The “long, lanky dudes” problem, “that’s just not how we’re built”

[videos/interviews/captions/transcripts]

De’Anthony Melton, postgame after the Warriors’ loss to the Hawks:

…they got a lot of long, lanky dudes out there, especially with their guard play. They did a real job of just getting into the ball, being aggressive on the switches, using their hands as best possible. That’s how they can win games and get in transition, so they did a well job about that today, too.

Steve Kerr, yesterday at practice, on the lack of transition offense, which ironically is the opposite of both Atlanta and Portland, whom Golden State faces tonight:

…it’s just not how our team is built, in terms of speed and length and athleticism and scoring at the rim in transition. We have been a pretty good team in terms of turning teams over, but it feels like when we run, we get more open perimeter looks than layups and dunks and I don’t have the exact numbers on that, but I think it’s more just a kind of reflection of the makeup of our roster more than anything.

With the migration of the rest of the NBA towards athleticism, why not just get a start now?

He’s injured tonight, which is probably a good thing all the way around — maybe I’ll go live soon to discuss in detail — but Jerami Grant, imo, provides a short-term upgrade while preserving long-term optionality, and despite his bad contract, I wrote about the practicality of making a deal for him, whereas I don’t really see the Michael Porter, Jr. rumor happening because of many factors going against the Warriors, whereas the deal for Grant would be clean and straightforward:

Transcripts from the Atlanta game and yesterday’s practice are below.

Here’s some weekend content that was kind of fun, aside from the usual highlights and courtside views, especially with Buddy Hield joking saying “F— that jersey,” while walking past a fan wearing a Jimmy Butler jersey, in line for an autograph session in Burlingame, as well as 6’6” Saba Pachulia, son of Zaza Pachulia ofc, hitting a buzzer-beater from half court to win a game for Las Lomas HS — btw his brother Davit Pachulia also hit a game-winner the same night, a running banker:

00:00 Portland has given you guys some real issues this season and I think last season, too. What have you seen from the film and from those games as to what might be making that a tough matchup?

00:13 STEVE KERR, PRACTICE, DAY BEFORE POR-GSW: They’ve changed their team quite a bit since the previous era with Dame and CJ. They’ve really built their team with length and athleticism and, first game of the year, they turned us over a bunch and got out in transition and the last two went down to the wire and we just didn’t handle ourselves real well down the stretch, but yeah, they’re a much improved team, good roster, well-coached. It’s a good team and they’re beating a lot of good teams out there.

00:52 They’ve shot it well from the three in all three of the games against you guys. I was wondering if there have been a common theme among all the matchups for why they’re getting so many open threes. Is it just off rebounding or location?

01:03 Some of them are off of their defense generating open threes in transition, so that’s probably the biggest area that we’ve gotta really make sure we handle tomorrow, is just connecting the offense and the defense and making them play more in the half court.

01:27 And just to follow on that, more on transition, what do you make of your transition offense right now so far this year? I know you guys are at the bottom in terms of efficiency and frequency. What are you seeing with transition offense right now?

01:40 We’re not really — it’s just not how our team is built, in terms of speed and length and athleticism and scoring at the rim in transition. We have been a pretty good team in terms of turning teams over, but it feels like when we run, we get more open perimeter looks than layups and dunks and I don’t have the exact numbers on that, but I think it’s more just a kind of reflection of the makeup of our roster more than anything.

02:18 Do you think conversely teams are running against you guys more just to try and push against you guys, being an older group and whatnot?

02:24 I dunno that it’s based on age. I just think everybody around the league is trying to play fast now and it’s the style. It’s kind of combination of analytics over the last 10 years really taking hold, everybody understanding the earlier you shoot in the shot clock, the higher your points per possession. It’s strategy. You look at Indiana, OKC, I mean, people copy the teams that do really well the previous year. A lot of people saw the depth that those two teams had, Indiana picking up full all game with playing 10 people. It’s a copycat league and I would say over the last 10 years, more and more teams are playing fast and it’s just more strategic around the league than it is specific to playing against us.

03:26 How much does that, with that trend, how much does it, or how does that influence in how you have to manage fatigue with your players?

