ATLANTA — The doors hadn’t even popped open on the Charlotte Hornets’ charter buses yet Sunday afternoon and it was evident this wasn’t going to be a fun evening in the very place their season burned into a pile of ashes back in April.
Missing three key players will do that, particularly when two-thirds of those absences represent the starting backcourt and feature their All-Star point guard and the team’s leading scorer. But Steve Clifford wasn’t about to tie a white pillowcase to a stick and start waiving it around in the moments leading up to tipoff against Atlanta at State Farm Arena.
“It’s hard, but I think it just gives other guys opportunities,” the Hornets coach said. “You can mix and match. And I’ll say this: You can always win in this league. This is what’s different to me with pro players, too. Even in college. When you’re down like our roster, could we beat them in a seven-game series? No.
