleh is going to light the NBA world on fire, but I'm pretty sure he is a better option than Jason Maxiell.

 

Not only that, but:

 

Henderson - 34 minutes, 3-12, 9 rebounds, 13 points, -13

 

Mo - 34 minutes, 4-16, 6 rebounds, 15 points, -5

 

Lance - 21 minutes, 4-5, 4 rebounds, 9 points, -1

 

Lance outplays Henderson and the guy we didn't even trade for to be a 2-guard yet still doesn't get the maximum number of minutes.

 

He preaches ball movement and defensive effort yet designs an offense around Al Jefferson and never benches him when he sets lazy screens, complains to the officials while the other team runs the break, stops ball movement on the block, or in general gives the minimum on the defensive end. MKG is frequently substituted late in games because of his shooting, even though he's the entire defense.

 

Clifford walked into a situation with a great locker room and a team that desperately wanted some guidance after the Dunlap debacle and was the beneficiary of, among other things: lack of expectations, great team chemistry, a tanking Eastern Conference, an out of the ordinary season for Al Jefferson, MKG and McBob patrolling the front line. Say what you want about not re-signing McBob, but when your roster is way too dependent on Josh McRoberts, it's time to change things up (besides, we don't know if Vonleh can or can't fill that role because he never plays!)

 

Charlotte had a great situation but wanted to take a shot at something better. It was a gamble that ultimately failed, but I can't fault them for trying. Not pinning this all directly on him, but Lance Stephenson might as well have been a 27 million dollar expose' about how things weren't as rosy in Charlotte as they seemed, and that this young team and franchise is not yet equipped to handle such a volatile personality and style.

[PantherBrew]

We really, really need Big Al to opt out.  I just have no clue what he is going to do. 

 

From his perspective on opting out

 

Pros: Lines up for his last decent contract. Salary Cap getting much bigger, which could mean more suitors and $$$. Chance to play for a contender. 

 

Cons: giving up a guaranteed 13.5 million without knowing the actual numbers in the next deal. 

 

If we can get Big Al to opt out, we can really go with the young guys next year, and that doesnt' automatically mean we are going to be awful.  

[Omega Atrocity]

I have stuck by Clifford but I'm about done with that. I like Maxiell, he gives a lot of effort, but the only way he should see minutes is if 2 bigs in front of him are hurt. Maxiell is a good last big off the bench, but he shouldn't be anything more.

As far as playing Hendo goes that falls squarely on the front office. There isn't a better option at the 2 at this point. That position needs to be upgraded for sure, but Hendo has done a pretty admirable job this season.

Edit: The other thing Clifford does that wholeheartedly pisses me off is refusing to put MKG in during crunch time. Seriously, you're throwing lance out there on offense, MKG is better offensively and is far, far better defensively.