Porzingis at 60%, (honestly) needs “4 or 5 more games — I know I said that 3 games ago”

[videos/interviews/transcripts/captions]

Noa Dalzell of CelticsBlog and CLNS told me recently that Kristaps Porzingis was “very authentic and candid” when she covered him in Boston:

There were so many games last year during the playoffs where he was sick and he was figuring out what he was dealing with, and he would just be, like, “Guys, I don’t know what I have. It’s so frustrating. I feel terrible,” like, very non-PR. Like, he would say how he’s actually feeling.

No joke, Porzingis said the word “honestly” 21 (!) times in his two media availabilities the other day, one courtside after morning shootaround and the other postgame in the locker room — ahh, the beauty of the “find” feature of Google Docs:

But with that honesty comes honest mistakes. And his prediction about three games ago that he would need four or five games to get back to feeling like himself, well, scratch that. He was honestly honest about it, though (see full transcripts below):

You were playing at a high level here last season, regular season, before you got hurt. How close to that do you feel now as you work your way back?

I still got a good way to go, honestly, even though like for example, today I felt like my engine was a bit in overdrive, you know what I mean? I don't know, just coming back or whatever here, but didn't feel my best today. Last game, I would say I would feel, I felt better, so, but I expect with each game to kind of get closer and closer. So, and honestly that's the trajectory I actually feel also now, you know? So, I would say still got a good way to go, 60%, you know what I mean? So for me to feel like really, like — but still I can play decent at this, like, feel that I have, so it's only gonna get better.

You think you can get to that by the end of year?

Oh, of course, yeah.

From 60 (percent) to — ?

I think honestly, like, I'm already now where I can contribute decently, but I think, like, four or five more games. I know I said that three games ago, but four or five more games and then I feel like I'll really be, like, close to pretty good shape. Obviously in the season's not ideal, but I think it's gonna just — my overall feel is just, it's — I see the trajectory now, so for me, I'm kind of convinced that I'm heading in the right direction.

Dang, 60%? I guess you could think of that as good or bad. Bad because sixty is a lot closer to fifty than it is a hundred.

Good because at 60% he effectively closed out the Washington game from the top of the circle in the fourth quarter.

Or maybe a little bit of both because he could not bite into Boston’s lead late fourth quarter utilizing that same top-of-circle catch spot — then again, the Celtics’ defense is elite.

Just like anything else, it’s up to you to choose the low or high vibes, but per usual I’m siding with KP and optimistic that when he’s 100% five games from now, he’s gonna be a force to be reckoned with.

ALL TRANSCRIPTS FROM BOSTON (from video embedded above) — includes KP, Steve Kerr, Gui Santos, Pat Spencer and Draymond Green:

00:00 How does it feel to be back?

00:04 KRISTAPS PORZINGIS, MORNING SHOOTAROUND BEFORE GSW-BOS: Feels good. Feels good, familiar. Yeah, it feels good to be back.

00:09 How weird is it? Is it weird?

00:12 It is a bit weird. It is a bit weird. I miss the city, I miss everything, the arena, the court, like, honestly, it’s like good memories, you know? I came back a little bit, so, it’s weird but it’s a good feeling to be back.

00:24 What did you do yesterday, anything? Like, visit old haunts or — ?

00:27 I was getting rest. I was getting rest. I got a massage and just getting some rest and so I’m fresh for today.

00:33 Might be an easy question to say what is your favorite memory for being here, because we know what the big one was, but what else do you think about with your time here in Boston?

00:44 I don’t know. It was a lot of like small moments, honestly, even outside the basketball, like, just, I don’t know, being in the city, like, having my little spots to go for a coffee, just overall the whole, like, my life here in Boston, I really enjoyed it. Basketball was pretty stressful here, I’m not gonna lie, but it comes with the territory. We wanted to win it all and we did it, so I would say the whole package was just special.

01:15 How would you describe what the last 10 or so months have been like for you since you left here?

