At what point did Cliff decide that the team seeing a W wasn’t important and hockey like subbed in the JJV squad? End of 3rd, mid 4th quarter?
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Starters look good again…bench looked bad.
Coach just gotta keep throwing bench out there to show & tell how bad are and hope not get fired for it.
So many injured, jailed, busts…Frank, Miles, Hayward, Cody, Bouknight, Kai…cut into depth severely.
If spent $$$ like other teams to help try weather storms…hurricanes for Hornets…
But to be fair…if I calling out GM for hamstringing coaches, gotta call out owners doing same to GM.
Agreed. In light of recent events, this team needs something, anything positive to build on. Getting a win would be a great start. Not to mention the broader local fanbase, which has now had to endure a combined 0-7 record (and counting) between the Panthers and Hornets.
End of 3rd.
He was good enough to not need to play. He was getting anywhere he wanted and played some amazing on ball defense
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At what point do we just settle on Clifford being Clifford.
Not you but many others who are ok with him the 2nd time around.
Wow we went from the over on wins to tank commanders quickly.
Gentlemen, why do we do this to ourselves?
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I was joking
I mentioned after the first game that this team should practice winning. I guess they didn’t get the memo.
Couldn’t watch but see we had a 4th quarter collapse. What happened? Did Clifford play our worst guys and they sucked?
With all that’s going on with our roster at the moment, be it criminal or injury related, it’s much more important for Cliff to see who out of the younger/bench guys can play within the team’s systems than to play vets to get a preseason win, IMHO.
I do get the counterargument, but in our current circumstances, I agree with the direction taken. That said, I’d like to see this script reversed soon, so we get a win or two leading in to the season.
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Cliff said he didnt play primary rotation guys down the stretch because “we cant have any injuries”. I don’t disagree with that
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I do hate losing. Panthers lost every preseason and regular season game, so thats 0-8. Hornets 0-2 in preseason, Summer League was like 0-12.
I don’t even know what I’d do with a win. Will food taste better, will people all across the world just decide to get along again? No pressure Charlotte sports playing guys.
But I’m good with the preseason so far. The most important thing, do the starters/regulars look good? Yes, I have confidence in the top 7-8 that I haven’t felt in a 730 or so days.
Next is integrating Miller with the guys seamlessly. I like how it looks so far, nothing is forced or needing to work around a limitation. He looks like he lets the game come to him, has athleticism and hustle, I feel like he’s going to become a force sooner than later. Maybe not til next year.
And of course avoiding injuries is the other primary objective. I don’t think we’ll be snake bit like last year, but I’m fine with allowing the rotation guys a quick 15-20 minutes to keep their rhythm, and giving game experience to the fringe guys and or try to uncover a gem. Rather than pushing for a late win and risking an ankle or hamstring injury.
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Out actual rotation players have been winning when they were taken out, so I am actually positive about what we have seen although Ntilikina AINT GONNA CUT IT!
And Nick Smith is like 2 years away.
So its all on Theo who proved last season to be a solid backup PG.
Very good summary.
It is those 8th, 9th and 10th in the rotation where we simply have to find answers. Currently, Miller and Richards are the only nailed on rotational players, if we accept LaMelo, Terry, Hayward, PJ & Williams as the starting group. A fit Cody fills another solid rotational spot, but can Bryce or Thor step up? Can one of our sudo PGs put their hands up to be the backup there? Those are the question Cliff needs to find answers to.
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I think JT Thor is solidly in the rotation off the bench with Miller and Richards. Add in Theo as the backup point and I think we are all right. Bryce needs to show why we gave him a contract extension though.
Losing Miles lowers the ceiling for sure, but Miller and Thor have an opportunity to step up and make a name for themselves now.
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I know not everyone was super high on Oubre, but having a 20ppg vet to throw into this rotation would’ve been kind of nice right about now. I don’t quite understand why the FO was dead set on moving on from him. Especially once it was clear that there wasn’t a robust market for him and he could’ve been brought back for next to nothing.
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He would definitely have taken minutes from miller. Between terry, Cody, Hayward and oubre miller would have definitely gotten the Williams treatment with this coach. Especially since he looks less than ready.
I know this is not going to be popular at all but they may be best served playing for cooper flagg
Oubre is not a winning player though for this team. He is a scorer and scorer only, when he tried anything else offensively he was terrible.
Cooper Flagg is in 25 draft, theres role players at the top of 24.
he reclassed a few weeks ago, didn’t he?
edit: nope. 2025 you are correct.