CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Sitting in the very spot he plopped down in more than five months earlier following a disappointing season-ending defeat, Terry Rozier summarized things succinctly.
“S---,” the Charlotte Hornets guard said. “We here.”
Indeed.
Preparations for the 2022-23 season officially tip off on Tuesday when the Hornets hit the floor for the first practice of the second rendition of the Steve Clifford Era. After an offseason filled with more attention-grabbing headlines than roster moves, the Hornets were all back at Spectrum Center on Monday for the team’s media day festivities.
They’ve assembled with one true goal in mind: ensuring there’s no repeat of numbing defeat. Brutal 20-plus point losses in the play-in tournament in successive seasons sucked the life out of the building and the Hornets know that can’t happen again.
“We are super motivated,” Rozier said. “We are not affected by it. It’s not something that we are talking about all the time. But you could just tell the last two years we went out the same way. We definitely are not trying to make it three and we’ve got goals. We’ve got individual goals and we’ve got team goals. It’s something that we’ve just got to make happen and we will.”
In his early address to the group, Clifford detailed the one thing he believes can push the Hornets to the next level and become the playoff team they’re striving to be. It’s a simple concept, but not always easy to accomplish.
Sacrificing on both sides of the court for the greater good of the team is imperative, and the message appears to have been well received.
“I feel like it’s a big process,” LaMelo Ball said. “That’s probably the main one. We’ve all got to buy in because we’ve got a lot of great talent, but everybody can’t really have 50 or something like that. So we are all just going to have to make it work, put it together and get the best outcome out of that. So definitely (have to) buy-in.”
That goes for everyone. Starters. Reserves. Veterans. Rookies.
Nobody is exempt and it seems as if they’re all on board with Clifford’s edict.
“We have to be more selfless,” Kelly Oubre said. “We noticed that last year, that when we tried to go out and do things on our own it doesn’t work out as well as it would if we all did it together. So, coach talked about sacrificing some parts of our game to win and winning is the only option. Winning is what we practice and work hard for and we need to consistently do that to show that we are a serious team.”
Clifford wants to instill a community-style mentality where the players can all count on each other and stay true to a new culture they’re attempting to build. Dialogue on both sides is going to be key and he understands everything won’t come together as quickly as they may like.
Patience during the adjustment over these 21 or so days of training camp is paramount. Tangible results may not be obvious instantly.
It’s all part of the process Clifford said he learned in his previous stint in Charlotte and his subsequent stops prior to his return to lead the Hornets. There is a fine balancing act he has to navigate and keep from trying to do too much too soon.
“You can’t change an environment right away,” Clifford said. “That can start (Tuesday in practice). The first time a guy doesn’t get back on defense or the first time a guy doesn’t block out, I can blow the whistle and play coach and do all that. Or not. With today’s athlete, you make a mistake as a head coach in thinking that you can really impact all these things before you know them. I’m just getting to know them.
“That’s why I think these three weeks are so critical. How we practice, how we communicate. The good days, the bad days – because we’ll have both. How I respond, how they respond to that, how we work it out together. Then, I think some of those talks can have more of an impact. I’m very hesitant to start really trying to say all these profound things before we really know them. And we are just getting there.”
They won’t arrive at their hoped-for destination – the playoffs – if they don’t see some significant improvement on stopping opponents by limiting dribble-drive penetration and protecting the rim. Failing to correct the issues that have plagued them in maddening fashion would be a detriment, especially given it’s partially why the team’s brass elected to make a coaching change and is also one of Clifford’s staples.
“We’ve got to be better on the defensive end,” Gordon Hayward said. “We’ve got to be more consistent. I think I said it last year, too, and probably the year before. I think our offense, we’ve got a lot of guys that can score the ball in a lot of different ways. But when you look at the teams that are in the playoffs, they are good on both sides of the ball. We had our moments last year for sure.
“But we just have to be more consistent on that end of the floor and give more effort on that end of the floor. But just focus on it. I know coach Cliff is big on that end of the floor, too. So we are going to work and hopefully be ready.”
