Gary Payton II: “Without Steph (Curry), the ball can’t stick”
[NOP-GSW videos/interviews/transcripts]
How to generate offense in the absence of one Wardell Stephen Curry, per Gary Payton II:
Without Steph, the ball can’t stick, can’t play one on one. And just move the ball, play for each other and play through each other and good things happen when the ball doesn’t stick. We move, we cut, we make defense scramble, and that’s what happens when we play the right way.
Per Jimmy Butler:
That’s the formula for everybody around here to be successful. Keep the game easy, especially when 30’s not out there, gotta play damn near perfect. And like I always say, if you open shoot it, if not the easy play is to pass it.
Per Draymond Green:
We definitely called a lot more plays tonight, which will be the way it’s gonna be without Steph. It’s a lot less random because you just gotta get dominoes to fall a different way to start the action and we need to be more structured. We need to move the ball faster and when you got an advantage, you gotta keep that advantage. I think that’ll be our goal. I thought overall we did a pretty decent job of it tonight. We just didn’t make shots.
Per Steve Kerr:
If you take care of the ball and you get shots on goal, it just sets the game up. Your transition defense is better, it gives you a chance to get offensive boards, so the game, it didn’t feel that rhythmic, but it felt clean that we weren’t turning it over, making mistakes and that’s important. The shots will start going in. We’ve got a really good shooting team, so that those numbers will come around.
Plus, having Jimmy close, per Kerr:
He really prefers just making the right basketball play. He reminds me so much of Andre Iguodala in that regard. He’s very principled in his approach to basketball. He wants everybody to play the right way. He wants to make the right pass, but there are times, and tonight was one of them, where we just need him to take over and to attack and look to score. And he did that tonight, 14 free throws and 10 assists. We just, we ran everything through him and he delivered, but that’s to be expected. He’s a superstar for a reason.
All the postgame interviews from the home win versus New Orleans, from all of the above plus Brandin Podziemski:
00:00 Steve, what did you think of what Gary came off the bench and gave you guys tonight?
00:07 STEVE KERR, POSTGAME NOP-GSW: He was amazing. Yeah, Gary was one of the keys to the game, just his activity level, his defense, obviously working underneath the basket, freeing himself up for some layups and then, obviously. Knocked down the three. That was the killer shot. So Gary was tremendous.
00:29 Was what he did and, at times in the fourth, what you guys did how it needs to operate around Jimmy? It seemed like some of the stuff you’re talking about was working off what Jimmy was doing.
00:39 Yeah, Jimmy’s one of the best iso players in the league, so one of the things we work on all the time is our spacing around Jimmy when that iso happens. And Gary’s got a great feel for working the dunker’s spot, working behind the play, creating these openings. He did it at least twice in the first half, got behind the defense for a layup, JK found him on one of them and then, yeah, he’s just, he’s got a great feel. I always say, he’s a power forward in a point guard’s body. It makes him very unique, but his speed and quickness in the dunker spot is tough for people to handle, but also it’s just his feel down there to create the openings.
01:23 How’s Jimmy doing after that fall? He obviously stayed in the game, kept playing, but how’s he doing?
01:27 Yeah, I’m sure he’ll be sore tomorrow, but yeah, I asked him when it happened, I said, what hurts? And he said everything. And I said, me too, but I’m 60, so I’m supposed to be hurting. But, no, he was incredible the way he took over the game. I thought we got a lot of great performances. The key was taking care of the ball, just allowing ourselves to control the game or keep it under control, not let it get away from us. And so even when they took the lead, we weren’t really making mistakes. And we gave ourselves a chance for Jimmy to take over and guys to make big shots.
02:08 Steve, you praised Jimmy repeatedly for making the right basketball play, no matter what’s kinda happening. When Steph’s out like he is, you almost have to tell him, hey, be more aggressive. We need you to assert yourself, especially offensively, because we need you to show more force?
02:26 Yeah, Jimmy doesn’t necessarily want to shoot the ball. He really prefers just making the right basketball play. He reminds me so much of Andre Iguodala in that regard. He’s very principled in his approach to basketball. He wants everybody to play the right way. He wants to make the right pass, but there are times, and tonight was one of them, where we just need him to take over and to attack and look to score. And he did that tonight, 14 free throws and 10 assists. We just, we ran everything through him and he delivered, but that’s to be expected. He’s a superstar for a reason.
03:07 You played a few lineups, small lineups with JK at center. What did you make of those experiments?
03:13 Trayce was out tonight with the knee issue. Before the game, we went through the possible matchups and decided that Jimmy and JK could be a good combo at the four and the five and trading off on who they were guarding, depending on what was happening out there. They did a good job to together.
03:38 And what did you think of how he looked in his first game, after a couple weeks off?
