Not trying hard with a point deficit (8)
I believe the answer is:
slacking
'not trying hard with a point deficit' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'trying hard with a point deficit' is the wordplay.
'trying hard' becomes 'ing' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'a point' becomes 'S' (South).
'deficit' becomes 'lack' (I've seen this in another clue).
's'+'lack'='slack'
'ing' put after 'slack' is 'SLACKING'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Another definition for slacking that I've seen is " Slick nag (anag.)".)