01:21 Summer was good and then, obviously, this season has been pretty shitty, you know? But now I’m healthy, now I’m healthy. I’m actually feeling good, so I’m getting a real, like, good feeling about basketball again, which is the most important because everything else kind of goes into second place when you’re not feeling perfect. And it’s just natural, I think to feel that way. And now when I’m actually getting my legs back, getting in a good shape, it’s a good reminder why I love this, you know? And just enjoying playing again.

02:01 When you first got sick that year here, did you ever imagine just how long and how difficult it would end up being and what was that process like for you of trying to improve, get better from that and just recover and how difficult it was for you?

02:16 No, super annoying, honestly, super annoying. Also, just even when I got that moment when I got sick, it wasn’t, like, usually I’m sick maybe two days and then you’re fine. You start — it was, like, for a week. I was kind of like, what’s going on, you know? And then it kind of kept like lingering. My system couldn’t really fully recover, so it was super annoying, super, like, frustrating in a way. And then obviously the playoffs was just, like, the cherry on top, like, I was, like, yo. But recover from that and I knew, like, sooner or later I’ll be back. It’s just annoying in the moment. It’s super annoying, but I just kept on a positive mindset. I knew I was gonna be fine, sooner or later.

03:04 How difficult has it made it to continue playing basketball for you? And have there been moments, as you’ve tried to recover from it, where you’ve thought, like, all right, am I gonna be able to continue playing here or — ?

03:14 I didn’t really wanna put those kind of ideas in my head. I was, like, just even in general for, like, for life. I don’t want to be, like, kind of like 60% of my energy. I don’t want to feel — I don’t wanna live this way, like, I wanna, I eventually, like, I’ll figure out a way. Like, no matter what, I’ll figure out a way how to feel, where I need to feel or at least close to where I was, you know? And I did. Honestly, now, like, I’m recovering really well. Again, like, everything’s kind of back to — so I’m finally, starting to feel like myself again and I’m happy. Honestly, I’m happy.

03:52 What allowed you to (inaudible) took a long time, it felt like, to finally figure that out?

03:56 It wasn’t just this last season stuff. I was had some other stuff, but that’s also had to figure that out, so, just a little bit of, like, maybe, like, a chain reaction of things happened, but as I said, very frustrating, obviously, in the moment, but I knew, like in my head I’m like, it’s a matter of time. Just stay with it. Do all the things right, nutrition, this, this, this and now I’m psshhh on this trajectory.

04:24 First game you played with the Warriors was just happened to be against the Celtics. Have you kind of — and I know you were kind of shellshocked at that point in everything that had gone down — have you kind of wrapped your mind around it? What is it like being on the other side now and then having to come in?

04:37 Yeah. No, honestly, like, California and the weather, this is very nice. It’s very, very nice. San Francisco is a beautiful city I don’t know if it’s a correct comparison, but for me, it reminds me a little bit of Boston, like, kind of like, it’s very walkable. It’s — the city is kind of, it’s more compact, kind of like Boston in a way, so for me there was some similarities when I got there because in Atlanta I had a completely different setup and it was not familiar for me. But San Francisco is, yeah, plus the weather. This, like, team, great organization, awesome. Like, arena playing there, like, honestly it’s like the whole package, kind of like here, so, excited — yeah, I was excited about the news. Obviously, it was still fresh for me, so I was like, okay, let me, le me try to focus on this game, but now that I spent a few more days there and some time there, I really enjoy it. And yeah, we’ll see what the future holds. And one thing for sure is, I miss this place a little bit.

05:40 Kind of a two-part — you were so close with JB, too. What has it been like to see him this season and kind of take ownership of the group?