03:41 JK? I thought he looked good. Obviously, he hit two big threes for us in the second half. His wind and his burst will come back. He’s a little rusty, but I thought he looked good for his first game back.
03:56 Steve, obviously a cold night shooting the ball from three point range, especially early on, but did you like the shots that you guys took and what’s key to generating good shots from three point range without Steph right now?
04:07 Yeah, I liked a lot of the shots. They just weren’t going in first half. I think we were, what, 2-for-21 or something? And, but again, if you take care of the ball and you get shots on goal, it just sets the game up. Your transition defense is better, it gives you a chance to get offensive boards, so the game, it didn’t feel that rhythmic, but it felt clean that we weren’t turning it over, making mistakes and that’s important. The shots will start going in. We’ve got a really good shooting team, so that those numbers will come around.
04:49 What’d you make of Brandin’s game, particularly his second half?
04:52 I thought Brandin, this was one of his best games of the season, just the ball movement, the decision making, no turnovers, six assists, all around game from Brandin. And that’s the guy we know. That’s the best version of him, is nights like tonight and catch and shoot when he’s open. I love that he took nine threes. He’s been passing them up this year and pump faking and driving into the paint. we want him to let it fly and it’s better for our offense, for our rhythm, for our crashing, getting offensive boards, all that. So, really good game from him. Thanks.
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05:33 You were obviously very critical of the defense the other night. How do you feel coming off a game like this where the offense was still a little bit stagnant, but you do win, holding the team under a hundred?
05:43 DRAYMOND GREEN: Yeah, I thought our defense was really good tonight. You play good defense and take care of the ball, you give yourself a chance to win. And we defended well all night. We didn’t give up many transition opportunities, which helps you defend. Yeah, it was a better effort from everybody tonight.
06:03 Closing five, I think went on a 9-0 run in crunch time. What was the key, in that stretch?
06:08 We got stops. I think we created maybe two or three turnovers during that stretch and then we just got the ball to Jimmy and he made plays. BP made a couple plays down the stretch as well, but most importantly, we just got the ball to Jimmy and then he surveyed and made all the right plays.
06:26 Draymond, looked like Jimmy and Gary kind of got some, found something that second quarter there and carried into the second half. What did those two guys do to impact this game?
06:34 Jimmy, obviously, draws a lot of attention when he’s driving to the rim and Gary was able to find all the open spots in their defense. He was great cutting, rebounding the basketball, which was incredible. He did a great job of playing behind the defense and Jimmy’s always looking for the open man. If you’re open, he’s going to throw that pass every time. And G was open and he found him probably four or five times he found him on the cut.
07:04 Draymond, you know full well what Jimmy can do, especially offensively without Steph. Do you guys need him to impose a little bit more on that level, like we saw at the end of the game?
07:16 Yeah, definitely without Steph, but he was also, we were trying to get him to attack that way in the beginning and he just kept telling us, like, they’re loading up, we need to create some other movement because they’re, just loading. Once we started, everybody else started moving around him, then it opened gaps and he was able to do what he did. So we definitely, when Steph’s not out there, we definitely need him to be more aggressive and he was tonight.
07:45 You mentioned BP making some big plays down the stretch. He’s had a kind of rocky start to the season. What was he doing in that second half to get that rhythm?
07:53 He was aggressive. We always talk to him about just being aggressive. It’s when you’re timid that you make the mistakes and he was extremely aggressive in that second half. And even when he wasn’t scoring, it created for other guys because of the aggressiveness that he was playing with it, so he played a really good floor game for us tonight.
08:17 Draymond, you guys outscored them in the paint, obviously, on a night where you’re pretty cold from three point range. What’s the key to the balance of getting to the paint and still finding good three point shots even without Steph right now?
08:28 The best three point shots are when you do touch the paint and then you’re kicking out. That’s one thing Coach Izzo used to always talk to us about, is inside out threes is the best threes to take. And so even if you’re shooting the ball great, that’s usually a product that you get into the paint a lot. And so first half we were just around the perimeter and we never got to the paint and it was hard to create offense. Second half we moved the ball a lot and then attacked and we were able to get to the paint and that broke their defense down a bit more for us.
08:59 Draymond, how much did you appreciate the love for Kevon Looney and I think you were one of the ones, were you watching the tribute video and just how special was that tonight for him to be back?