03:32 It’s one of the reasons we’re playing guys in short bursts. As a player it’s not easy to play a four-minute stretch and come out. You feel like maybe you don’t have a chance to get your rhythm, but with the speed and pace of the game, the nature of our roster where we have a lot of depth, but not a lot of clear separation — I think we’re playing — we’re definitely playing more people. We’re playing an 11-man rotation right now pretty consistently, which I don’t think we’ve ever done since I’ve been here. And, as a result of that, we’re playing guys in shorter burs, four- or five- minute stretches.

04:11 I know you’ve said that you like the current starting lineup and you like the substitution pattern behind it. It’s a pretty big sample size now of that starting five and it’s been negative net almost the entire time. How committed are you to that starting five and how much more do you wanna see of it?

04:26 I’m committed to it because we’re generally in a good place. We — last night I thought, as I mentioned after the game, I just thought Atlanta played an exceptional game, but we committed whatever it was, probably three weeks ago to just staying with the same starting five and same rotation to try to get guys more comfortable. And we’ve achieved that. And I know that five-man group hasn’t been great, but again, it allows Draymond to start at the 4. Tomorrow, he doesn’t have to guard Clingan to start the game. That’s a big deal for us. While the numbers may not be that impressive, it allows the game to unfold in a way that we like.

05:14 Steve, just go back to the higher pace of play nowadays, I know they’re saying pass up a good shot for a great shot, but I was wondering with pace becoming more and more of an emphasis, have you seen a change in what is considered a good shot or a great shot over these last few years?

05:34 For sure.

05:34 An open shot is a good shot now.

05:35 Yeah.

05:36 Maybe two years ago it was like, hey, work around with (inaudible).

05:39 Yeah. When I played, if you took a quick three in transition, coaches would say you can always get that shot. And I think what we’re realizing today in the last few years is that’s not actually true. So all my coaches were lying to me all those years and I’m very upset about that, but it’s true that if you can get an early shot clock three in transition, it’s just a better shot. It’s a — analytically, but also the way the league is built now, so many guys can shoot threes that it’s just, there’s — the chances are it’s a better look. Good to great is still something we talk about, but you gotta make sure great is there because if you pass up good and great’s not there, it turns into bad. And that’s not a good formula either.

06:35 Health-wise, last night everybody came out of it fine?

06:39 Yeah.

06:40 What did you guys do today, was it just film?

06:43 Film and walkthrough and now guys are getting their own work in, depending on what they need.

06:49 Obviously you guys are aware of the standings. You guys have been in this position before. At what point does some of the pressure to climb the standing sort of seep in?

06:57 At what point does what the pressure to climb the standings, when does that start to seep in?

07:03 it doesn’t. It’s just, you just play. We don’t think about any of that stuff. We look at it, but you just try to win each game and whatever happens.

07:15 How’s Seth been doing in his rehab?

07:18 Seth?

07:18 Yeah.

07:19 He’s getting — he’s making some strides, but he has not practiced, so he’s always off.

07:27 We sent it out yesterday, he’ll be reevaluated in two weeks.

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07:30 About halfway through the season now, I think to tomorrow will be Game 41. Where do you feel like this team is at and where are you at compared to what you’d expect going into the season?

07:42 BRANDIN PODZIEMSKI: We’re pretty average just based on our record, how we’ve been playing a lot of back-and-forth in terms of wins and losses. So I’d just say we’re pretty average. Hopefully we can turn around.

07:53 How would you evaluate your own personal season so far?

07:56 It’s pretty average. Same as the team, some good games, some bad games.

08:01 Steve’s been playing you guys in these short bursts. How do you approach these short bursts as a player knowing that you might only get four minutes at a time?

08:07 Just give it all you can, play as hard as you can, do whatever the team needs in that kind of given moment and live with the results.

08:19 Brandin, you guys are near the bottom of the league in terms of transition frequency and scoring. I know you provide pace. What’s your approach in terms of getting the team going in transition?

08:30 It just depends who I’m out there with, but just try to push the ball, get the ball up the floor to play makers and space and that’s pretty much it, yeah.

08:41 Steve mentioned you guys aren’t necessarily constructed to play in transition as much as maybe some other teams around the league. How do you approach looking for transition opportunities throughout the course of a game?

08:53 You try to take them when they’re there. Obviously, with that second unit with Jimmy, not as much transition just based on his play style, so when I’m out there with Steph and Dray, maybe a little bit more. But it’s just given on personnel usually.

09:15 What can some of the — what are some of the things the team can do on the court to not be average or to break the cycle of win, loss, win, loss? What are some of the things teams can improve on?

