With frontcourt thin, Hornets' Clifford says Vonleh is 'getting there' as a player
At this point, Charlotte Hornets head coach Steve Clifford may have no choice but to see what he has in Noah Vonleh.
The No. 9 overall pick in this June's draft has been glued to the bench for most of the season, playing just 59 minutes in eight appearances, spending most of his rookie season on the sidelines rather than in the lineup or in the D-League. Vonleh missed most of the preseason with a sports hernia, and Clifford has been open about the fact that Vonleh is too far behind the curve to warrant consistent playing time.
Always thought to be a longer-term project, Clifford probably would have liked to have Vonleh essentially red-shirt his freshman year, something that no longer seems possible.
The Hornets are currently without Bismack Biyombo indefinitely, Marvin Williams has a concussion, and the team's frontcourt rotation has been rendered thin. There are Al Jefferson, Cody Zeller and Jason Maxiell, and that's it for the time being, so Vonleh's number may get called. Clifford doesn't sound thrilled about that reality, but he sounds more confident in the 19-year-old than he did earlier in the year.
"I think he's getting there," Clifford said Tuesday. "Today was one of his best days. It's a big jump but I think he's a great worker and a very serious player. He's getting closer."
Vonleh has admitted he's been working to catch up with the speed of the game and believes it's starting to pay off, but he has strides to make on one end of the floor.
"The defense is definitely the big adjustment," Vonleh said. "You've got to be locked into everything, be in the right spot, because everybody is so good at this level. If you miss a coverage, it's a bucket."
It's unclear what Vonleh can offer right now considering how small the sample has been. He's scored 15 points and grabbed 18 boards in his 59 minutes, shooting 35.3 percent from the floor and sinking a triple to flash his potential range.
With Charlotte taking on the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, Vonleh's introduction to heavy minutes could be an unfriendly one.