Hornets’ Clifford cites Heat ability to leave opponents smarting

MIAMI — Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford wouldn’t go as far as to say his team was outsmarted in Monday night’s loss to the Heat at Spectrum Center, a game in which the Heat consistently elected to foul while up three late and Clifford questioned his players’ thinking on some of their fouls.

But before that loss, Clifford, with another game against the Heat on Wednesday night at Kaseya Center, said the intellect of the Heat has been an undeniable major factor behind the franchise’s enduring success.

In comparing what the Heat and San Antonio Spurs have accomplished over recent decades to often stand at the top of their respective NBA conferences, Clifford pointed to a pair of factors.

“I would say them and San Antonio, I would say are similar in that to me in the most simplistic way would be toughness and intelligence is what wins in our league,” Clifford said. “It’s hard to win if you’re not smart in the playoffs, and it’s hard to win if you don’t have toughness.”

Those, as much as any of the other factors in Pat Riley’s various championship mantras, Clifford said, are what he believes have defined Erik Spoelstra’s teams, including the current rendition.

“And so, I think those are qualities that obviously they look for, and if you at their roster,” Clifford said.

Having worked under former Heat coach Stan Van Gundy with the Orlando Magic, Clifford said the Heat approach has been consistent over the Riley era of stewardship.

“I think also is they have obviously established a way to play, in that, again, simply put, because obviously working for Stan, who was a big part of it when they first got there and everything, is don’t give possessions away,” Clifford said, with the Heat ranking among the league’s best this season when it comes to minimizing turnovers and fouls.

“Mistakes are a big deal in this league. And then there, it’s a big deal. And they don’t say, ‘That’s OK.’ Maybe some of the younger players aren’t as used to that. But they obviously have done a great job of finding the guys that are (able to learn from mistakes).”

That had Clifford referencing the book “Management Secrets of the New England Patriots,” and comparing the Heat’s approach to the championship work of Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

“One of the greatest lines I’ve ever heard,” Clifford said, “and this is not to say that coaching isn’t a big deal, but Belicheck’s line in ‘(Management) Secrets of the New England Patriots,’ and I think of Miami all the time, was, if you want a physical, intelligent, hard-playing NFL football team, it’s got a lot more to do with who you trade for, who you draft and who you sign in free agency, than it does how I coach them.

“And every sport is about personnel. So they do all of it.”

That, Clifford said ahead of the third of the teams’ four meetings this season, is what makes the Heat a touchstone of NBA enduring success.

“They get the right kind of guys,” he said. “One of the reasons why all those guys get better is how they coach ’em. The bigger reason is who they are. And that’s the trick in evaluating.

“I mean, to find a guy with toughness, or a guy that’s a worker, that’s a hard thing to find. And that’s one of the things that they’ve done probably as well or better than anybody else over the last few years.”