Draymond: not the “savior” for lulls, turnovers, lack of defensive communication
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Draymond Green finally spoke to reporters since being suspended, yesterday after Warriors practice, two days before the Sacramento Kings. Here’s the transcript. Also attached below are other transcripts from Steve Kerr and Andrew Wiggins (also yesterday) and leftover ones from Kerr, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody.
Warriors fans can always learn more by reading what the players and coaches say, plus I didn’t want my transcription work to go to waste, although 5,000 characters of each usually do end up on our YouTube channel interview Description and Comments within 24 hours of the words being spoken to reporters…
0:00 Draymond Green after practice, two days before Sacramento Kings, on what his recent workout routine has looked like: “Pretty much every day. I think my first off-day since I got suspended was last Saturday… Well, yeah, my first complete day off was Saturday. But it was good. I got a lot of work and I was able to play some pickup with some of the guys and got a lot of shooting and a lot of lifting and playing and, what, almost two weeks I feel as about as good as you can feel... Like I said, the positive part is I wasn't injured. So I was able to get all the work that I needed to get in to stay in games.”
0:55 on the NBA stating that past actions do carry weight and if he sees that happening with other players: “I'm not really wanting to sit and compare myself to other players, because they're not me … Where I grew up, you don't sit and talk about what another man got or, ‘He didn't get this or he got that.’ … don't compare myself to other people … So I never look at it in that light, to continue mentioning like, ‘Oh, well what he did in the past,’ I paid for those, like I got suspended and Game 5 in the Finals. So you can't keep suspending me for those actions. But in saying that, I'm also not one to not admit when I'm at fault; it is what it is. For me, anytime there's a situation and a teammate need you to come to their defense, I'm going to come to their defense, and that's just that, especially with someone that I've been playing with for 12 years. That's more than a teammate, that’s a brother. Things can be interpreted how people interpret them. I'm not really here to judge people's interpretations or trying to change them. They are what they are, but I know for me, I'm gonna always be there for my teammates. That's who I am. That's who I am as a teammate. That's who I am as a friend. If I'm your friend, I'm going to be there for you, right, wrong or indifferent. You look to your side, I'll be right there, if not in front of me, so that's just how I am. For me personally, I have to be on the court for my teammates. Our chances of winning drops dramatically if I'm not out there, so I have to be better at being there and as one of the leaders of this group, just got to find different ways, and for me, that's, that's the biggest lesson in all of it. It's just like, yeah, you gotta be there for your teammate, but you have to do it differently. The same way you would do something when I was 26, I can't do at 33. That’s kind of what it boils down to and so I can be better there and I will continue to grow through different things that you go through in life and that's what I try to do with these situations. But I would never sit and judge it based on, ‘This guy choked that person. This guy swung at him and when did they get that?
4:00 on how he moves forward if the league is going to keep circling back to what he did before, stacking up suspensions: “Like, I don't agree with that. I paid my debt to those actions … I made it clear that they're going to hold everything against me that I've done before. So I've made that clear. That's okay. I need to adjust where I see fit, where my team may see fit, where my coaches see fit, where our front office fits, the people that I care about, that I trust, that when I hear them say something, it means something to me … the consensus amongst all of us is I'm going to be me, no matter what, and that's not going to change. But in saying that, there's always a better way that something can be done, and so figuring out a better way is the consensus amongst all of us. But I cannot play the game of basketball like, ‘Oh, man, I can't do this because they're probably looking at it,’ … they're going to what they're going to do, regardless, and I'm not going to play basketball worried about what they're going to do. I'm going to play basketball the way I play basketball, the way I play basketball has gotten me here. The way I play basketball has brought me a tremendous amount of success individually and from a team standpoint, and so I'm going to always be myself and not changing that. But like I said, I do understand and know that there's room for growth. There are different ways to handle things and I need to be better in those moments, in different situations.”
