Draymond: “We suck at that individual challenge” + Jimmy: “we mope”

[HOU-GSW videos/interviews/transcripts]

Steve Kerr, Jimmy Butler, Will Richard, Brandin Podziemski and Draymond Green postgame Houston:

00:00 Do you know what body part Steph injured?

00:03 STEVE KERR, POSTGAME HOU-GSW: Quad contusion. We’ll get an MRI.

00:06 Okay, gotcha.

00:09 He was limping back to the replay challenge. Did you notice that? Did he--

00:15 Yeah.

00:15 You, that was the same thing that kinda cropped up throughout.

00:19 Yes. I didn’t ask him. I always just rely on the training staff to tell me whatever I need to know. So I saw, but I did see him limping, yeah.

00:34 Do you know when the MRI will be?

00:35 I don’t.

00:38 The start of the fourth quarter looked like where the game really changed. What have you seen from the, your second, what did you see from your second unit there and what generally-- it doesn’t seem to have been as explosive or as, as dynamic as it been in the past.

00:54 I would argue that the game changed the last five minutes of the third quarter. We had a, like, a 12 point lead in there and we just started turning it over and fouling. We were in the bonus or they were in the bonus for the last five minutes. I think we fouled them three or four times. And so we just kept giving them easy points and didn’t really execute much offensively. We missed some open ones, but it never felt like we had any rhythm and flow, which is why I went to Pat in the fourth. Pat has, to start the fourth, he’s given us some, some good minutes off the bench so far in the early season and helped us get some offensive rhythm and, but that group just couldn’t get anything going. And so it was, yeah, it was a tough stretch. Late third, early fourth.

01:45 25 offensive rebounds for the Rockets.

01:47 Yeah.

01:48 How much do you think that affected like the offensive flow on--

01:50 Yeah, no, that’s everything, right? And we obviously know that about this team. Capela had eight on his own. That, that’s what they’re doing. It’s, highest offensive rebound percentage in NBA history coming into the game and it just went up, obviously. Yeah, great rebounding team, very physical and give them credit. They’re doing a good job, even without some key players.

02:17 Steve, Will Richard starts the game and also is on the finishing squad. What has he done to earn your confidence to be in those roles?

02:25 You can see it. He’s just in the right spot, the right time. He has a lot of confidence. He’s not afraid to let it fly. He never turns it over, just connects the game. He makes the game easier for everybody else. He’s just, he’s wise beyond his years, so I’ve, got a hundred percent trust in him.

02:49 We got Buddy with another zero point game and this is not the first time over the last several games. Is there something you can put a finger on, what’s happening with him offensively? Is he getting looks that he is not taking or is it just it’s not, they’re not there for him, recently. Both. I, it’s, it’s always a combination when you’re a shooter. When shots aren’t going in it, it feels like you’re not getting great looks and, and then when you do get one, you put a lot of pressure on yourself. And, but Buddy has a long history of being a great three point shooter, so we’re gonna stay with him and encourage him to keep letting it fly.

03:29 Gary hurt his ankle. Gary Payton hurt his ankle.

03:32 Was that what it was? Ankle? Yeah.

03:35 Will he get an MRI? I don’t know, yeah.

03:39 I think you entered tonight 23rd in offensive rating, struggled offensively in the second half. Just as a team, beyond limiting turnovers, what needs to change offensively?

03:52 It’s the turnovers is number one. I rattled off the stat before the game and that just got worse today, so we’re 9-1 when we win the turnover battle, 1-9 when we don’t. So that’s the number one thing. When we haven’t turned it over, we’ve been good offensively, but yeah, there are times where we’re not getting to our spots, not getting good enough spacing, and we’re getting late in the shot clock and having to throw up a tough shot. We’ll keep looking at everything, keep trying to get better.

04:26 Steve, how would you describe your guys’ identity at the 20-game mark? How would I describe the identity of the team right now?

