Podziemski references Anthony Edwards’ elimination from 2024 playoffs

[G5-GSW-MIN videos/transcripts+more]

Sure, the youngsters including Brandin Podziemski all seemed to have that deer-in-the-headlights syndrome starting with Game 7 in Houston.

Pat Spencer (is he a “youngster”, though?) had a nice stint in Game 1 at Minnesota with 4 points in 10 minutes played, but Jonathan Kuminga committed 2 turnovers in 13 minutes, Gui Santos’ only stat was a foul in 4 minutes of play, Moses Moody was 0-for-4 from the field in 8 minutes play with no other stats, and Podz himself scored just 3 points on 1-for-7 from the field, although he had 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Again, this was in Game 1 following Game 7.

And Quinten Post joined “Club Trillion” as he notched 6 minutes of play with absolutely nothing else to show on the boxscore.

And then we all kinda know what happened the next four games. Other than BP and Moody finally showing up in the second half of Game 5, the youngsters crashed and burned the moment one Wardell Stephen Curry went out, although it kinda really started in the bright lights of Game 7.

I think a lot of fans forget, this Wolves team is actually quite experienced (years of NBA experience, years of playoff experience):

I mean, let’s tip our hat. There’s really no need to be all that outraged that the Dubs without Steph couldn’t get one out of those four losses.

Also… this kinda happened to the Timberwolves last year, bowing out in five games to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 Western Conference Finals. In fact, on the night they were eliminated, Anthony Edwards said on the podium (5:00 mark) that they hadn’t trained for more than an 82-game season plus maybe the first round — that’s what he needed to improve for 2024-25:

And so, yeah, you gotta improve the roster, but whichever youngsters who will still be on the Warriors roster, they’ll likely improve, too. That’s usually what happens when you get bounced in the playoffs.

And Podz referenced the Ant interview on the podium after Game 5:

I seen an interview with Ant. He just talked about how out of shape he was last year in the playoffs and the only way you can train for something like that is kind of go through it. And I think I felt that, not from being out of shape or anything like that, but everything you learn in the playoffs you only can experience by going through the playoffs. And for me, for JK, for Moses, for Trayce (Jackson-Davis), all guys that are really first-timers with an extended role, you understand that was hard, but there was also moments for each of us that we can do it and we belong and so that gives us good confidence going into the off-season of this is what we expect, this is what we can do, and just like anything, everybody's gonna get a little bit better going into next year.

I’m actually rooting for Ant-Man in the NBA’s Final Four, here. Why? Well, I figure he’ll continue to be on the up-and-up, regardless. His shooting beyond the arc improved drastically this past season and, empirically from the Warriors-Wolves series and the regular season, it looks to me that his ball-handling and game management, overall, is now in that stratosphere of the elites.

He’s basically a 1-2-3 all rolled into one. There just aren’t that many elite ball-handlers who have wing length. Oh, and he can rise up at any time with those hops and, you know, hit a buzzer-beater over Draymond Green and Gary Payton II. Sheesh.

If he doesn’t win the chip this year, I feel his rate of ascension, coupled with extended ongoing hunger, will only make him an even more dominant force in 2025-26. With Golden State’s window closing, let’s get Ant his ring because we all know how hard it is to repeat, not just from a health standpoint, but also from a team-building or -sustaining and hunger perspective. That is to say, if Ant wins the chip now, he and the Wolves just won’t be as ferocious next year, cue the graphic of seven different NBA champions in the last seven years.

At the same time, I think the Warriors can make some nice roster moves with a JK sign-and-trade leading the way (more on that on this website and our YouTube channel, real soon) and I think even without any changes, GSW could have given any of Cleveland, Indiana and New York a run for their money.

Obviously, with Jayson Tatum presumably gone for the year and Boston having to make second-apron-related moves, you cannot assume they’ll be back to the Final Four. So, again, “Let’s go, Ant-Man!” 🎵 and get the Wolves out of the list of teams that, on paper, look like near-insurmountable problems on paper for the Warriors (OKC being the obvious one aside from Minnesota).

Transcripts from day-of Game 5 below — pregame Steve Kerr, then postgame Kerr, Podz, Jimmy Butler and Draymond — and then coming up the rest of this week on this Substack, all the exit interviews and kind of a player-by-player (or staff member by staff member) look, with each of their transcripts.

