Whenever Steve Clifford takes to the podium to say something before any reporter can ask a question, it is usually to make a pointed statement about and to his team.
These are reminders to a team of what is to come and how they need to play if they are to play past the regular season.
The result of an individual game is not as important as the way the team plays that individual game and what that means moving forward.
For Clifford throughout this season, the team was always going to make a Playoff push.