04:33 The identity? What did Bill Parcells say? You are what your record says you are. So we’re 10-10. We’re an average team and I think we have the potential for much more and it’s my job as coach to help these guys find that rhythm that can give us some, some juice, some separation, some confidence. And so I believe in them and I believe in our guys, our, the continuity that we’ve got from not only last year, but with Steph and Dray for 14, 15 years, whatever it’s been. So I believe in the guys and we’ve just gotta keep working and we’ll get there.

05:16 Steve, to your point, obviously everything changes if Steph even has to miss a couple days. What do you think changes the most for the group, if he has to miss a little bit of a stretch.

05:28 If Steph has to miss?

05:29 Yeah. If he has to miss a little bit of a stretch.

05:32 It obviously changes everything, our rotations, how we’re playing, who we’re playing through. So we’ll see. I’m actually, when I heard it was the quad, I was actually relieved. Better than an ankle or a knee, so hopefully he can recover quickly and be okay, but we gotta hold down the fort.

05:56 Far on your right, Steve. Did you feel like GP2, Gary, going down impacted the ability to slow down Reed Sheppard? And what did you see from Reed, specifically, in the second half?

06:06 Reed was incredible. He had a great game, dominated the whole game, and he got off to a good start. I thought we were too soft on him early and when we did put pressure on him, we had some success, but we, he got free and, yeah, obviously he’s got the speed and quickness to get downhill and hit that mid-range shot. So yeah, Gary’s injury hurt, but, it’s, that’s not, that’s not the story. The story is that Reed played an amazing game.

06:39 Steve, how do you judge your defensive effort against Sengun tonight?

06:44 The defensive effort was just awesome against Sengun. Draymond remains one of the great defenders in the league and guards everybody, including guys almost a foot taller than him. And he battled him every possession down there. Thank you.

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07:06 What would change the most?

07:10 JIMMY BUTLER: I think we’re gonna have to be damn near perfect. We ain’t gonna have the ultimate bail out on our team, but even when he is on the floor, we’re gonna have to do our job because we make the game real difficult. As great as a basketball player he is, he has a really hard job every single day. If he’s got to be like the Batman of all Batmans and save us every night. That’s, that ain’t what he’s here to do.

07:36 When you say you’re making the game hard on yourselves right now?

07:40 Yeah.

07:40 I guess what do you mean by that?

07:42 We don’t box out. We don’t go with the scouting report. We let anybody do whatever they want, open shots, get into the paint, free throws. It’s just sad.

07:54 Is that from the word, from the beginning of the game or is this, does something happen that brings out those patterns during the course of play?

08:00 I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t care, either. I just think we need to do what we’re supposed to be out there doing as players, like I don’t care what Steve say, it’s not on him and it’s not on the coaches. Y’all can’t see, but they, it’s back there somewhere.

08:14 Game plan?

08:15 Yeah. They write everything up there for us to do and they put us in the position of success. We go over it the day before, the day of. We gotta go out there and execute man. So don’t listen to Steve when he said, this is on me and he gotta be better. Nah, it’s on these guys around the locker room.

08:28 How do you guys clean up some of the turnovers? And some of those come with playing high tempo of course, but how do you-- Monday was a good night taking care of the ball and is there an answer?

08:43 Just make the first available easy pass. I think that’s like Basketball 101 is what I call it. That’s what you learn in the fourth grade or whenever everybody started hooping. We just gotta care more, but that, that ain’t the, that’s not the only problem. But that, that may be one of them. But we just gotta compete, especially at home. You gotta guard, rotate. All of these things that we say we’re gonna do that we do sometimes, but most of the time we don’t.

09:12 Surprising to you, given how, like, how many veterans are in this locker room?

09:17 No, it’s not surprising because I think that we, a lot of our hustle and a lot of everything is dictated upon often when we make shots. Oh man, we’re celebrating, we’re cheering, we’re doing all of those things. When we’re not going, again, not going our way, we put our head down and we mope and then we don’t box out, we don’t get back, we foul, we do all the bad things, but when it’s going good, some people call it frontrunning, but when it’s going good, it’s all smiles.

