Melton to instill and radiate confidence “through the whole team”

[GSW-PHI videos/interviews/transcripts]

We’ll be fine, Warriors fans. Just listen to De’Anthony Melton postgame, a guy who scored 14 points on 5-for-11 from the field, 4-for-4 from the line, plus 2 steals guarding guys like Tyrese Maxey and Quentin Grimes (Poor Man’s Josh Hart) — in his first game back in 387 days!

So, chill a bit, please. Here’s the plan: enjoy the next two games as more opportunities for young guys to seize the moment, for example maybe Jonathan Kuminga can shake off that rust, take four days off, get one Wardell Stephen Curry back to re-establish the identity, and have Melton as your key two-way rotation piece.

I would guess Moses Moody gets bumped from the Curry-centric starting lineup and with the trust that Melt brings on both ends, you can probably go big with Quinten Post starting at the 5, Draymond Green at the 4, and have Moody and Will Richard as well, Seth Curry as the sniper without the total reliance on Buddy Hield to make shots, without the pressure on Brandin Podziemski to play to his ceiling every game. Some reduced minutes for these more Steph-complementary players will be helpful, I think, and show in the results.

Clearly a consummate pro, I remind you, as I said in the last article, that Melton was a Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception free agent, meaning when fully healthy, he’s worth $12 to $14 million on your cap sheet. So we’re lucky to have him at a veteran’s minimum, with the only looming question: Can he stay healthy?

Melton even deflected the very valid question about Podziemski and Kuminga not stepping up in the main guys’ absences, and morphed it into something about the whole team.

And then he morphed it further and took responsibility for instilling confidence so that Podz and JK won’t struggle, using the word “radiate”.

How many more locker room anecdotes about Melt before he becomes a crowd favorite?

I mean, I think everybody should step up. It’s everybody livelihood on the line, too, at the same time, so I think everybody’s stepping up. But specifically for those two guys, just staying confident, I think, is the biggest thing and instilling that for them. It’s just, play your game. Sometimes there’s a lot of outside noise that goes into it, especially young players in such a great organization. You’re gonna have a lot of he say, she say stuff that’s going on, but I think just staying confident and playing your game and take whatever comes with it. People always gonna say something, so just playing confident, being aggressive. Sometimes you would rather err on the side of being aggressive than not…

…this is my eighth year now, so having confidence high is most important. And I think instilling in other guys is the next move for me and just making sure everybody stay high is because when they’re good, I’m good. When I’m good, hopefully the team is good, too. So, like you said, just making sure my confidence is high just so I can just make sure it radiates through the whole team.

Future’s so bright, DubNation 😎 and De’Anthony actually did wear shades on the podium!

00:00 Steve, I know the game didn’t end the way you hope, but you’ve gotta be happy with the effort. That group, especially in the second half showed--

00:10 STEVE KERR, POSTGAME GSW-PHI: Yeah, the effort was phenomenal. Felt like we really deserved to win and I feel terrible for the guys that we couldn’t hang on because the effort, the energy, the commitment. Gui hasn’t played in a couple of weeks and play him the whole fourth quarter. He’s like a plus 17 or something. I mean, showing what he did last year at the end of the year and the way Pat got us into our offense and got downhill on pick and roll and distributed the ball and the way the guys fought. So good to have Melt back, watching him compete out there and QP, it was a beautiful effort and it’s just a shame we couldn’t finish it off.

00:55 In a somewhat a similar situation the other night, you didn’t close with Pat. You did tonight. Was that just kind of accumulated trust that he’s gained and you stayed with Pat?

01:06 Yeah, tonight was a no brainer. The other night was a tricky decision, but tonight was obvious. Pat was just incredible out there and controlled the game. And he’s just about the right stuff. It’s, organizationally, you always, you just wanna stand for something. You want to have an identity. And it’s gotta be about competitive spirit and just playing together and competing and that’s what was so beautiful about what that group did down the stretch.

01:41 Any chance, have you had a chance to talk to Draymond at all or no?

01:44 No.

01:44 You praised Pat repeatedly throughout the year, but especially in the last couple minutes. Right now without Steph, Jimmy, maybe Draymond, are we to a point where he’s earned more minutes in the short term?

01:58 Yeah, I mean, he played 24 tonight, maybe 22 the other night, so without Steph, for sure. He’s gotta be out there and it’d be great to find a way to get him on the roster because he’s kind of the perfect guy to have as a backup could. He can win you games like he almost did tonight, but if he’s, if he doesn’t play, he brings the same energy, the same attitude the next game. And so, be great if we could find a way, but it’s a little tricky.

02:37 These nights were supposed to kind of, be the nights that Brandin and Moses, JK kind of were the ones that potentially lift y’all a lot. They’ve struggled lately in these types of scenarios. Whatcha you seeing with those three? Obviously you didn’t close with them tonight. The stats weren’t good.

02:50 Every game’s different, so tonight was about the other group. Next game could be about those three, so you just roll from game to game and do what you can to try to win the game. And that’s why we have 15, 17 players, but if you include our two-ways, we’ve got a lot of guys who can play and I think we played 14 people tonight. So we believe in our depth and we know that a lot of guys can help us win.