6:10 on if, when the suspension came down, he had a moment to talk to the team and what that message was: “Wasn't really much I needed to say to them. We all know what happened. We all saw what happened. We were all right there. I think the only thing that I had to say was things that's going to help and again, still try to be around a team and with the team as much as I can and try to help where I can. So the only things I had to say was Minnesota, OKC, Phoenix, San Antonio. I think that's kind of what it boils down to, is being in the trenches as much as you can with the team, if that’s film study, if that's practice, whatever that is, being in it with them and go from there. But I mean, there wasn't much else that I needed to say.”
7:14 on if he saw Rudy Gobert’s comments after the game: “I mean, it's 2023; you see everything these days. What's my comment about what he said? (Long pause) No comment is a comment, right? Cool.”
7:58 on if he regrets holding on too long to Gobert, as Steve Kerr has alluded to: “I don't live my life with regrets. Like I said before, I'll come to a teammate’s defense. Anytime that I'm in a position to come to a teammate’s defense, that’s what a team is, you stick together through the good and the bad. And I take that to heart. I take pride in being a good teammate. That's when I step in here every single day. That's Number One on my list, to be a good teammate, Number One thing that takes care of a lot of things, so I take pride in that. And reflecting over on the whole incident, for me, you kind of go through the whole gauntlet of everybody having an opinion and you listen to those opinions or not. Some people’s opinions I hear. Some people’s opinions I don't. And going through it is what matters to me. And what matters to me is how the people that I care about feel, first and foremost. How are the people that I care about affected, how are people that I care about? What do they have to deal with? That’s it for me. Now, when going through this the way the media portrays you is like you're supposed to crack or something. And that's not going to be, so you got people out there talking, bumping their gums and you just kind of sit there and run with it. The one thing that I always come to in these moments is things are never as good as they seem. They're never as bad as they say, so you kind of go through these moments and it felt like the world is collapsing on you and everything is coming to an end and what are you gonna do and it's just never as bad as it seems, you know? So when you put yourself in situations — someone that I don't respect is when you put yourself in a situation and then you can’t deal with what comes with it. I am someone who I love to deal with what comes with, whatever my actions are, in any situation. And so for me, the reflecting is all about what those that I love think or those that love me think how they feel. And then, like, what's my perspective? You know, like, how am I viewing this? How am I growing for this? I think everything you go through, there's a lesson and so, ‘Am I getting the lesson or not?’ is one of the biggest things for me. It's like, am I collecting the lesson that I need to collect from this? The reality is, the lesson that people think you need to collect isn't hardly ever the lesson because they know nothing about you. They know very little about situations. And so for me, I think it's always just trying to find what's the lesson that needs to be collected in a situation and that's how I reflect.”
11:32 on what the lesson is from Kerr and Mike Dunleavy, Jr., whereby from family is private: “Well, the message and the lesson is 100% no one's business. And the message from those that you see in the public, Steve, you got Steve's message, so I don't really need to come and share Steve's message. Not sure I've gotten Mike’s lesson or not, I mean message. But if you haven't, you can. So I don’t really need to share Mike's lesson. So yeah, I think there's no lessons for me or to me or anything in between that I'll be sharing. I just don't think it's necessary. I think lessons are what you make of them and what may be a lesson to me, somebody may hear and be like, ‘Oh, that ain't no lesson,’ and they have no clue of what everything else around that. So I think to share those lessons, rather than now it's pretty irrelevant.”
12:54 on what he has observed about the struggles that they guys have been facing over the last two weeks: “Our spacing can be better. That's something that sit back and you watch five games that you can see a lot, especially when you know what should be going on. I think that's kind of the kicker as we all sit back and watch five games, but when you know the ins and outs of what should be going on, you can see a bit more, taking a step back from it. I think defensively we're good in spurts. And in order to be a good team, a great team you have to put as close to 48 minutes together as you possibly can. The reality is, no one ever does. But if you can put 36 minutes together, that beats 20 minutes, and so the goal is to get as close to 48 minutes of great defense as you possibly can. I don't think we've been as great as we can be on that side of the ball. And I think we all have to take on that challenge individually and collectively. And then I think turnovers has hindered us as well. We get in some of these stretches in games and we start turning the ball over and Number One, you can't guard it. So it's impossible to get back off a turnover. And we have incredible shooters, incredible scorers. If you just get a shot at the rim, it allows you to get your defense set, gives you chances on offensive rebounds. But more importantly, it gives you a chance to make a point. And we kind of go on these lulls and they're all driven by turnovers. Myself being one of the guys that have led this team in turnovers for the last seven years or so, I am coming back into the fold. Can't come back and join in to that, gotta come back and try to show a different way and try to veer us the other way and taking care of the balls. I think we were doing a great job of it and then at times we've been slipping up and mostly comes out third or fourth quarter, so what's that focus level like coming out of the half? I think it'd be a big thing that I can come back and try to help us focus on.”