00:00 Hey Will, what’d you make of the Rockets getting 25 offensive rebounds?

00:07 WILL RICHARD, POSTGAME HOU-GSW: Yeah, we knew coming in that they were gonna be a physical team on the glass. They play two bigs sometimes, we knew that was gonna be the challenge, is limiting their second chance points and trying to get out there on glass. I think we didn’t do a great job of doing that. We gotta hit them early and be the first ones to the glass and gang rebound to get the job done.

00:26 You kinda had to chase down Reed, also guard Jabari. How is it going against guys a different size, playing different positions?

00:32 Yeah, I’d probably say just, just being aware, aware of where they are, they always are. Reed is moving a lot, just trying to stay in his space. He’s a good shooter, trying to contest everything. Jabari’s a little taller, getting underneath him, just trying to make him put on the floor and make him shoot tough twos.

00:53 It’s obviously an adjustment anytime someone gets hurt, but Steph, so much of your offense revolves around him if he’s out for a couple games. How do you cope with that?

01:04 Yeah, that’s the challenge. I feel like if Steph is out, everybody else has to improve their game a lot, to fill that void that he brings. He brings a lot to our team and all areas of the game, so everybody has to make that jump to fill that.

01:28 Yeah Will, you were on the, not only started, but you were on the finishing team. Does that show that Kerr has confidence in you, you think, is that?

01:37 Yeah, I feel it definitely shows that they’re starting to trust me more, but just trying to go out there and close out the right way and just make the right plays on the court. I feel like that goes a far long way.

01:46 One, one more thing on that no look pass from Steph. Did you know he was gonna, that, that he would, could see you on that? That surprise you?

01:55 Yeah Steph, he’s a great passer so he can pretty much see everything on the court, so for me, just being ready and being aware of the shot clock, knowing that time’s running down to get a shot off.

02:03 You feel confident now?

02:05 For sure. I feel like I always felt confident in my game and what I could bring to this team, so I’m just going out there and trying to make the most of the opportunity.

02:20 Hi Will, Monday night Steve was so happy with how you guys took care of the ball and were able to push the tempo and have a lot of different scoring contributions. Tonight, the turnovers were back up. How do you guys find the happy medium between being able to run your pace and get the shots that you want and the offense you want with staying in control? I know it’s a constant focus for Steve.

02:46 For sure. I feel like it just goes back to the fundamentals, making the easy play, not trying to force the passes, playing off two once you get in the lane and just trying to keep it simple. I feel like a lot of turnovers come from us just being rushed and trying to make the home run play instead of just making the easy one. So I feel like once we get back to doing that, everything can start back flowing.

03:06 One follow up to the earlier question on Steph, specifically on offense, when he’s not out there, it seems like you guys have trouble generating shots, which is logical. How do you think, what’s the easiest way to fix that in your mind?

03:19 Yeah, I feel like the ball can’t stick. You gotta have ball movement, setting screens, getting dives. I feel like when we move the ball and can play out of closeouts, attacking closeouts and stuff like that, I feel like that’s what makes us at our best. So I feel like when we’re doing that, it definitely helps, when Steph is out.

03:35 You got some like Hall of Fame vets on your team and you’re a rookie and you, I would assume they would try to impart some wisdom and advice and stuff like that. What have they, those guys given you?

03:46 They’ve given me a lot, all of them. I’ve asked them any questions and they’ve done a great job of answering that and being very transparent on how they’ve been successful and how they’ve had such a long career. So I’ve tried to ask them as many questions as I can, because I know I can. I’m blessed to be in a situation where I have vets like that.

04:03 You seemed like you made a concerted effort to crash the boards on offense. Was, is that some of the emphasis, like on the little things you’ve been talking about?

04:10 Yeah, for sure. And I know I need to come in and provide effort and energy, so I feel like those little plays, crash in offensive glass, second chance points, creating second chance possessions. I feel like that’s what, they see in me. So for me, I’m just going out there and trying to do that as much as possible.