09:25 I think just consistency in the marginal areas that Steve, the staff talk about that we’ve been kinda, some games we’ve done it, some games we haven’t. And whether that be turnovers, keeping the three ball out the game for the other team, not fouling them, all those kind of things, if we can consistently just string together those things, it puts the other team at a disadvantage and helps our chances to win every night no matter who we’re playing.

09:58 And he talked about last night you guys had, I think, 15 turnovers, but he thought the process was good. Some of those were charges and stuff, not live-ball turnovers. What do you think has been the biggest change these last week or so of keeping turnovers down?

10:13 I think we just, we’ve been able to be a little bit more space, give them more space between each guy. The pictures are clear for everybody, whether it’s coming off a ball screen or just making a simple pass, I think we’ve done that really well. And just being simple and trusting that our teammates gonna make the next play and not trying to make the play all the time. And I think that’s led us to success. I think we’re 2-1 last three games, yeah.

10:39 You described your personal season as pretty average as somebody who’s really competitive. How have you dealt with that and tried to snap out of that?

10:47 It’s tough. You always want more for yourself as a competitor, so just given the circumstances, I’m just trying to make the most of what I can do.

10:58 Podz, you touched on the ups and downs that everybody’s dealt with this year. How would you describe the mood of the group right now, day to day?

11:06 I think the beauty of the group is that we really don’t associate basketball with how we treat each other or connect with each other. Whether we were 0-40 or 40-0, I think just the personality and the vibe of the group, it would be the same. And I think it’s been that way, even though we’ve been pretty much .500, so we don’t really associate basketball with kind of other stuff. And we do a lot of stuff, especially young guys, outside of basketball that has nothing to do with how we’re playing on the court.

11:42 Did you see the story Draymond shared on his podcast about you and Kuminga on the bench?

11:47 No.

11:48 He shared it. It’s like you came out of a game, confused, bristling about why you got taken out and Kuminga was supporting you. It’s like, hey, it happens, just stick with it. How comfortable are you with your current role and relatedly, what has JK been on the bench in the past month or so?

12:09 Yeah, I think, like I said, as a competitor you always want more than what you got. And I know that’s the case for everybody. They always want as much as they can handle, but I think JK been great on the bench, doing what he can, given his opportunity and what Steve has asked from him, so right now that’s just being the leader on the bench. Obviously, it’s his fifth year, so he has a lot of experience, so he is just trying to help us with that when we come out of the game.

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12:40 Steve was talking about how in the rotation he likes playing you guys in short bursts. How does that sort of affect your mindset when you’re — when you know you’re going in there for maybe four minutes and you gotta change the game?

12:50 GUI SANTOS: I think when I know that I’m going there for short bursts, I just go hardest that I can. Like, sometimes you play, I play four minutes, three minutes, but I feel like I was playing 12 minutes running around and crashing every board and just getting my mind ready to just go there and play the hardest that I came for that three minutes and then go back to the bench, catch a breath, and go back in, same energy.

13:17 How would you describe this season for you, just starting out of the rotation, in and out and where you’re at currently?

13:26 I would say the season was the stay ready always. I’m used to that. We never know when you’re going in. We never know if something gonna change or not, but that’s not on our hands. We just gotta go there and just play. Whenever I had opportunity, there is games that I was not playing the first three quarters and step in for the last quarter. And I do all I can to keep my body to keep my mind, so we step in there, it just help the team the way that I can help.

13:58 That’s happened a couple times, I think, when you didn’t play at all the first three quarters and then played the fourth. What is that as a player? What do you do to stay ready during a game and how unique of an experience is that?

14:10 So I think it’s just, we have the heat packs. We keep the heat packs on. We have the bike here down in the tunnel. If I know, okay, we see the game’s kind of tough, we need some energy, we need some spark there, so I already know if we need that, I’m probably gonna be the guy that I’m go in. So I just go to the bike. I start to do some mini-bands work and running a little bit so when I step in there. I just feel like I was playing already, so that’s what I do to be ready to that moment.

14:49 Portland’s a team that’s given you guys some trouble this year with their length and shooting. What are some of the keys for tomorrow to combat that?

