The Charlotte Hornets had a rough outing Wednesday night against the Kings. Facing Sacramento for the second time in nine nights, the Hornets came out flat and failed to match their effort from the two teams' first meeting, in which Charlotte took home the road victory.
While the Hornets were once again down several important rotation players including LaMelo Ball, Mark Williams, Gordon Hayward, P.J. Washington and Cody Martin, injuries were not the main determining factor in the loss. The biggest problem for Charlotte was playing with a lack of intensity.
Their lackadaisical effort against Sacramento was evident all down the stat sheet, as they were beaten 62-28 in points in the paint, and 53-36 in rebounding. It was an unacceptable effort for a team that desperately needs to put some wins together to salvage any sort of chance at making the playoffs.
Steve Clifford did not take any questions tonight.
— Will Eudy (@WillCEudy) January 11, 2024
He cited his team’s lack of intensity as the primary reason they did not get the job done against the Kings. #LetsFly35 pic.twitter.com/SEgm3m4Hsm
Steve Clifford explained that the Hornets do not have the talent to come out with low intensity
After the game, Head Coach Steve Clifford delivered a rant about his team's lack of concentration and intensity. He stressed the fact that the Hornets do not currently have enough talent to be coming out slow and uninspired.
"Tonight, for one of the first times, we just didn't put enough into the game," Clifford said. "And we don't have that kind of roster, especially right now." Regardless of talent or players available, Clifford and fans alike know the team's level of effort is something that can be corrected.
"Last week in Sacramento when we were on a back-to-back, we took the game to them on the glass," said Clifford. "We rebounded well, we were physical ... Tonight, they were on a back-to-back, and right from the get-go they had more energy than we did, they had more juice than we did."
Clifford further stressed the importance of effort and readiness by stating it is the second-biggest reason for success in team sports, right behind talent. Charlotte may be behind the eight ball when it comes to available talent at the moment, but that simply means their hustle and drive must be stronger at both ends of the floor for them to have any chance of turning this season around.