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04:29 Game was pretty close there in the fourth. What sort of was the turning point in that stretch?

04:41 BRANDIN PODZIEMSKI: Couldn’t really tell you. It was a, it was a back and forth game. It just comes down to who’s gonna get more stops and we didn’t get enough.

04:51 Brandin, Jimmy was just in the locker room saying everybody has to care more about doing the little things right and making stops and not just being an offensive focused team. Do you think there’s something to that where just everybody buying into do more and hustle and care, that was a word he used?

05:16 I think we all care. It’s just, obviously it looks a little, just a little bit worse because we lost and we’ve been losing, but yeah, no one’s gonna bail us out of this kind of losing kind of funk we’re in. So we just gotta dig deep. May not look pretty, but that’s just how you win.

05:38 With Steph potentially missing some games here, how does, how do you guys pick up the pieces to fill in the offensive gap if he’s gonna be out?

05:47 Everybody’s just got just a little bit more, nothing too drastic. Everybody just plays a little bit better and, collectively, you hope that’s good enough to win.

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05:57 Everything.

05:58 DRAYMOND GREEN: Yeah.

05:59 What, like how do you begin to fill in the gaps that will be there?

06:04 We can’t turn the ball over. We can’t give up offensive rebounds. You gotta start with that because you gotta give to yourself some way to make up all of those points, so start there. Take care of little shit you can take care of and then you figure out the numbers would say.

06:20 You guys have been a solid defensive team and a not great offensive team, but Jimmy was just very critical of the defense.

06:27 Our defense is shit. Because it’s not necessarily the numbers, like how do you feel when you out there. And if it’s just let down after let down, it’s bigger than the numbers, you know what I’m saying? So defense is about demeanor. So if first let down after a let down and it kills your demeanor, it kills your bravado, then you’re just a soft team. And it’s bigger than a number. Like what does the other team feel when you’re defending it? And right now they don’t feel no force, so even if you getting stops like, yeah, we got great coaches, we’re gonna have a good scheme, but what about the force? We don’t have that.

07:07 How do you find that as a group?

07:10 It requires individuals, all of us as individuals to take on your challenge. And if you take on your challenge, then we can make the team thing work, but the only way the team’s gonna work is if we take on individual challenge. And right now we are individually and I know everybody likes to twist words, I said we are individually awful.

07:35 How do you feel right now? You came in with the foot sprain.

07:38 I’m all right. I’m fine. I feel like I’m 25.

07:44 You did dunk tonight.

07:45 Did you see my dunk?

07:46 Yeah, I was gonna say.

07:48 Speaking of feeling, how do you keep everybody’s spirits up if he does have to miss whatever he has to?

07:54 I’m not a big keeping-spirit-up guy. That ain’t really the department I sell in. I motherf__k you. So that’s somebody else area to keep the spirit up. I do mine the opposite way.

08:04 Do you have to, do you feel like that’s on the horizon?

08:06 Absolutely. I’m not a big, hey guys! I don’t, operate that way. That ain’t my leadership style.

08:13 Starting with the point of attack events?

08:16 It starts with point of attack for sure, but it’s not just one guy point of attack. It’s all of us that end up on the point of attack. We’re getting f__king blown by and then our rotations suck. I’m not helping great, so it’s a domino effect. So point of attack must always be great, but when you get beat, there’s point of attack. Then what happens? And right now we suck at that individual challenge, so it all goes hand in hand. Not one guy. It’s everybody.

08:47 Kerr said, you are what your record says you are, 10-10. Do you feel it?

08:50 .500 team.

08:51 Mediocre team?

08:52 Yeah, for sure. 1000%. You lose-- I think you would agree, we should have won tonight.

08:58 Without KD.

09:01 You have bad losses and you 10-10. Guess what you are? A f__king .500 team that lose games you should win. That’s what .500 teams are, like, aight, pretty good. You should lose the games you should-- you quickly end up 10-10. So, very average team right now.

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