15:26 on Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins taking a while to come along: “Oh, I think both of them obviously got off to a slow start. Nobody's questioning that or debating that. They both got off to a slower start than they're accustomed to getting off to. And yeah, I think you look at the last two or three games and they're both playing a lot better, making more shots, being more aggressive, being more decisive. And I think you know, Wiggs and Klay are two guys in this league that have proven to be 20-point-a-night scorers, pretty much their entire careers. And so how do you get them back to that? Obviously you want to get them the ball in the right spot. What are the areas that they like to score? And I think spacing helps that; if the spacing is correct, guys get the ball where they're comfortable in their scoring positions and are able to go do that. But I think we all have to make an adjustment. It's not just on those two guys, why we struggle, but more importantly, it's also not just on those two guys to get themselves going. Neither one of them are a primary ball-handler. And so because of that, then it's on us as primary ball handlers, myself Steph, CP, to then make sure that we're getting them in the proper spots and giving them the best possible chance to be successful. And like I said, that doesn't take rocket science. They're both great players. You look at the last two or three games and they're starting to turn the corner and when you've seen guys like that year in and year out, you can hang your hat on and believe that the 2 or 3 is turning the corner and not just a fluke. So it's good to see them both have the last couple games that they've had and now we try to build on that and make sure all of them are equating to wins as well.”
17:31 on what he expects the environment to be like Tuesday in Sacramento: “Yeah, I think it'll be fun, a lot of fun. I think it'll be a lot like a Game 7 atmosphere, just that excitement, the angst. I think the feeling that I'm expecting is that it'll feel like a Game 7. You can never be so certain until you get in the game and actually feel the environment, because some people, you go into something thinking like, ‘Oh, it's gonna be this thing,’ and people react to things differently. You never know how somebody's gonna react to something, like some people get nervous and they get quiet. Some people get nervous and they start yelling. I think people react to things differently. You can never be so certain but what I expect, I expect it to be a very fun environment to play in.”
18:40 on if the expectation is because of the In-Season Tournament or the history with last year’s playoff series: “I think it's all a part of it.”
18:46 on if he’s observed spotty communication defensively and if that’s something he can help shore up: “Yeah, I mean, you can just see the mistakes that are being made that there's no communication. I think I helped with that. I tend to talk a little bit, so I think I can help with that. But I can't communicate for everyone. I'll try, but what's gonna make us great is everybody communicate. And it's not that you have to be as loud or demonstrative as me, you just have to say something. If you say something, it beats saying nothing, because at least I know you're there. If I hear you say something, at a bare minimum, I know where you are on the floor, and that helps on the defensive side of ball. So I think it's getting everybody to talk a little bit more. It's not like, ‘Oh, man, Draymond is going to come back and be the savior and the communication problem is going down the drain.’ Will I help better it? Of course, but that's a team-wide thing that everyone has to take on, that I have to be a better communicator. And if everyone takes on that role, you get just a little bit better. And most of the time a little bit better, it’s just enough. Where I can help most is demanding that everyone is communicating, not that I'm going to be the person to come back and it's like, ‘Oh, he's the savior.’ That don't work. Ever. There's no saviors in the NBA. But what I can do is I can come back and I can hold more people accountable to communicating and I think that helps us.”