03:20 When you have to inbound the ball again, after getting it in, what are the challenges there and what’s the play call? How do you wanna see your team execute there?

03:28 Yeah, I mean, we had to inbound it, I think, three or four times in the last 30 or 40 seconds and that one was tough. It looked like Melt was open, but I think Buddy thought that he needed to give Pat an outlet and so he kind of, they kind of came into the same area. I think Pat was trying to hit Melt and Buddy was just trying to help him out, so the play was for him to be in the back court to open up that space, but I’m sure Buddy felt like it was gonna be a five-second violation, so he ran up and it was just an unfortunate play.

04:03 You guys were losing the whole game and came back and until the fourth quarter, like the last five, four minutes of the fourth quarter, came back and fought, but couldn’t get the win. How does it feel to lose this game?

04:19 Gut punch. Total gut punch. There’s a couple of these every year and this is, this one’s gonna sting, but--

04:29 Anything that you guys can learn from this loss? Is there anything that the team can learn from this loss?

04:36 Yeah, you always learn from wins and losses. We will watch the tape. The biggest thing, I think, the biggest lesson is can we find groups out there consistently, they can play together, compete together, take care of the ball like that last group did? And have that kind of competitive spirit, have that be your identity? Every game’s gonna be different. Some nights the ball goes in, other nights it doesn’t, but you just want to establish who you are as a team and that’s what I’m looking for right now.

05:12 Draymond missed the other night with the foot sprain. He’s played a lot of games earlier in the season, but where would you say he’s been at physically and maybe the concern--?

05:20 He looks good. He looks lean. He’s felt good, so I don’t know if what happened tonight was related to the other night, but yeah, we’ll obviously be very careful with him and we’ll see how he’s doing in Cleveland.

05:34 Going back to De’Anthony for a second, just big picture when everybody’s right and healthy, what kind of impact you feel like--?

05:39 Huge. You can see the speed, the energy, the two-way capability, can handle the ball, can play off the ball. Melt’s a hell of a player.

05:51 You obviously knew going into the season that this team was built around 35 year olds and up, some sort of injuries are kind of baked into the equation. How close is how the first quarter of the season injury wise, is this compared to what you expected?

06:09 In terms of--?

06:09 Your player, your best players--

06:11 Injuries?

06:11 --being available? Yeah.

06:14 I don’t ever have any expectations coming into the year for injuries. I just, we just roll with whatever’s coming our way, so we have a lot of depth. We believe we can win games like tonight without our three best players. And I thought we deserved to, frankly, but we couldn’t quite close it. Thank you.

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06:37 What was working there in that fourth quarter during the comeback?

06:43 PAT SPENCER: I turned them over a few times. Felt like the second half the ball was just moving a lot better. We were able to get downhill, create some second chance opportunities on the offensive glass, just the compete level was way higher in that second half.

06:59 Pat, what happened on that inbounds play at the end?

07:05 I got a little jumbled up, had no timeouts left, so it felt like I didn’t have a guy open. Felt like Melt was popping open, but it was just poor timing with buddy trying to flash to the ball. Was on count number four in my head, so I had to get off of it. I felt like the best option at that time was Melt, pop into space. Just didn’t have any time outs left.

07:33 We’ve talked about the last few days, you’ve done everything you can do to give more minutes to show that you know you belong clearly on this level. Do you get the sense that you earned the trust to a point where at least in the short term, they’re gonna go to you even more?

07:50 Yeah, I mean, we’re deep. We got a lot of guys that can play and guys that have proven it, time after time. And so I think the tough part, I don’t envy Steve’s job at all. I think the most important thing for us is finding an identity. When we have Number 30, we have a pretty clear cut identity with how we wanna play when we’re out there. When we don’t, we tend to slow the ball down with certain groups. Other group, we have a little bit more pace, so right now we’re ultimately, because of injuries, because of absences, we’re trying to really find an identity with where we’re at. So yeah, I feel like I can be a big part of that equation, but I do not envy Steve’s job at all.

08:34 Steve was talking about the team’s identity earlier. He mentioned you. He said your competitive spirit, the way you play together with everyone is what he wants the team to be. How much does that mean to hear your coach say something like that?

08:46 Yeah, I appreciate it. He’s had my back the whole time. For me, it’s just who I am. It’s innate. I’m gonna go out there and compete and lay on the line no matter who I’m playing against. So, thankful that he follows that and sees that. And ultimately, like I said, in that first half when we don’t have it going, somebody’s gotta come out in the second half and raise that level as a competitor and, ultimately, I think that’s part of the reason I’m here.

09:15 What ways did you guys collectively feel De’Anthony’s presence?

09:19 Yeah, just another playmaker, defender, ball handler, shooter. First half, ball wasn’t popping. I’m sure he felt antsy to probably get a couple looks and just get a flow. He hasn’t played in 300 and some-odd plus days, so just gives us a another point of attack defender, playmaker. Like I said, just had to feel good for him to be back out there.

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09:44 You guys kind of absorbed that one where you come back from 20 down, obviously had a chance, probably liked in some ways how you played, but you lose.