09:11 Yeah. I definitely, I was in the back and then I heard them starting a video, so I ran out to watch it. Very special for Loon to be back here after 10 years with this organization. We’ve felt his absence this year in the locker room more than anything. He played such a vital role in the pulse of the team and the fabric of the team. He was one of the biggest components to that and so we felt his absence and to see him come back here and get the love that he deserved, that’s special for his teammates to see the love that he has here. It means a lot. I got a defensive foul trying to box him out. I’m pissed off, but it was great just for him to be celebrated. Oftentimes when he was here, he wasn’t always celebrated for the work that he did and not for any reason other than there’s only so much celebration gonna go around. Steph gets a lot of celebration, over the years. Klay gets a ton of celebration and so not for any other, not that no one appreciate him, that’s just how the cookie crumbles. He does a ton of things that don’t show up in the stat sheet and just to see him receive that love and know, I’m sure he knew what the love was, but it’s always different when you get a chance to feel that and feel the love from anywhere and happy he got the, was well received the way he should have been.
10:58 Without Steph for however long, how much do you guys need to change the offense and run, I guess, less of the motion stuff and more of the stationary iso stuff?
11:10 Yeah, we definitely called a lot more plays tonight, which will be the way it’s gonna be without Steph. It’s a lot less random because you just gotta get dominoes to fall a different way to start the action and we need to be more structured. We need to move the ball faster and when you got an advantage, you gotta keep that advantage. I think that’ll be our goal. I thought overall we did a pretty decent job of it tonight. We just didn’t make shots.
00:00 What was working tonight for your offense?
00:02 GARY PAYTON II, POSTGAME NOP-GSW: My bad.
00:04 What was working for you offensively, especially in that fourth quarter where you guys made that run?
00:08 You said fourth?
00:09 Yeah.
00:11 Just doing what we was doing all day, game, stay in space, get a ball to Jimmy, let him work, operate and just play off Jimmy. Cut when he drives, play behind a defense and just try to get easy ones.
00:24 It seemed like, it seems like recently you’ve had a good offensive rhythm. Is there anything you feel you’ve been doing differently that’s sparked that?
00:32 No, just playing behind the defense, being an outlet and just making layups.
00:38 What’d you like about the energy you guys showed in this game and just a lot of different guys, Brandin leading the way? Steve called that one of his best games. Just everybody doing their part without Steph in the lineup.
00:52 Yeah, it was, without Steph the ball can’t stick, can’t play one on one. And just move the ball, play for each other and play through each other and good things happen when the ball doesn’t stick. We move, we cut, we make defense scramble, and that’s what happens when we play the right way.
01:13 And how did Jonathan seem? He’d been out for seven games and back and seemed to make some energetic plays right away.
01:20 Absolutely. JK, get his feel, his rhythm back and everything, so he came in and did what he’s supposed to do. Brandin had a great game, like you said, swinging the ball, moving the ball. He did a bunch of everything today, so it’s good to see without, Wardell, but Jimmy and Dray as usual stepped in and carried us and led us.
01:44 You hold New Orleans as a collective to 37% shooting. What stuck out to you about your team defense tonight?
01:50 Just having each other’s back, getting back to trusting our back line and being in the gaps and getting out to shooters and making them put it on the ground and just multiple efforts, multiple efforts and keeping to one shot possessions.
02:04 Yeah, and what, was there any conversation-- you guys were 2-for-22 on three pointers in the first half-- was there any talk about that at halftime and you guys came out and started hitting them?
02:15 Oh no, they just weren’t dropping. We had good looks, but we just basically said, just get one more good, from good to great. And second half we did that. Buddy hit a couple to get us going and from there, we got stops and ran out.
02:30 Gary, the love for Loon tonight, how much did you appreciate seeing that he’s, he does so many things under the radar and wasn’t the star of this team, but did so many things over 10 years here that meant so so much.
02:46 Yeah and Loon’s the heart and soul of his team for 10 years. The Bay loves him. It’s where he started and where he helped bring three, three I think, yeah. Loon’s got three championships, so the city knows, the community knows what Loon is, loon means to this city and this town, just to give him his flowers back is what he deserves. And best of luck for Loon the rest of the way.
03:15 ASU?
03:17 Ooh, tough game.
03:18 Go Beavs.
03:19 You had a late foul in the fourth.
03:21 Yeah, I know.
03:22 And then you still ran away with the ball and kind of gave yourself a backboard alley oop. Was that just a burst of energy you were looking to get out there towards the end or--?
03:30 Well, yeah. It was gonna be fun and then it wasn’t, but you think it was a steal? Oh my god.
03:38 Sure.
03:38 Alright.
03:39 Yeah.
03:39 Come on. All right.
03:40 Definitely.
03:40 Yeah. But no, it was just a try to make an energetic play at the end. I thought I had it, but they called it so it is what it is. Oh, you guys are great. Hey, back there. How y’all doing? Y’all good, ladies? I see y’all back there. What y’all doing back? Y’all ain’t got no questions? Okay. Come on. I’m 6’2. Yeah, I’m 6’2. We make it work. It don’t matter. We make it work. It’s the size of the heart that matter. You know that.