0:00 Steve Kerr after practice, two days before Sacramento Kings, on Draymomd having a normal minute range: “It's a good question. I mean, he's obviously not coming off an injury. So there's nothing limiting him, minutes-wise, but it'll probably be more about conditioning who's playing well. And if we've got another group that's going well, we'll stay with that group. But we'll see … I mean, it's hard to just take five games off and expect to be where you were, so it'll probably be more just kind of see how things are going.”
0:44 on how much of a difference Draymond can make right away: “Well, our defense instantly gets dramatically better when we throw him in. We know that. And then it's really a matter of finding the right combinations within the game. Finding combinations that are in rhythm and clicking and we're searching for the best two-way version of our team. We’ve got to find combinations that can get stops and then create offense the other end, so I would say with all the absences and injuries and stuff, we're still searching for that that two-way consistent, efficient basketball.”
1:38 on seeing what the team can actually be: “Yeah. Hopefully we'll stay healthier in the coming weeks and we'll have a better chance to kind of find the groups, combinations, the rhythm, all that stuff that we are hoping to see. It's a good time for that to happen. The flip side of that is we have 12 guys who I think could play, 13 really. If you go down the list, Cory Joseph has played played really well. I've really only played him when either Steph or Chris has been out. But as you saw in Phoenix the other night, he's a really good player. And so both rookies have played well, when I've had them out there. Just do the math and we're at 12, 13 guys and probably only playing nine or 10. So this next stretch will test us in a number of ways, including, ‘Can we have all 13 guys competing when they're asked to compete and otherwise supporting the group when they're not?’ That’s not an easy thing to do.”
3:17 on having the Minnesota-OKC game before the Warriors-Kings, knowing exactly what they would have to do for the In-Season Tournament: “It is a benefit because we will know that we can either win the group outright or we have to win a tiebreaker. If we have to win a tiebreaker, we’ll know how many points we have to win by, so that is very helpful. And we'll see how it all plays out but we want to win; our guys have said all along we want to advance, we want to win the tournament but Tuesday is going to be a big night for that.”
4:04 on Kevon Looney: “Looney’s Mr. Consistent you know? We always know what we're gonna get from him. He's one of the best screen-setters in the league, one of the best rebounders and he's rock-solid defensively, so he's having another good year. We always need him against Sacramento because (Domantas) Sabonis is such a good player and Loon is our primary defender on him and so we're going to need Loon to continue to do what he does.”
4:37 on what the driving incentive is for the players for the In-Season Tournament: “Honestly, and I've seen a few players say this and I think this is true, I think our vets would love to win, to see the younger guys who haven't made much money in this league or rookies or whatever, get a significant chunk of money. I mean, that's real and obviously doesn't mean as much to the guys who are set for life and incredibly wealthy, all that, but much of the league is young guys who may only be in this league for a year or two or on a non-guarantee and same thing for the coaching staff, if we can win this. And we're gonna have a whole bunch of young coaches getting a good bonus and that's meaningful. And then on top of that, I think these guys are also competitive, that you just tell them you're playing for something, a trophy, they're gonna want to win. They love to compete. And so I think you throw that all in in the same box and guys are gonna want to win.”
6:08 on not knowing their schedule a week from now: “Yeah. I mean, it doesn't disrupt us at all. It's just weird looking at next week's schedule and seeing those blanks. I mean, we know we have games but we don't know against whom. So Tuesday night, once the pairings come out for everything then our advanced scout Scott Vaughan will be on that and so will our scouting team, so within the coaching staff they'll all be starting preparation… (In reply to if there’s still enough time:) Yeah.”
6:51 Andrew Wiggins after practice, two days before Sacramento Kings, on the In-Season tournament winnings up for grabs: “I'm excited for it, especially in today's game, should be fun, competitive playoff-type atmosphere; there's a lot at stake. So it'd be fun and exciting, be able to advance.”
7:28 on having Draymond back into the fold and the impact that he's had in practice: “Oh, it’s amazing. Draymond is one of those guys that you can't replace, his energy and what he brings to our team and the game of basketball is on another level. Today we scrimmaged, it was great. He was vocal, he was active, a leader on the court. And we won the scrimmage, so having Draymond is a plus in every aspect of being on the court.”