05:47 I mean, honestly, he’s always been super vocal. He’s always been leading the group vocally and this year he always kind of, I think, want to take more responsibility. He never shy away from it, so for him to have that this year and for him to do really good, I think he can give himself credit. He can give himself credit and kind of — and I think it just shows everybody else what he already knew in his mind, you know? So I’m happy for him. Obviously, I know who he is, how, what type of person he is, and I know, like, success for him, it’s just a, it’s gonna come to him because of who he is and how he thinks and how he sees everything, so yeah, hats off to him.

06:34 Kind of a two-part question. Are you in touch with your former Celtics teammates? And then as a second part to that, you’ve obviously had injuries throughout your career. What do you think about Tatum’s return and sort of how quickly he was able to come back to basketball shape?

06:47 Yeah, yeah, of course, I kept in touch. Even, I went out with the guys a little bit when they were in Atlanta, so we a good time there and JT, yeah, I think, I mean, he’s a — I think he’s a little bit of guy that can’t sit still. He wanted to get back out there and JT’s back and this and I completely understand him because that was me last season. When I was coming back from the ankle, like, it’s so annoying to do the rehab workouts and push yourself that way. It’s way more easier to push yourself when you actually get on the court and get the conditioning and get everything right, get your legs and maybe lose a couple pounds. Like, all those things are a little bit easier and you want to be around the team. You want to be in the locker room preparing for the game. You wanna do all these things, so I completely un understand him. And I don’t know, he’s probably, I don’t, I haven’t checked, but he probably playing good already, you know? And knowing him, also his work ethic and stuff, like for sure, he was both super locked in with the rehab just to make sure he can come back as soon as possible. He didn’t wanna miss any good moments with the team, I’m a hundred percent sure about that, so JT is an animal and the man, he for sure he worked his ass off to get to this spot as soon as possible.

07:57 You — I have one more, sorry — had such a strong connection with the fan base. Have you imagined what it’s gonna be like in here tonight, walking to, walking in, but then also the video tribute and all of that?

08:09 Nah, I don’t know. I don’t, not in the middle of a game. I’m not gonna be crying, but for sure it will — some good memories, good, good memories. Let’s see, let’s see. Honestly, just thinking about now, I got a good feeling, so obviously loved my time here so much and and let’s see how tonight goes.

08:29 What do you remember about that night? You were obviously there when Jayson did get hurt and did you keep in touch with him through the recovery process at all? Like, what do you just remember about that injury and how difficult of a moment that was for him?

08:40 Yeah, of course, of course. I mean, it wasn’t ideal because we dropped the first two games at home already. The series was super weird and then him getting hurt on top of that, me not being me was, it was like the whole thing was ugh. And then him getting hurt was, like, just a heartbreak for all of us and yeah, that’s unfortunate. Unfortunate end to that season, but that’s how this sport is.

09:11 Just what’s been your reaction to seeing how well these guys have played this season after obviously all the turnover they had plus Jayson’s injury and all that to be where they are now?

09:21 I think, honestly, it’s a, like, it’s a good, it was a good situation for them to be in, in a way. Like, oh, everybody’s saying, oh, Celtics gonna be a Lottery team, this, that, the other. I think, one, it puts like a extra motivation, give you like a chip on your shoulder and two, you have no expectations at the same time, so that’s like a perfect situation. And they’re kind of using that to the maximum. I think Joe’s turned up a few more levels of craziness, probably with the young guys and he’s squeezing everything he can out of them and look at that group. Like, they’re playing super-well.

10:04 PORZINGIS GETS INTRODUCED LAST IN WARRIORS STARTING LINEUPS

10:15 PORZINGIS TRIBUTE VIDEO

11:59 STEVE KERR, POSTGAME GSW-BOS: You guys got it down to about seven in the third quarter. Then what happened in your eyes after that?