04:11 That’s right.
04:12 Happy holidays ladies.
04:13 I have a question.
04:13 Oh, yes ma’am.
04:15 I got a picture of you and me. Okay. In a big blanket. You were giving away the turkeys last year.
04:25 Oh, at Bishop spot? Yeah. Yeah. Where--? We was there last on Sunday. Where was you?
04:30 Because I had too many turkeys.
04:31 Oh, okay.
04:32 You could have just said what up. Come say what up. That’s all right. It’s all right. Okay. No worries. Good to see y’all. Happy holidays ladies. You guys are great.
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04:46 How different does the offense kind of need to be without Steph or however long you don’t have him?
04:53 BRANDIN PODZIEMSKI: It’s just gonna look a little different. We gotta create advantages a different way. We’re accustomed to playing four on three a lot of times when he’s out there and teams are just gonna start switching, one through five. So we just gotta create pockets of space, in different ways.
05:09 Steve said this is one of your best games of the season. Draymond said you’re playing pretty aggressive. What was working for you tonight, especially in that second half?
05:17 Just trying to find my teammates, get them into a rhythm. See some shots go in for them, just playing assertive, aggressive, trying to win the game.
05:33 What got going offensively in the second half for you?
05:37 We played a little bit faster. Got some easy ones in transition. We got Jimmy a couple mismatches where they had to send two to the ball, swing swings, got some open shots. They were switching, the pocket was open, hit that a couple times. So I think we just found different ways or different pockets of space to exploit and the shots are eventually gonna fall.
05:59 Steve mentioned that he likes when you’re shooting off the catch and keeping the offense in rhythm that way. Just how comfortable are you with your catch and shoot jumper right now?
06:10 I always feel confident in it. I think I did okay with it tonight.
06:16 Brandin, what do you like about what Gary brings when he, the moment he steps onto the court and just on both ends, high flying, playing bigger than his size. One of these ladies just asked him how tall he, he was because he plays so much above the rim.
06:31 Yeah, I think the thing about Gary is he plays with joy and he understands his elite skills and what he’s really good at. And he just does a great job out there of maximizing those skills. And you see it in games like tonight. I know he had career high rebounds, but just other facets of the game that he doesn’t need the ball to impact winning and you need players on a team like that.
06:54 How good was it to see Kevon Looney get his due and the tribute video and all the love?
06:59 It was amazing. I would like to see him start. That would’ve been pretty cool, but they did a great job, obviously 10 years, three championships. Not a lot of people can say they did that. So to see Loon get that tribute video, it was pretty cool.
07:13 You’ve called, you called him the King of Milwaukee in that tribute video. What did he mean to you in growing up in Milwaukee?
07:17 Yeah, he’s the standard. He’s the model which you wanna follow, professional, college athlete, high school. He was dominant in all three phases and obviously three championships, so everybody that has aspirations to make it from Milwaukee knows Kevon Looney.
07:34 You mentioned with Gary how he plays with joy. What’s the key to you playing with joy?
07:43 Impacting winning, losing myself in the game.
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07:49 JIMMY BUTLER: I think we just made the game incredibly simple on both sides of the floor, moved the ball on offense, didn’t turn the ball over, got back, loaded, rebounded the basketball pretty well, so it was a good game overall for us.
08:02 Looked like you and Gary had a pretty good chemistry thing going.
08:05 Gary’s, he’s hella smart, gets the ball where the ball needs to go, guards at a high level, rebounds the basketball and just plays the right way. When he’s open, he shoots the ball. When he’s not, he passes it. I think we all can learn a out from him.
08:19 Jimmy, how did you like Brandin’s play making and just smart play on ball ends today?
08:24 Easy. Easy. Make the game easy. You open, shoot it, if not, pass it, attack. I think that’s what everybody, that’s the formula for everybody around here to be successful. Keep the game easy, especially when 30’s not out there, gotta play damn near perfect. And like I always say, if you open shoot it, if not the easy play is to pass it.
08:44 How painful was that fall?
08:46 It’s all good. I’ll be all right. Got a lot of cushioning back there.
08:51 What was it, more hip or it looked like elbow might have got--?
08:55 Straight ass. That’s what it was.
08:59 Do you, I mean, you feel good that you’ll play Tuesday?
09:03 I don’t know. You like that one, Dray? We gonna see. I hope so. I want to hoop, man. I love going out there, competing with these guys. And I think we got a special team, so let’s go. Come show that we can do something special come Tuesday.
09:20 Steve thought you were hurting all over. That’s what he, that’s how he put it to us, yeah.
09:24 I am, I was, I’m gonna be fine, that’s what-- we got a day, two days to recover and get back into it. Go play some dominoes with Dray right now. Get my mental back right and then start to take care of this body come tomorrow.
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