8:12 on how much Draymond Green can fix the problems: “Um, I mean, Draymond, he's a winner. He makes the game easier for a lot of guys on the court, for everyone on the court, defensively, offensively, we’ve missed his presence.”
8:42 on Kerr specifically saying he thought the veterans who have made a lot of money want to see the young guys get that big check for winning the In-Season Tournament: “For sure, for sure, you want to see the young guys get what they deserve. They’re working hard. We’re all in this together and even to be the first team to go and win it all, that’s history.”
9:22 on if where things have been lacking defensively is the communication: “Um, definitely, that's one of the things is communicating, getting to the right positions, rotating and that comes with communication.”
9:53 on having a big 31-point game, being animated and smiling and the last couple games not scoring much, but shots coming along, where he is in this process not having the start he envisioned: “Yeah, I mean, a little slow start, but for that my game is coming along. My shot’s feeling better, my rhythm’s feeling better, and I feel like with every game, just getting better and better. You know, back to my normal self.”
10:33 on what this last month been like, considering he’s been playing at such a high level his whole career, especially the last two years: “Um, I mean, just trying to find yourself again, trying to find that rhythm, and just trying to find your spots and what you can do, even when you're not scoring the basketball. I'm not scoring the basketball (so) I'm like, ‘Okay, what else can I do to help the team win?’ Whether it's rebounding, it’s defending, just playing hard and knowing the other stuff will take care of itself.”
11:11 on if he notices anything different about Kevon Looney when he goes up against Sabonis: “Um, when the challenge approaches, Loon is the first one there to take on the challenge, and he's seen it last year in the playoffs; it doesn't matter who we face, Loon always take the challenge, always makes it difficult and goes out there and competes.”
0:00 Steve Kerr after practice, day before Phoenix Suns, on Jonathan Kuminga’s development: “Well, I think JK is doing well. He's been very responsive to coaching. He's had a good approach… we have a deep team … 12 guys who are all deserving of being in the rotation. And so every night is going to be a little bit different … we're going to go with whoever gives us the best chance to win and that's going to be different guys, unless there's separation from within the group. And so far, it's just, I haven't seen that separation. A lot of guys are playing well, but nobody's separating themselves…”
0:54 on what the focus was today at practice: “Yeah, we did a really good film session and then the veteran guys did not get on the court. We just felt like we needed to give them some rest. So the younger guys have gotten a lot of work in this morning. So it's good to have a day like this both for mind and body.”
1:21 on Kuminga’s athleticism and explosion: “I mean, you can see with our team, we've got a lot of skill, but we're not the biggest, most-athletic team. So that's where JK can really help us… Gary (Payton II) helps us …Wiggs helps and we need all those guys to be effective defenders, on-ball defenders, and just to give us that speed and pop in different areas of the game.”
2:03 on Gary Payton II’s status: “He’s scrimmaging right now and so call it questionable because it'll depend on how he feels afterwards.”
2:15 on Stephen Curry surpassing Nate Thurmond in minutes played for the franchise, and still doing it at this level for 15 years: “Is he 35, is right? He’ll be 36 in March? Yeah, I mean, I don't know if anyone at his position at his size has played as effectively as Steph has at this age. I'm sure there are some names. I watched Steve Nash play really at a high level into his late 30s but it feels like what Steph is doing is just at a different level. He feels better than he ever has before. So remarkable what he does and it's a testament to how much he works at his craft and on his body and his conditioning. All summer long and he never stops. He's always searching for ways to get better, too. It’s incredible to watch.”
3:25 on Trayce Jackson-Davis not feeling like a rookie: “Yeah, he doesn't feel like a rookie. He has 125 college games under his belt. And so a lot of the things that you expect to have to teach a rookie, yoi don't have to teach him; he already understands angles on screens, flipping screens, great timing, diving to the rim for lobs, great timing as a shot-blocker, understands angles and pick-and-roll coverage is a big deal. These are all things that are really hard to master but he feels them instinctively and he's another guy I'd love to play more because he's a very good player, I just haven't been able to find minutes for him.”