14:57 Like you said, because they are very athletic team, they play aggressively on defense and they been make shots against us. We already know what we gotta do. We just gotta be in the gaps. We gotta be, defend with the all five players, not just one-on-one and make them to make tough shots. Just be there contesting the shots and it helps. We know the, like Deni (Avdija), he goes to the line a lot, so that’s one point that we gotta work on. We don’t send the guys to the line a lot. That’s important for us too.

15:35 Gui how’s the — there’s been so many ups and downs, obviously, this season for everybody. How’s the mood of the group right now?

15:43 The mood is always, like everybody’s always professional. We know that’s gonna be like that. They’ve been in the league for a long time and we know that there is sometimes that everything gonna be feeling great, but there is some games that, like, I would say, like last game in Hawks was playing really well and we couldn’t find ourselves in the game. But in the mood, we always happy, we always joking with each other, talking to each other, having fun because I think the first thing that is most important for a basketball player, for a team, is the chemistry that we have in and off the court. And also how we treat each other. We know everybody’s laughing, everybody’s just having fun and that’s the most important thing, so make us work together in a court.

00:00 Steph basically said he felt like y’all might have played like 40 good minutes, but eight bad minutes. What was the trouble, do you feel like, tonight particularly?

00:08 STEVE KERR, POSTGAME ATL-GSW: I think it was all about Atlanta. They just played a great game. We couldn’t turn them over. They shot it lights out, 32 assists, seven turnovers. I didn’t think we played poorly. I didn’t think we played that well. Obviously, 10-for-42. We needed to shoot better, but more than anything they just played a great game and deserved it.

00:32 Steve, young, long athletic team from the Hawks, Blazers built similarly. You guys obviously have had some struggles against them this year. What will be the quickest switch for next game?

00:46 I’m pleased with the process. It didn’t feel like a high turnover game. Obviously, we ended up with 16 and I think we had three offensive fouls. It was not a loose game on our part. and not a good shooting night. We’ve just gotta stick with what we’ve been doing the last few weeks, keep it simple, take care of the ball, and obviously knock down some shots. That always helps, but again, I don’t think we were that bad. I thought they, it was more just they played a great game.

01:21 You mentioned the turnovers, I think you had five in the third quarter. They had go on that big run. Just what did you see there the second half of that third quarter?

01:27 They’re long and athletic. They did a really good job defensively. They did a lot of switching. We got into a couple late clock situations where they jumbled us up with their switching. And then we turned it over. That stretch was a killer for sure, but again, these nights happen, there’s talent all over the league. These guys are young and athletic and long and they can give you a lot of trouble.

01:58 What’s your philosophy on how long to keep your starters in a down game?

02:03 It was a tough one tonight. I was ready to take our guys out with probably six minutes left. I think they were up, like, 23 or something and I was ready to pull the guys, but we made a little bit of a run and it’s a little bit of a feel thing with this group, with Jimmy, Dray, Steph. I’ll pull them a little earlier than I would’ve six, seven years ago with younger legs. So you just have to feel it. I felt like we needed to give it one more chance there after we fell behind by whatever it was, early fourth. And we did and we made a little bit of a run, so I kept them out there for a few more minutes.

02:47 You mentioned the shooting. You get 30 from Jimmy, you get 30 from Steph. The role players don’t really add in as much. What sort of was going on with that?

02:58 Just a — it’s a basketball game. Last game, the bench had 60-something points, so every game’s different. Yeah, we needed some shots to go in. We needed a couple guys to get hot. It didn’t happen and it’s the way it goes.

03:12 Luke Kennard scored a season-high 22 points tonight, scored all four of their threes in that third quarter. A lot of them right in front of your guys’ bench. Was there any KYP issues there or was it just him kind of catching fire?

03:22 I think two of them were off turnovers, corner threes, and they have a lot of playmaking with Jalen Johnson and Daniels and Alexander-Walker, so they can break you down from multiple spots and so they broke our defense down. Okongwu hit a couple threes from the top and Kennard got going. Like I said, they played a great game.

03:48 Steve, specific to Brandin and Moses, they’ve had some really high points this year. They’ve also struggled at times. Why do you think the consistency night tonight has alluded them?

04:03 It’s part of being in this league, is advancing. I’ve always felt the great players play really well, like, four out of every five nights and role players, it’s two out of every four. There’s a reason the guys make all the money. They’re good almost every night. And for most of the league, guys like me when I played, it’s an every other night type thing and if you can get to four out of five, you’re gonna make a whole lot of money and you’re gonna become one of those guys, but that’s all this league is. The great players can do it every night, the younger players are trying to develop that consistency. Thanks, you guys.