12:05 Well, they made a couple threes, got it back to 12, 13, whatever it was. And we never really were quite in the game. I thought we did a lot of things well offensively, got a lot of good looks. It just was a night where shots didn’t go down. I think we’ve gotta be a lot better defensively, some game plan mistakes early, a lot of fouling at the beginning of the third quarter and got us in trouble. And what I’m most interested in right now is can we prepare ourselves for the Play-in? Like, I mean, we’re gonna be in the Play-in. We know that, one way or the other. So we gotta prepare. We have to be prepared for when we get guys back, when Steph’s back and Moses and Al. We, if we’re prepared when they get back, we can do some damage. We can go on a run, but we can’t have game plan mistakes. We’ve gotta build better habits, boxing out, taking care of the ball in transition, being more efficient in transition, that sort of thing. Our guys are playing hard. I’m really proud of them. Like I said, shots didn’t go tonight, but what I’m most interested in is our process and I thought it was lacking in some areas tonight and we’ve gotta tighten some things up.

13:27 Tonight might not have been the best example, but do you feel like in the past few weeks you guys have been taking steps toward getting prepared for the Play-in?

13:38 One step forward, one step back. I don’t think we’re there yet. I think it’s gonna take more than what we’re showing right now. I think our guys are playing hard. It’s easy to get discouraged when you don’t have the firepower that we’re missing right now because it kind of feels like you have to be perfect and it’s a hard thing, to play through 48 minutes where you don’t have the shot-making, the explosiveness to go on a huge run. So you’re constantly having to do the right thing, so if we handle this the right way and we sharpen those things up, we can be finely tuned for the Play-in, but like I said, the effort’s there, but the execution’s not, yet.

14:26 How much have you kind of openly discussed that idea, the Play-in with your guys, and then also is it an odd situation to be in with more than a month ago, basically, in the season, but you’ve known for a while, like, you maybe not know exactly what seed, but you kind of know you’re not going down and not really going far out.

14:44 Yeah, I mean, we’ve had our eyes on six for a while and that’s out of the question, now. I mean, we’re not getting there and so if we can string together some wins, try to get to eight, that’d be ideal, get two cracks at it. But we’re not getting to seven. We know that, so I’ve been talking about this theme, not in such precise words like I just used, but over the last few weeks I’ve been telling the guys we have to build our habits and be ready for when we get guys healthy again, because then we can just really have the firepower that can be complemented by a foundation of good habits, good fundamentals. And like I said, I think there’s a lot of stuff we can improve upon, but the basis, the base of all that is your spirit, energy, confidence and we gotta work on that, too.

15:50 What does building good habits look like both on the court and also in preparation mean?

15:54 What does it mean?

15:54 What does it look like?

15:55 What does it look like. It means boxing out. It means don’t give up back cuts. We gave up like three back cuts early on, after we had a shootaround this morning, going through those very actions and we completely messed up coverages three times in the first quarter. Cannot do that. Cannot happen. You wanna win a playoff game, you better be locked in, so lock in and part of locking in is not just the mental part of it, but it’s the spiritual part. It’s the emotion. How ready are you? How confident are you? How together are you? And it’s like I said, it’s easy when you’re beaten up. It’s easy to kind of hang your head. We just can’t hang our head. We’ve gotta keep plugging away.

16:40 How much did fatigue sort factor in tonight? Three games in four nights. How’d that factor in?

16:45 I don’t know. Yeah, I don’t know.

16:47 Hi, Coach. You mentioned about like getting prepared for Play-in. Obviously, like, steph has a lot experience of playing games. When he returns back, what do you do? You have a little bit of high expectations towards the team and how he can guide your players, more mental perspective of being locked in, like you mentioned about?

17:00 My expectations when Steph comes back?

17:02 Yeah, and also like how he’s able to guide his players, especially in Play-in tournaments where he has plenty of experiences back then.

17:09 Yeah. I’m not worried about Steph. I can tell you that and I know he’s gonna come back and do his thing. He’s been doing this for too long. He’s in great shape and working hard. He’ll be fine. It’s a matter of, again, being prepared for his return, Al’s return, Moses being prepared for that time is everything for us.