Also coming up on the YouTube channel livestreams — please subscribe to get the alerts:

• Warriors roster targets (spoiler: go all-in for Lauri Markkanen again, yes),

• Casually watching Ant-Man vs OKC, (probably combined with above salary cap workshop on Markkanen and others), and

• Another Golden State Valkyries watch party with play-by-play (we did the Season Opener).

00:00 Playing without Steph for the past three games, what are some things that you've learned about some of your more complimentary players on the roster?

00:10 STEVE KERR, PREGAME G5-GSW-MIN: Nothing. I've been together with these guys all year. I don't look at it like I needed to learn anything. We're just trying to go get a win.

00:21 How much pressure is there to win tonight to extend the series?

00:26 Literally, win or go home. There's pressure, but it's also a great opportunity, get this one, get home a few days to prepare for Game 6, to take a breath. We think this is an amazing opportunity. We know how hard closeout games are. We feel if we play up to our capabilities, play a good game, play a solid game plan discipline, defend really hard, we got a chance to win, and all of a sudden everything changes with one win.

01:12 Steve, do you ever try to read your team, read the team?

01:17 Yeah. You get a sense of the mood and part of the coach's job is to help change the mood if you don't like it. And I think the mindset is so important going into any game and every game is a little bit different. The circumstances are different and I think it's really important tonight for us to be, obviously, focused, more focused than we were last game. We made too many game plan mistakes, last game, so it's important to be focused, but it's important to be loose too and let it rip. We're in a situation where we have to feel a little more free than we have the last couple games. I think we've been pressing a little bit and tonight's a night to let it rip and see what we can do.

02:09 Do you feel like Jimmy's a hundred percent or he's, I know you said —

02:14 I'm sorry?

02:15 Jimmy. I know you've said he feels better than he did the other night. Is he still getting better or do you feel like it was —

02:22 you mean from his illness or his —

02:24 I guess everything.

02:25 Yeah, yeah. I mean, he doesn't say much of anything about that, not a guy to make excuses, but I talked to him this morning at shootaround. He's feeling good and ready to go.

02:39 Without saying that you underestimated the Wolves or anything, what areas in this series have they played better than you expected they would?

02:47 I'm glad you qualified it because I definitely didn't underestimate them. We knew how good they were coming in. I don't think we've been surprised by anything. This is a team that was in the Conference Finals a year ago for a reason. We've seen them plenty over the last couple years. We know how skilled they are, how many shooters they have, how good their defense is, so it's a very complete team. I haven't really learned anything new about them. To be frank, they've been good and they're up 3-1 because they played better than we have.

03:20 Can you give us an update on Steph's availability for a possible Game 6?

03:25 I cannot. I can only repeat what was said today, which is that he's on the court and he's doing more stuff, more work and it's a possibility that he could play.

03:37 As a coach in a game like this, how do you find that balance between staying loose and, like you said, letting it rip, but also making sure that your team doesn't come out of control or a little too amped up?

03:48 Yeah, that's what you discuss in the meetings. That's what you discuss during the timeouts. Let's make sure we're hitting our keys. What are we trying to accomplish in the game? And at the same time, give them that message of "let it fly." Go let it rip. And every player is always looking for that balance, even the great players, or maybe especially the great players. And so it's one of the — I think it's one of the toughest things to find as an athlete is that sweet spot where you're locked in, but you're loose. And it's what we all strive for as athletes, as coaches, whether you wanna call it the zone, whatever it is, but you can reach that state individually. You can also reach it as a team and the goal tonight is to find that groove as a team.

04:52 Steve, Ant credited you with advice pre-Draft that he thought helped him and you coached him in Paris. I was curious about your view of his development and also do you regret helping him?

05:07 I take very little credit. I take zero credit for developing, him. he was gonna be great, no matter what. I loved coaching him two summers in a row. I felt like, watching him, that he could be — he was already becoming that this past summer when we were together in Paris. He had already done what he did last year, so you could see all this over the last few years, but it was fun getting to know him last two summers and spending time with him and feeling his charisma, his joy for the game, his work. He loves to stay after practice and shoot and talk trash with the guys and he's a great chemistry player. The rest of the players enjoy playing with him so much. More than anything I just enjoyed coaching him. He was gonna be great no matter what, but all of those experiences with USA Basketball and, obviously, the last few years as he's grown with the Wolves, there's a reason he's here now. He's incredibly gifted and really competitive and really hardworking, so it all adds up.