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04:53 De’Anthony, what kind of challenges did Atlanta’s athleticism and size with their wings present to you guys tonight?

05:00 DE’ANTHONY MELTON: Man, like, you said, they got a lot of long, lanky dudes out there, especially with their guard play. They did a real job of just getting into the ball, being aggressive on they switches, using their hands as best possible. That’s how they can win games and get in transition, so they did a well job about that today, too.

05:22 How do you feel like your game is getting back in rhythm over the last few weeks?

05:29 I feel like it’s coming along. Same time, like I said, I’m just trying to take it day by day, game by game, see whatever the next game holds. Feeling pretty confident. Just gotta just see what the next day endures.

05:45 Where do you feel, I don’t know, sharper maybe than, your first few games back?

05:51 Just, I think just confidence-wise, just feeling more confident just to beat my defender off the dribble, making the right decision. I think when I first got back I was so used to playing against coaches and everything like that. So now, when I got back it’s going against 6’7”, 6’8” wings and seven-footers and quick dudes. I think that was just the biggest adjustment for me.

06:18 How about your shot? I know you had a couple good games recently where you’re shooting it well. Where do you feel like that’s at?

06:24 Just more reps. Just more reps. And just, I think I’ve been more dialed in on my details of my shot, talking with multiple people and staff. Just how they see me shoot in the past and how I’ve been shooting when I first got back. The difference of it and difference of the height of my ball, the way I’m snapping my wrist, my elbow being high. All those things, I wasn’t doing entirely and I wasn’t enforcing on my shot at first, so now I’m just doing all those things and making sure.

06:53 How are you feeling? Minute-wise they’ve been very careful with you. I think you’re up to about 24, 25 now. How do you just feel about where you’re at and when you think you can make another leap?

07:04 I feel good. I think today was a little different, just in terms of the pace of the game. It was a lot faster. That’s what these type of teams wanna do, but I feel good just in terms of the minutes I’ve been playing. I’m gonna leave my minute restriction and everything like that up to the medical staff. As long as I can do is just be effective in the most minutes that I have and just whatever I can do out there when I’m out there, just capitalize on it.

07:33 Steve said, he liked the process of how you guys played today. I was wondering, 10-of-42 from three, but what’d you think of just the shot quality overall? Were those, do you think those were good shots, just was one of those nights where you guys couldn’t make anything?

07:45 Man, 10-of-42 is tough. Getting up 42 threes at the same time is very good for us. We just gotta knock them down. Yeah, I feel like we missed a lot of easy ones. We had some ones that was halfway in the basket that jumped out and those type of feels and points, those add up. So instead of being it 12-point game, it could be a seven or a six, you know what I mean? And a team like that, they thrive off athleticism and they thrive off getting into transition, so slowing the game down was what we wanted to be, but we got a lot of great looks. Tough game. They played well and we just gotta do better on defense.

08:32 How do you square away the fact that you guys played well for most of the game and just came up short?

08:38 Be better. That’s all we can do. Watch film. They scored 124 points on us, which is not us at all. We should be holding teams closer to a hundred points. At one point we had a stretch where we was holding teams under a hundred, you know what I mean? So we just gotta get back to that, dial in, back on that and understanding what it took and what happened. We let some of them shoot — their shooters get loose and those type of things, they definitely add up.

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09:09 What did you think the difference was tonight?

09:13 JIMMY BUTLER: What, tonight?

09:13 Yeah.

09:14 What was the difference? A lot of miscues. Didn’t make too many shots on them, but we just didn’t guard anybody. Low effort game, which can’t happen at home. Can’t happen anywhere, but I think that was it. Very low effort.

09:31 As far as specific to Brandin and Moses, when you — in your experience with younger players, the guys come up and down, what advice do you give them?

09:41 Stay in it, man. You gotta understand that this league is about ups and downs and staying in the middle. And then you just gotta figure out ways to impact the game. And your shot isn’t falling, rebound. You take a charge, you dive on the floor, all of that stuff, but they’ll be all right. That’s — this is part of being a pro. I think we can all say that we’ve been through it. You ask all the right questions to everybody and get back in the lab and figure it out.

