Charlotte Hornets: Marvin Williams Puts Onus on Players Not Steve Clifford/Coaching Staff
Steve Clifford has always put defense first but the Charlotte Hornets’ players haven’t quite responded the same way this season.
The Charlotte Hornets have been known for their defense over the past three-plus seasons under Steve Clifford but they have been shaky, at best, this year. There isn’t a specific reason as to why that has happened but many have claimed that Coach Clifford has lost his voice with the locker room. Instead, Marvin Williams puts the onus on the players as opposed to the coaching staff.
Even though the Hornets are still in the top-10 for defensive rating and opponents points per game this season, they don’t quite have the same defensive intensity that we have become accustomed to. As the season is coming to an end, Charlotte has only recorded 23 games where they have held their opponents under 100 points. Compare that to the 41 times that they did so last year, 45 times in the 2014-15 season and the 53 instances in 2013-14.
Even with the growth of offenses around the league, the Hornets have been successful by limiting their opponents. The problem hasn’t been the whole game for Charlotte’s defense but merely the fourth quarter and clutch situations in particular. They become a completely different team late in close games.
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The team ranks top-15 in OPPG for quarters 1-3 but in the fourth period, they are 18th in the NBA as opponents are scoring 25.9 in the final quarter. Their numbers look even worse when breaking it down in clutch situations (final five minutes of games within five points).
Charlotte’s 26th in the league in clutch-time defense with opponents scoring an average of 9.4 points during that time. (NBA.com) This is why the Hornets have lost so many close games this season.
But does that speak to a lack of coaching ability or to players simply not performing?
Even though Steve Clifford thinks that the team needs to be smarter in close games, Marvin Williams has taken it upon himself to put the blame on the players and not the coaching staff.
Here’s what Marvin told David Scott of the Charlotte Observer:
"“It’s certainly not coaching, it’s all execution by the players,” Hornets forward Marvin Williams said of the team’s defensive shortcomings. “Cliff and his staff do a tremendous job putting together a game plan for us. They watch a ton of film. They’re always prepared. They always have us prepared."
The veteran power forward also added that “It’s on us as players to go out there and execute the game plan.” As the vocal and defensive leader of the Hornets, Williams knows what is needed from this team. With the past success that Charlotte has had under Coach Clifford, it may be more of a player problem this season.
Maybe his voice isn’t as powerful in the locker room as it once was when he first arrived but with a roster that doesn’t have a lot of great individual defenders, some hardships are to follow. Maybe Marvin’s comments will spark the rest of the team to turn things up on that end of the floor.
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If Michael Jordan and Rich believed that Steve Clifford was the problem, his job wouldn’t be safe. For now, it appears that he will be coaching the Charlotte Hornets next season. It will be interesting to see if the players can turn things around defensively to end this year or even next season.