17:32 Coach, what do you want to say about Omer Yurtseven’s performance and is there any hope you are going to keep him? And also tomorrow is last day of Ramadan. Do you have any message for Ramadan?

17:42 Yeah, I’m a fan of Omer. He’s a really nice player. He’s talented. He’s a good passer. He can shoot the ball a little bit, big, strong. He’s had some success in the NBA. We’ve only had him for a few days, but I’m enjoying, every day watching him and seeing him with our guys. And, yeah, I wish everybody a happy end of Ramadan tomorrow and, yeah, this is a strange time in our world with a lot going on and so wishing everybody health.

18:23 If you keep him, you have 80 million Turkish fans for next year.

18:28 80 million?

18:29 If you keep Omer —

18:30 If we keep him.

18:31 You’ll have the 80 million Turkish fans.

18:33 Okay. You need to tell Mike Dunleavy that, okay? Alright. Thank you very much.

18:37 Thanks Steve.

—

18:39 In your mind, what does being prepared for the Play-in mean? What can you guys do better to prepare?

18:46 GUI SANTOS: I think it’s the details, the little things that we gotta keep focused on because we know Play-in in a short burst, so we just gotta be ready for this, these games. And exactly like he said, we know it doesn’t matter if you win 13 games or we lose 13 games, we’re gonna be playing there. So we just gotta get ready for that. We gonna have all the, like, all the power back. We’re gonna have Steph back, Moses also. That’s when we really are in our full power and we gotta be ready for that.

19:23 Steve also talked about (inaudible) mistakes in the game, like, some (inaudible). How do you just build better habits so that, so things don’t happen?

19:33 It is just be locked in the whole game. We did that in the morning. We came here to run through the things that they do and we didn’t execute that well, so I think we just gotta be locked in since the jump ball, for us to be ready for the actions. I think that’s gonna be the excuse for us, like, of course we fatigue, but everybody else is fatigued because everybody else has 82 games, too. So for me I don’t use that. Like, of course I’m tired and all that, but that should not be the excuse. As soon as we step in on the court, we gotta perform and do our best, doesn’t matter how tired we are.

20:16 There’s a small part of the third quarter where you got it down to seven (inaudible) Boston made some big shots, three points (inaudible) seven to 20 points. How do you think that the team can build more on resilience for the (inaudible) getting bigger (inaudible) the game at such an early stage?

20:31 I think we just gotta be, like I said, locked in, into little things because that was when we start losing the game. We gave up a lot of things that we said that we not gonna give up and the offensive rebounds and all that, that was a big part of it, so we just gotta keep taking care of the little things and that’s gonna be good for us.

—

20:49 Hey Pat, Steve kind of was frustrated about some of the game plan mistakes, he called it. What sort of did you see from that area of the game?

20:57 PAT SPENCER: In the what? I’m sorry.

20:58 The game plan. Like, he said, there was a lot of game plan mistakes.

21:03 Yeah, anytime you let a scorer like that get hot early and see the ball go in, it’s pretty tough to recover, so felt like they were pretty comfortable early on. And like I said, when you, whe you have a team that talented on the offensive side of the floor, gonna be an uphill battle from there.

21:24 Steve said that the team pretty much knows at this point you guys are gonna be in the Play-in. He said you guys have to be prepared for it. In your mind, what does being prepared for the Play-in mean?

21:35 Yeah, I think it’s just building an identity. Obviously, we’re a completely different ball club when we have Steph out there. Mo gives us another shooter, defender, point-of-attack guy. I think for us, it’s just about being competitive and we have been, truthfully, I mean we’ve dropped a few games here that we really should have won. On paper, probably not, but up 20-plus in the Garden, gave the Bulls a free game there. And so we’ve been competitive for the most part, I think what’s frustrating about this one is we let it get away early and never gave ourselves the real shot. So it’s about building identity and having something to really have tangible and something we can lean on when we get Number 30 and a couple other guys back.

22:19 What kind of habits can this group build that will translate and transfer over when Steph and Moses and Al get back?

