You’ve heard the adage that water and oil don’t mix. With oil being much less dense than water, Adding a cup of oil to water will float to the top of the water. When I watch Charlotte Hornets games this season, It’s like oil being poured into a glass of water; nothing seems to mix with this squad. With a record of 2-4, The Hornets are the 3rd worst team in the Eastern Conference. I do believe I have the solution to this problem in Buzz City.
Steve Clifford was hired to do a second run with the franchise after James Borrego, who had Charlotte scoring with the best of the best in the NBA (4th in Points Per Game), was fired. This hiring, I believe, was to make Charlotte more competitive defensively. That hasn’t been the case with the Hornets during Clifford’s second go-around; the Hornets were 22nd in opponent points per game during the 22-23 season (117.2) and are currently 27th this season (121.7). For your team to be successful, They follow the best player on the team, and something tells me LaMelo Ball is rebelling.
This would be nothing new with a team’s star player using his weight to get a coach fired. Paul Westhead took over a Lakers team when Jack McKinney had an unfortunate accident that prevented him from coaching the team. Westhead coaching philosophies didn’t mix well with Magic Johnson’s style, prompting Magic to request a trade. Ultimately, the franchise decided to keep magic over Westhead. Remember when Marbury got Larry Brown fired in New York?
There wasn’t much to write home about during Marbury’s tenure in New York, but his public spat with Larry Brown was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. Brown is as old school as it comes to his players “playing the right way.” Marbury is a NYC point guard legend whose style and flare made him an all-star point guard. Who did ownership ultimately choose? Marbury, but then he had a public spat with Isiah Thomas as well. I bring those examples up to say this: LaMelo Ball this season is playing to get Steve Clifford fired.
I understand that LaMelo Ball is coming back from a fractured ankle. I also understand that when players return from significant injuries, it takes time to get back into their rhythm. There’s just something about watching LaMelo play so far this season; he looks uninterested and lazy. He’s averaging 17.2 PPG, 5.2 REB & 9.3 AST in his six games. That’s a solid stat line for your point guard, but consider that he’s averaging 3.7 TOV, his shooting is terrible right now (34% FG & 31% PT), and he’s averaging about 4.2 fouls per game.
Defensively, we know that’s not his strong suit. Even with his defensive heroics in the win against Indiana, Haliburton still had 43 & 12. Experts may draw this up to his injury, but I am saying LaMelo is trying to get Steve Clifford fired. They have to do something now. You have an abundance of young talent on this squad, and you don’t want anything to hinder their potential as important pieces to what the Hornets are trying to build beyond this season. I would put my last dollar to bet that Steve Clifford will be the first coach let go this season.
West Coast Hoops 