09:52 QUINTEN POST: Yeah, it just sucks. I mean, second game in a row where we get down early and we fight back and just can’t finish the game out, so just sucks.

10:07 What kind of rhythm do you feel like you guys were able to find? What was working for you guys to that second effort?

10:12 We were just moving the ball. That’s the only thing we’ve been harping on the last couple of days and it’s just throw to the next open man. And I thought we did that. We were getting in a lot of high ball screens with me and then from there you just pass it to the next man. And you just play out of that. And I thought we did a good job with that, got some stops and yeah, we played some decent ball in the second half.

10:43 What did Melt bring to the team in that second half?

10:45 Yeah, he’s awesome. It’s so good to have him back, just seeing his presence defensively and just having another guard that can really handle the pick and roll, attack a closeout, shoot the ball. So now, like for his first back game back, he was awesome. Just chatting with him, he said he felt that first wind a lot in his first stint, but after that he looked really good.

11:14 What are the biggest differences when Pat is running the offense versus some of the other guards?

11:20 Pat just, he’s been playing really well. He plays with pace. He handles the pick and roll well, so nothing more than that. He’s just been playing really well.

11:35 What were some of the factors that led to you guys falling so far behind early?

11:39 The ball was sticking too much, probably. We were making it hard on ourselves, not moving the ball defensively. We weren’t connected, didn’t run in transition and that’s how you can get behind in the first half.

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12:02 De’Anthony, what was it like to be back out there?

12:07 DE’ANTHONY MELTON: It felt amazing. Besides that first little stint I felt fatigued, just everything you work for and just coming back now. So besides that, I felt great.

12:20 What juncture do you feel like you were able to start to catch your rhythm?

12:23 Man, I felt like honestly once the second half kind of rolled around, I think my second stint in the second quarter was pretty good, but I just still felt the fatigue. But I think once the second half rolled around I felt perfectly fine, like I was ready for whatever to come.

12:36 How comfortable do you feel defensively? Seemed like you were really getting after it there, especially in that second half?

12:40 Yeah, like you said in the second half, I think the first half, it’s different. I’ve been playing against a lot of coaches and some of the players, but now guarding All-NBA players like Tyrese and VJ’s been playing well and Quentin’s been playing well, so guarding those guys was definitely different, their speed and physicality, but I feel like I did pretty well and holding my own.

13:04 How do you process a loss like this?

13:07 Man, sometimes you guys take the wins with the losses, you know what I mean? We battled. I think watching film on that second half and understanding what we did in that second half and how we were moving the ball, how we was getting stops and I feel like we was way more connected around then. So just watching film on that and learning from that standpoint, too.

13:27 How’s your right hand?

13:29 It’s pretty good. I mean, I banged it up probably four or five days ago, at this point, but getting out there felt fine, taping it up and everything like that. So I think it’s something that probably last a couple more days and I’ll be good from there.

13:45 You had an amazing game. It’s great to have you back. Unfortunately, you guys didn’t get the win, but what are your expectations with this team going forward, knowing that they’ve had a rough start to the season?

13:58 Yep, expectations always have to stay high, I think. I have faith in all these guys in the locker room. Even at halftime, I was just telling ‘em, some of the shots that we took, they jumped out the rim and I think we took some good ones that, ultimately, sometimes will go down more times than not, but they didn’t. So us being down 24, I was just telling the guys it’s not necessarily 24. We should really be down like 12 or something like that, so just stay with it, stay confident, and just keep firing. And I think we just started to chip away and just, this is a resilient team and we know how to win and most teams don’t. So I think we just, we definitely did a good job with that

14:37 JK and Podz are supposed to be two guys on the roster. They’re important on the roster to support you guys, who step up in games like this when Steph and Jimmy are out. What did you see from them and what do they need to do, to get back into that mold?

14:52 I mean, I think everybody should step up. It’s everybody livelihood on the line, too, at the same time, so I think everybody’s stepping up. But specifically for those two guys, just staying confident, I think, is the biggest thing and instilling that for them. It’s just, play your game. Sometimes there’s a lot of outside noise that goes into it, especially young players in such a great organization. You’re gonna have a lot of he say, she say stuff that’s going on, but I think just staying confident and playing your game and take whatever comes with it. People always gonna say something, so just playing confident, being aggressive. Sometimes you would rather err on the side of being aggressive than not.

15:30 Do you draw confidence personally from just how today went, getting through the game?

15:33 Oh, for sure. I mean, I think, this is my eighth year now, so having confidence high is most important. And I think instilling in other guys is the next move for me and just making sure everybody stay high is because when they’re good, I’m good. When I’m good, hopefully the team is good, too. So, like you said, just making sure my confidence is high just so I can just make sure it radiates through the whole team.

15:56 You probably haven’t played much with Pat. I you played much with him last year.

16:01 He was actually in some, he was in my little mini games and stuff like that, going through rehab. So me and Pat have had a decent amount of time playing against each-- playing against and with each other, so I have faith in Pat and I understand what he can do. And I think Pat has game and he can show it, too.

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