10:11 You guys have been really low-turnover recently. Today, 16. How do you feel like collectively, lately you guys have been doing taking care of--

10:19 I think we’ve been doing well taking care of the ball. We did have some turnovers. Out of that 16, probably at least what, 5, 6, 7 of them were — they weren’t live ball turnovers. Some of them was like bad pass out of bounds, illegal screens. I’m not gonna say those are turnovers we’ll take, but at least it ain’t like a live ball turnover, thrown over the top for a layup. So there’s a silver lining.

10:45 Steve’s been talking recently about how different the league is than maybe it was when you first got in or just teams feasting more off turnovers, higher transition. Do you feel that? Are turnovers even more deadly than they used to be?

10:58 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, man, turnovers. Easy points, those are hard to come by in this league. And then for anybody, once you see that ball go through the basket, it just gets bigger and your confidence is greater and greater. As of lately, I think we’ve been doing a decent job of taking care of the ball, get back to that, set good screens, make good passes. We’ll be alright.

11:18 You like the threes that you guys are creating right now?

11:20 Yeah, but I don’t think the game’s gonna come down to if we miss or make threes. We better figure out a way to get some stops.

11:28 The bench wasn’t as productive tonight as it has been recently, but how essential is it — and specifically I’m curious your take on Al and it seems like he’s back to being who he’s been, nmost —

11:37 Yeah, Al’s great. Our bench is great. You have off nights, doesn’t matter, but it’s never gonna be on the bench. It’s gonna be us as a collective to do what we’re supposed to do, take care of the ball, guard, communicate, all of those things. Whether you’re a starter and you’re in with some of the bench players or you’re a bench player and you’re out there with other bench players, it’s all about effort, communication and doing what you’re supposed to be doing.

12:00 What about Al’s skillset and demeanor is so essential?

12:03 Because he’s a winner. He’s won at every level that he’s played at. Ask him to do it, he’s gonna do it because he knows that’s what it takes to win. Yeah, he makes shots. He protects the rim and his energy’s always great.

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12:22 Steph was saying you guys played pretty well for 40 minutes and there were a couple stretches here and there where the game turned. What do you make of those stretches where you guys — where the hawks made their move?

12:37 GARY PAYTON II: We just didn’t get to the shooters. They made shots. We were just a little second, little bit behind on the actions, but give them credits. They came out with a lot of energy and pop. They made their runs when they were supposed to and we had good looks that just didn’t drop and they made theirs.

13:01 What are the counters to length in athleticism?

13:07 Jump stops and pivots. And just solid crisp passes, but it happens sometimes, so I’m sure we’ll work on that tomorrow.

13:21 You guys were — you shot 10-of-42 from three. What’d you make of the shot quality you guys got tonight?

13:29 We got good looks. Like I said, it just didn’t drop. It’s just one of those nights that didn’t go in our favor, but I feel like we played pretty solid, like Steph said, for 40 minutes. You have nights like these and try to get stops and go out and make runs, but they countered.

13:49 Gary, Steve mentioned how you guys cannot get them to turn over and also like the open threes, especially like Luke Kennard has six threes in the second half. What do you think about that?

14:00 We just gotta find them, find in transition. Kennard and Alexander-Walker got a few easy looks and then that just carry over confidence and that leads to them both hitting big ones, down the stretch. And then Luke got hot. Just defense awareness, transition is to find their shooters.

14:24 You guys are playing a kind of similar team in Portland next game, so what are the adjustments you guys think they’ll make?

14:29 Yeah, you gotta turn over the — don’t turn over the ball. Master energy and effort for 48 minutes. We haven’t been the best against Portland this year, so we owe them one. So we just come out with energy and effort and match their intensity. Thanks guys. You guys are great.

00:00 What did you feel like went wrong today?

00:06 STEPH CURRY, POSTGAME ATL-GSW: There were two runs at the end of the second, end of the third. They created all the separation. They played well the whole game. They are a young, athletic team, fresh look, so you knew they were gonna come in, and obviously what they did in Denver. And they’re excited to get out there. And it showed. We had some resiliency, some fight, but gave up too many open threes, Luke Kennard, couple turnovers that gave him open looks, easy transition. So it’s crazy. You can play 40 good minutes and lose it in two four-minute stretches. That’s the way the NBA is. That’s what happened tonight.

00:57 Steph, 10-of-42 as a team from three. Did you — what do you think, I guess, of the quality of looks you guys were getting from behind the arc? Was it just a tough shooting night or what’d you see?