4:15 on what he thinks about NIL and the fact that guys like TJD can make money if they choose not to enter the draft: “I think it's great. More power to them. I hope it keeps more players in the college game before they come to the NBA. I'm not sure it'll quite work that way but I do think players are better when we get them if they've had more experience at the collegiate level. So, selfishly, I'd like to see more guys do that.”
5:00 Jonathan Kuminga after practice, day before Phoenix Suns, on how his third year is going: “I'm feeling good. I'm feeling good. I'm excited every single day. I'm blessed to be here. It's actually going (better) than people think … Just being around, I feel I have been more comfortable … I know every play and I know everybody and that just makes me feel comfortable and makes me want to be even here even more.”
5:52 on if he has a preference playing the 3 or 4: “I don't have any problem playing the 3 or the 4 … go out there and help the team win, that’s all that matters. But a person like me, I had to change the capability to play the 3 and the 4, so it's a blessing. And I don't take it for granted. I go out there and use it. I'm comfortable with whatever.”
6:26 On having the opportunity to take on a larger role these last three games with Draymond Green out: “I mean, so far, I think things have been going well. I’m not gonna worry about Draymond coming back because me and Draymond play — at the same time we play well. It’s never about me and Draymond timing or when he comes back, my minutes going down or I'm playing bad (right) now. I'm excited. I can’t wait for him to get back because I’ve been playing way better with Draymond.”
7:00 on TJD being a rookie year three years older than him: “Is he?” Reporter: “He’s gonna be 24 in February.” JK: “Not yet… I mean, I’m a guy who, I get along with everybody … I don’t look at him as a rookie, I just look at him as my teammate … help us both on the floor when we play at the same time. Because he’s gonna have a better understanding of me, and I'm gonna have a better understanding of him. So I mean, he's a very smart player. He plays his role perfect. I'm just excited. And looking forward to what the future is for him.”
8:06 on if he’d have chosen college for NIL versus G League Ignite if NIL was as big as it is now: “I mean, I'm gonna keep it real. For me, it wasn't about the money. I mean, the money obviously helps my family, everybody in a good situation, but obviously it was me going to where it's going to prepare me to be a professional as fast as I can. I don't know nothing about college, from what I heard, it’s just different than what the G League was because we actually get to play in front of scouts, to play against mature people that have been G League players, that some of them been in the league before, some of them have gotten a chance to go out there and play, but just haven't got that chance to play. So it was just a different perspective, because I was looking at getting better, faster every day. And I'm not saying if you go to college, you’re not gonna get better, but always wanted to be a professional earlier.”
9:21 on if the locker room has more confidence knowing that they lost a few games, but never had their whole team: “I mean, that wasn’t an excuse at all. It's not because we're missing anybody that we got beat. Things didn’t go our way, regardless of Steph playing or not playing. We’re always a team. We’re all professionals. We gotta do what we gotta do … I’m not gonna say we didn’t do it the right way but it didn't go well, our way. Obviously missing a couple of people that don’t affect us out from going out there and trying to win. I'm glad some of the people coming back. Draymond will come back soon and we’ll start rolling.”
10:46 Moses Moody after practice on TJD being a rookie but older than him: “Yeah, he's been doing really good. You can tell that he's not your average rookie just because he's older and more developed. He knows where to be, playing a similar style in college… he just has a really good feel for the game.”
11:10 on practices being different this year: “Different teams, a lot of times you need different things … I’ve really understood the importance of practice… in times past you kinda dread practice, like oh, you don't want to do this, you don't want to go through that. But like we had a long stretch where we couldn't practice because the schedule was so rigorous. So then we kind of like fell out of rhythm with a couple of things and actually getting into practice, we got to nail down our principles. And then you can just tell in the games after being able to practice how much that really affected the team and how valuable that really was.”
