“LaMelo Ball and Co. Don’t Care About Defense!”: HC Steve Clifford Goes Off on Back-Breaking Rant After Close Loss vs Pistons

Tonoy Sengupta | 15/12/2022
"LaMelo Ball and Co. Don't Care About Defense!": HC Steve Clifford Goes Off on Back-Breaking Rant After Close Loss vs Pistons

After what has seemed like an eternity, LaMelo Ball has finally returned to the NBA floor. And for fans across the globe, it felt like the lord almighty had finally shown mercy to a land plagued by the worst famine of all time.

Flashy passes, fearless scoring, and most importantly, making the team better. These are some of the many things Ball does for the Hornets. And undoubtedly, fans are going to be pouring into Spectrum Center to see it all happen once again.

Now, all this is really nice. However, Steve Clifford wasn’t too happy with this game by any stretch of the imagination.

But why?

Also Read: 6ft 3″ Stephen Curry Battles Exhaustion and Injury Scares as Warriors Fall to Pacers

 

Steve Clifford goes off on LaMelo Ball and co. for their utter disregard for defense during the game

There weren’t many on the Charlotte Hornets who had a bad game on the offensive end of the floor.

However, when it comes to defense… well, it sometimes looked like the team thought there were in an All-Star game.

And after watching this be the case for so long, right in front of his eyes, Steve Clifford has evidently had enough, as he recently said this to the media.

That is an angry, angry man. And the Hornets had better be scared of him.

Because if any player doesn’t play defense during their next game they may not be exiting that game with a spot in the rotation anymore.

 

How did LaMelo Ball do in his return?

LaMelo Ball looked far better than what many were expecting.

23 points, and 11 assists, while shooting 9 of 18 from the field (50%), and 5 of 13 from deep (38.5%). That right there is a very efficient double-double. And it very much showed during this game.

A Hornets offense that can admittedly look less than NBA caliber at times was practically singing a beautiful hymn together. The ball was rotated a lot faster, with shooters often getting much better shots, which helped them stay in rhythm.

Now, all the team has to figure out, is how in the world they can get a stop.

Also Read: Is 7ft Giannis Antetokounmpo Enjoying Favoritism From Officials? Advanced Stats Reveal Ugly Truth

Post Edited By: Tonoy Sengupta
Charlotte Hornets LaMelo Ball Steve Clifford

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.

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