01:10 I don’t — I can’t diagnose the whole — every shot, but I feel like earlier in each half, it wasn’t as — the ball didn’t have as much energy as it usually does. You gotta credit their defense. They have a lot of athleticism, length. They like to switch a lot, so a lot of our off-ball actions weren’t necessarily, timing up right. And certain games you can feel like you’re pressing if the ball’s not hopping around and, clearly each possession, all that was a good shot. So we can obviously correct that, but they had a really good defensive effort to try to take away some pet actions and stuff like that. Felt like we could probably get downhill a little bit more when they were hugged up on shooters, but Monday morning quarterbacking right now.

02:04 Stephen, what are the, I guess, I don’t wanna say secrets, but what are the best ways to attack a team that’s built like the Hawks are, with the length and the athleticism built, to attack their defense?

02:20 I think the second half, we try usually out there, there’s gonna be one or two guys that you can go at to create an advantage. Doesn’t mean they’re just gonna let you. That ole defense just lets you get to the paint, you can create an advantage and then make them react, get the ball, moving side to side. We did that well for short spurts out of the game. And then you just gotta be able to have composure and attack, if you have a little bit of an angle just to get downhill. I think we struggled to get paint touches tonight. The ball was just swinging around the perimeter and they’re able to keep five bodies on bodies. That’s usually what good defenses do. Tonight we didn’t have that answer quick enough.

03:08 Steph, Moses and Podz both struggled tonight and they’ve had their ups and downs this season. What do you say to a younger player when they’re struggling to find the consistency the group needs?

03:21 It is part of the journey. I will say, like, my first — this is Year Five for Moses, Year Three for BP, is that right? Because they’re here, everything’s on the spotlight and there’s going — you feel it was probably a heavier weight than even I experienced early in my career, but you just have to diagnose or be honest with yourself after each game, you know what you could have done better, but not lose your confidence. You’re gonna get another opportunity in the next game to make an impact, quick decisions, shoot when you’re open, don’t be results-based. It’s about the process of how you’re playing, how you’re approaching the game that ends up helping us in the short-term and helping you as a player in the long-term.

04:17 Steph, is there a margin that you feel like if you guys can keep it within, even if you’re trailing, that you can still get it at the end of the games?

04:29 That — there’s a certain margin that it’s within and you feel like if I’m close enough, I can get us there, yeah. We cut it to, what, 15 with, I think it was four minutes left, something like that. There was still belief at that point. When you look up and it’s 20 with six minutes, you got about a minute or two to have a realistic shot, but yeah, I feel if it’s within, 10 to 15 with more than three minutes or something like that, it feels like that’s within reason. I know the percentages are not in your favor, but it’s worth staying out there and trying to grind out a couple possessions to see how it goes.

05:22 Follow up on the question on Moses and Brandin, what do you imagine might be like the challenges of being a role player on the Warriors, like for this franchise, specifically with you, Draymond and Jimmy on the team?

05:38 It’s all about winning and I think that’s a good end. It’s a challenging thing, but it’s a great thing in terms of building your character and bringing the best out of you over the long term. It’s just, we obviously have a lot of attention. There’s a lot of noise. We have a very dedicated, loyal, passionate fan base. Everybody in this room who covers us on a daily basis, you’re gonna have all these reads and projections and grading of each player. And it’s just part of the nature of the success that we’ve had. And yeah, if you embrace it, I think, one, winning is fun and the levels that we’ve been at are none of that’s guaranteed in this league. And so you gotta have to take the good and the challenge with what environment we’ve created here.

06:37 Steph, not so much related to tonight’s game, but how do you describe, Horford’s impact these last few games? It seems like he’s getting back to the way he’s played most of his career and how necessary, how much do you need — do you guys need him to be healthy and productive the way he’s been here for a week or two?

06:58 He’s been a huge part of some big wins for us recently and the consistency him and Melt have been, they’re like anchors to lineups for different reasons. And I know Al was struggling early just to be available and healthy and dealing with some injuries that kept him out. That consistency allows him to just get comfortable on both ends of the floor. He’s a presence in those short spurts that he’s out there. Like you said, tonight was difficult. Just, they’re a very interesting team, kind of positionless. I hate calling it small ball because there’s 6’9” guys out there all over the place. Having Al available helps us on a nightly basis just because he’s heady IQ, shoot the ball, play defense, just gives you a great presence out there

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