12:02 on if practices have had an emphasis on understanding fundamentals or foundational concepts: “Our coaches are always pretty precise on it… usually we have older teams, veteran teams, so you don't necessarily have to as much as you probably do with the young guys, me being that, especially before. We’re really learning … but this year, they did definitely slow down and walk everybody through everything and not just concepts that you can do. You can think of it that way and say like all the older guys know what to do… (but) there’s so many different ways to guard a stack action. So you know, you gotta understand how we're doing it on this team. And so everybody kind of has to develop and everybody has to learn, so being able to walk through that slowly has been good for us.”
12:50 on adding Chris Paul to Steph, Klay and Draymond: “Well, yeah. That’s a pretty good lineup right there, just to be three years in and playing with that many Hall of Famers, All-Stars, there’s not many people that get to do that. And me personally, I like to be a sponge. I know everybody kind of says that, but I really do enjoy that in basketball, not in basketball. Just being able to pick up things, to learn, to however you want to call it. I just I enjoy that. So being able to be around it, listening to those conversations, even when you're not talking to me seeing how poised CP is with the ball, that’s one thing I like because sometimes when you got the ball in your hands, you're supposed to be making a decision or you're supposed to be doing something with it. But if you watch CP sometimes, he just has this cadence that he just moves with and it's aggressive but not aggressive. He’s making something happen but he's still calm and poised. It’s just small things like that, that you can pick up on just from being around.”
13:57 on how JK has handled the growing pains of fluctuating minutes: “Yeah, it's a journey just like anything else. He’s grown a lot since he first got here. There’s still room to grow for everybody … even like last year, like when the rookies came in we didn’t know much more than them at that point… with these guys coming in, we're kind of communicating and talking and then me and JK joke about stuff from our rookie year, not like we’re five years in or something, but even still just being able to see where you started and where you are now, kind of validates some of the work that you put in.”
14:58 on what’s it’s like seeing Steph, who's 35 years old and playing at an MVP level: “Yeah, Steph is inspiring in itself. Just, y'all get to see the highlights and the threes and the stepbacks and all of that, but his day in and day out, the person that he's able to be. One of his most impressive things for me was this preseason, watching him workout. Then we had a team practice and he's playing quarters at a time while everybody else is subbing in and out, getting breaks, and he's just being special in practice. I haven’t been around other guys on other teams, but he's somebody that's just — you know how they say you should never meet your idols, he's the opposite of that. He's a role model, and kind of shows that it's possible and what it takes to be on top. You work to become the King of the Hill, and when you're the King of the Hill a lot of people rest. That's when somebody else takes over the throne. Well, he's somebody that's on top, that's the King of the Hill and works harder than he did when he first got there. That's why he's staying where he is. He shows what it takes to be on top, and how to stay there.”
16:18 on Kerr saying he deserves to play more and if that’s a tough situation to be in or if it’s all upside: “Everything's perspective. There's a lot of guys on this team that could be playing more... There's positives in every situation. So me being able to value the 17 to 20 minutes I get, just being able to appreciate those and maximize those is something that I can learn from. That’s like a challenge that I can learn right now. Rather than if I could sit up here and be mad about my 15 minutes, and then I get 30 minutes next year, well, since I was over here pouting all year, now I'm not ready for those 30 minutes and I don't know how to maximize 30 minutes. If you can't maximize 15 minutes, it’s gonna be the same when you get 30. So just taking every obstacle and seeing the lesson that's in front of you. Something that I'd seen a while back that I really liked was. ‘A fool looks for happiness in the distance, while a wise man grows it under his feet.’ So instead of just saying it's gonna be better in the future, like, ‘Oh, it’s bad right now, but it’s gonna be better, it’s gonna be better,’ you can always say that for the rest of your life. But a wise man is gonna sit here and look at the situation that he's in and make the best out of that. So that's something I try to live on.”