22:26 Yeah, I think we’ve gotta be on a string defensively. We’re not gonna fix the offense. What Steph does for us offensively, you can’t really replicate, but what we can do is, is be locked into the game plan, be connected on the defensive end of the floor. Ultimately, that gives you a chance to get some rebounds, get out and run generate some easier looks. If we’re playing in the half court and we’re struggling on the defensive end of the floor, it’s tough to generate offense, so like I said, they get downhill, they score a bucket. Yeah, you can get the ball out a little bit quicker under the hoop, but you’re playing against a set defense for the most part when you’re letting them get free, easy looks. So we gotta be locked in defensively, find an identity on that end of the floor, and then, like I said, when we get a couple other guys back, have something to lean on.

23:15 You also met — there’s also like a three-game, like, road trip, keep going on for Golden State, obviously. With the players you’re missing out, what is like your strategy so far and also like what’s the biggest takeaway for the game for tonight, obviously, when there’s the Pistons also, which is like very good offensively as well?

23:29 What are my biggest takeaways?

23:31 Yeah, yeah.

23:32 Defensively, just we weren’t dialed in. From the jump they ran that flare dive quite a bit. And then there were just a couple things that caught us off guard, but truthfully, we’ve gotta be, like I said, locked in and on a string on that end of the floor. There’s no — small margin for error for us offensively without a handful of guys and so can’t give up easy buckets especially in the half court. And then offensively, I actually thought we generated some pretty good looks early on in the first half, missed some open threes. I know it’s gonna happen, but timely costly mistakes on the defensive end, it’s just an uphill battle from there.

—

24:11 DRAYMOND GREEN, LOCKER ROOM, POSTGAME GSW-BOS: Still moving well, still get downhill, handle still there. He (Jayson Tatum) looks great. Obviously, coming back from an injury like that is gonna take you a little while to get your full burst back and yet he can still get downhill, so it looks incredible and it’s amazing to see him back out there on the floor. Talking about a guy who loves basketball and they get taken away, so I’m happy as hell to see him back out there.

24:41 What’s that conversation like with him after the game? I saw you got to talk to him for a couple minutes?

24:45 Fun. Always good catching up with your brothers, guys you got a close relationship with, so it’s good. I told him before the game he wasn’t gonna score on me. He wanted that last shot bad. I was happy about that.

25:00 Looked like you guys are going back and forth a little bit during the game, too. What was that like?

25:03 It was just a little fun, passion. We talk a little bit, out there having fun, enjoying the game. Nothing too crazy. It’ll never be nothing crazy. That’s my brother.

25:13 You guys, you slipped to the 10th seed today.

25:15 Damn, did we?

25:16 You did.

25:17 That sucks.

25:19 In what ways can this group prepare to hit the ground running for when you guys get Steph, Moses, Al back and — ?

25:27 Just gotta create good habits. As long as you create good habits, it all works out. You ain’t creating good habits, ain’t going be — can’t flip a switch in this league, so create good habits and you compete at a high level, get those guys back, you’ll be ready for it.

25:44 What happens — ?

25:45 You don’t do that, (inaudible).

25:46 What happens to you guys if you wanna build from now til the end of the season?

25:49 You want to be a good defensive team. Play great as a team together, be on a string offensively, making sure you go for the right reads, trying to take care of the ball, just put good efforts out there every time you step out there on the floor.

—

26:07 KRISTAPS PORZINGIS: I don’t know, I didn’t make up, like, too much in my mind. Honestly, I knew I was gonna get a nice, like, ovation. No, I had a great time here, a great couple years, so I know the fans appreciated me and it was good to be back here, honestly.

26:23 What was it like competing against some of your former teammates?

26:25 I mean, they know me very well, honestly. They did super good job. They told me I didn’t shoot the ball well, so, but yeah, they probably know me best know. Hats off to them.

