Hornets coach Steve Clifford missed the team’s home game against the Magic Tuesday (AEDT) and will be away from the team for an indefinite period of time because of issues with his health, the team announced Thursday (AEDT).
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Associate head coach Stephen Silas is serving as acting head coach in Clifford’s absence.
Silas received a text message at about 2 p.m. Tuesday saying Clifford was too sick to coach the team that evening, the Charlotte Observer reports. When Clifford didn’t show up for Tuesday's shootaround, Silas had a feeling something was amiss.
The Hornets beat the Magic 104-94 to snap a four-game losing streak.
Silas took over as Clifford’s lead assistant upon Patrick Ewing being hired as head coach at Georgetown last season. He coached the Charlotte team for a few games in the 2011-12 season, when they were called the Bobcats and his father, then-head coach Paul Silas, handed him the reins.
“That was constructive,” Stephen Silas said, per the Observer. “There is definitely a little anxiety right now, because it is new, but once it starts, I know I have done it before. All that other stuff will go out the window when it’s time to coach.”
The Hornets host the Warriors Thursday.
There is no timetable to Clifford’s return, nor will the Hornets have additional comments out of respect for his privacy, the team’s statement said.