0:00 Stephen Curry postgame OKC 11/18 on how this loss is hitting him: “…emotional roller coaster. Not playing as well as we did for the first 30-ish minutes and then give up that big lead … So it's kind of going back and forth … the NBA can go either way and especially the last five games have gone for us that shot Wiggs hit will get us over the hump. As fate would have it, wasn't enough and so a very, very tough way to lose for sure. But you gotta keep hold of the rope, as they say; understand it's a long year and we showed some signs of great and good shots on offense and trying to connect the game, just didn't have enough.”
1:11 on having not experienced anything quite like this at home: “You hate losing games, no matter where it is, and especially at home … you set a standard of protecting your home court and there are different challenges for us this year that we're gonna have to overcome if we're going to be competitive in the standings late in the season. You hate seeing the 1-6, 1-5, whatever it is … but doesn't mean we can't turn around.”
1:54 on what are the biggest challenges: “Obviously know we need to shoot the ball better as a group, limit our turnovers especially like tonight where we have 18 and you're giving a very explosive offense easy buckets in transition and not, again, connecting the game, taking care of possessions … Those blemishes were pretty costly … we've been experimenting with the rotations and lineups … find some chemistry and develop an identity of how we're going to win games. And we've shown some bright spots early, but I think through this losing streak we've gotten a little rattled a little bit. So we gotta figure that piece out and missing Draymond... I was out for two games; seems like a perfect storm of everything. So we have to, again, maintain confidence in ourselves and our ability to figure it out. But it's gonna take everybody.”
3:08 on how urgent it’s starting to feel: “…losing streak like this, there’s urgency for sure. Like, anytime you're this many in a row. It's a problem that you gotta fix and you don't want to develop a losing mentality at all, at any stretch in the season. That’s a stink in the locker room you don’t really wanna have.”
3:46 on the level of frustration with Draymond Green out for three more games: “Anytime you're missing anybody as important as Draymond is and our core starter, a guy that's anchored on defense, it’s tough…especially with a team that's trying to put the pieces together, like you want to get as many reps together as possible and, again, to develop an identity. So we're missing time. It's tough for whatever reason, so it's not ideal, but I feel like we do have enough to win games. In the meantime, we just haven't been able to do it.”
4:46 on if Andrew Wiggins’ big game starts to fix what they need to do to get out of this skid: “Yeah, he's always been aggressive and plays with great energy, especially recently. He's trying to get himself out of whatever funk he found himself in … you'd like to see him having fun out there and him being rewarded for the energy that he's putting in the game and that was great to see. And some were obviously some big shots. And the message for him is, keep being aggressive to take shots you think you should take. He's bringing it on the defensive end and he does that every game, so it's nice to see him get rewarded. And hopefully it continues.”
5:46 on how his knee feels: “Oh, great. All the rehab stuff that I did, I didn’t really feel it out there. It was nice to, even though it was a loss, get the extra five minutes and getting to 40 minutes and being able to get through it, all the physicality of the game and the speed of it, take that right where I left off. Timing was a little off, but I know that’ll come back.”
6:16 on if there’s anything he can take from his very early career that he can summon now and apply it to what they are dealing with now: “It’s just a mentality that you're supposed to win and when you know how to compete and the confidence that we've built over the course of this run. This is all in there. We have that competitive spirit that'll help a lot to, again, not let that losing mentality sink in. Doesn’t mean that the Xs and Os and the execution of game plan and whatnot are going to follow, but it sets you up for the ability to be in games and get the momentum back on your side. You gotta have, I mean, like an ego, like who we are as a team and kind of dig deep into that. And in the meantime, whatever adjustments we need to make and the way that we're approaching both sides of the floor, those details, we’ll continue to talk about. Because this year is a different challenge than any other.”
7:36 on how much overtime was just about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander making some really difficult shots: “That's what he does, especially when they have floor space the way they do and some of the offense they run. Like, everybody's kind of a threat out there. And he takes advantage of the drive and angles and he's making tough contested twos. Part of it is kind of shots you live with, but not that many. So that's what the league is about, like the scorers of his caliber, winning games for a team, hitting tough shots. We allow the game to be in a position where that matters … instead of us maintaining that double-digit lead that we had there. That's on us.”
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