26:36 How did Jayson look compared to the guy you played with?

26:40 He looks good. Honestly, shot was falling already. It looked like he’s not rusty at all, just looked a little heavy. I told him you need to lose a couple pounds and he’ll be flying again.

26:50 Who’d you get to talk to after the game? Did you have any good conversations?

26:54 Pretty much everybody. I chopped it up real quick with everybody. Yeah, just said what’s up to everybody as always, yeah.

27:03 How far do you think they can go now with Jayson back? Like, how do they look to you based on collectively?

27:09 I mean, honestly, they already have this DNA, you know? Championship, so they have to go for it. I don’t think they need to put any limits and now with those two guys leading them, like, they have all the possibilities. Again, of course, maybe it’s not the same team, but still they have a strong, strong team and they’re in a situation now where nobody really expects them maybe to do all that, so it’s even better for them.

27:36 You were playing at a high level here last season, regular season, before you got hurt. How close to that do you feel now as you work your way back?

27:49 I still got a good way to go, honestly, even though like for example, today I felt like my engine was a bit in overdrive, you know what I mean? I don’t know, just coming back or whatever here, but didn’t feel my best today. Last game, I would say I would feel, I felt better, so, but I expect with each game to kind of get closer and closer. So, and honestly that’s the trajectory I actually feel also now, you know? So, I would say still got a good way to go, 60%, you know what I mean? So for me to feel like really, like — but still I can play decent at this, like, feel that I have, so it’s only gonna get better.

28:35 You think you can get to that by the end of year?

28:38 Oh, of course, yeah.

28:39 From 60 to — ?

28:40 I think honestly, like, I’m already now where I can contribute decently, but I think, like, four or five more games. I know I said that three games ago, but four or five more games and then I feel like I’ll really be, like, close to pretty good shape. Obviously in the season’s not ideal, but I think it’s gonna just — my overall feel is just, it’s — I see the trajectory now, so for me, I’m kind of convinced that I’m heading in the right direction.

29:14 Do you like where your minutes are? It seemed like you were up to, like, 26.

29:18 Yeah. Today was a little bit less, yeah. Yeah. I feel decent. I’m recovering well. That’s the most (inaudible), played 26 the other night, some even better today. Maybe this didn’t feel perfect, but overall, like, yeah, I think we’re good. I want to, like, keep increasing with each game and we’ll be, I’ll be fine.

29:38 Steve felt like there were some game plan mistakes today, back cuts, maybe, didn’t come in as prepared. I mean, did you feel that it was kind of a — ?

29:47 Steve is a great coach and he will take, like, responsibility, but honestly I think we just can, like, bring our level today a little bit. I think, like, our energy was not perfect today and yeah, of course some mistakes, not that we didn’t know the answers. It was just a bit — we should have brought better tonight, honestly and, most importantly, I think the energy was lacking a little bit of that. And we need to find that on road.

30:14 He kind of indicated you guys are obviously waiting for Steph to get back. That’s like the next big thing. Do you feel like this team needs to, I guess, lock in quicker to lay the foundation for when Steph gets back? Because that was — he seemed to — that was kind of his criticism.

30:34 Yeah, of course. Even with Steph out, we want to play the right way. We want to play correct and not hang our heads on the first thing and think, oh, Steph’s not here. Like, we want to be strong and then we add add him and then it’s a completely different story, so I get that from, like, a mental perspective. We have to be, and — but it’s hard when we don’t have such a talent, such talent out there, but yeah, we’ll try and try and play the best way, so when he join, we’re a completely different beast.

31:08 Now that you feel healthy again, what are your goals for the rest of the season and beyond, now that you’ve kind of gotten through some of the work?

31:16 Yeah, I don’t know, honestly. I kind of don’t put any extra pressure on myself, just take it one game at a time, recover, feel well, feel good, increase minutes, go from here. I know what I’m capable of, just a matter of me getting back into top shape and then we’ll see. We’ll see.

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