06:25 Steve, you've seen Draymond blow up so many possessions and take over so many games on the defensive end of the floor over the years. It felt like Jaden McDaniels did some of that in the third quarter into the fourth quarter of the last game. Just how would you compare the way that those two guys are able to impact what you're trying to do on offense, whether they're on the ball, off the ball, protecting the rim, defending the ball, those types of things?

06:45 I don't know if I would compare them to each other. I think they're each great in their own way. Jaden is obviously more of a perimeter defender. Draymond is both interior and perimeter, if he's switching, but the key with Jaden is just the length and the ability to stay in front. He does a great job sliding his feet and not fouling and then using his length to bother shots, so he's a great defensive player. He's one of the reasons the Wolves are where they are right now.

07:19 Steve, you guys had them on the ropes in Game 3 but couldn't finish. Obviously, Game 4, that third quarter crushed you. Are there things you can pick up from each game that make these guys not necessarily easier to play, but that may be helpful to you at this stage of the series?

07:33 Yeah, for sure. Every tape provides clues as to things you might be able to do and then maybe ideas for things you should change, game plan-wise. And then every game is different, shots go in, shots don't go in, but you try to find the stuff that creates easier shots for yourself and tougher shots for your opponent. And I know that sounds pretty simple, but it's what it comes down to and then it's up to the players to go out and make plays and make shots. And I would say the last two games, they were able to do that down the stretch of Game 3 and then that third quarter, hammered us and was the difference. So tonight, it's gotta be our night to make those plays. Thanks.

—

NO TRANSCRIPT FOR CHRIS FINCH DUE TO TIME CONSTRAINTS

—

00:00 STEVE KERR, POSTGAME G5-GSW-MIN: Well, first of all, congrats to the Wolves. They were fantastic, had a great series, beating us four games straight after that first one. Congrats to Chris Finch, Tim Connolly. They've done a great job here the last few years, building this team and back-to-back Western Conference Finals, pretty damn impressive. So it was a fight. Really proud of our guys. They hung in there and they battled the whole way through and quite a turnaround in our season from where we were a few months ago to giving ourselves a chance and having a swing at the plate for some real chances to go deep. And, we were right there and, obviously, didn't go our way, but again, the Wolves were great. They deserved it and I'm very proud of our team.

01:04 How, difficult is the Steph aspect to this and kind of the what-if that you'll always live with?

01:10 Yeah, I mean, injuries are part of the playoffs. I learned a long time ago, the playoffs are really about health and then just right guys stepping up and making some big shots, big plays in key games. That's what decides every series and so we've been on both ends of that and it's just part of it, so there's no sense in dwelling on it. And I don't want to take anything away from what Minnesota just accomplished, so no sense in even talking about Steph.

01:45 How much carryover do you feel like there was from going seven with Houston from the last series into this series, just the attrition that that series required?

01:54 Well, we obviously came in here and won Game 1, coming right off of Game 7 and so I don't think it was an issue. I thought Game 3 was the key to the series. We're at 1-1 and we've got a six-point lead in the fourth, mid-fourth, and they made huge plays down the stretch of that game and that was the one we needed to get. And then I thought the last two games, they broke free offensively. I mean, they shot 63% tonight. We couldn't stop them. We actually did everything we wanted to accomplish. We dominated the possession game, we got 39 threes up, but 12 more field goal attempts, 15 more free throws. We did everything we needed to do to win the game, but yeah, they shot 63%, so ultimately you've gotta be able to guard and get stops and we weren't able to do that.

03:00 You guys were only down by six with about two minutes left in the second quarter, then they go on that 9-0 run, kinda like what they did in the last game, I guess. What happened there?

03:10 Yeah, they broke free. It felt like the transition stuff in the first half was really key. I looked at the stat sheet at half time. They only had six transition points. I think that was misleading. Those stats are a little nebulous sometimes, too. It felt to me like they were getting out in transition and then getting into the paint and then they're passing was spectacular tonight. They had 20 assists in the first half, had us on a string. We kept having to rotate 'cause the ball would get free and we had to bring help and the ball started to move for them and they played a beautiful first half. And that last 9-0 run was a big part of the game.

03:58 Two of your youngest guys had the biggest scoring outputs tonight, obviously Jonathan and Brandin. What did you see from them tonight and in the series?

04:05 Brandin obviously had struggled, but I thought it was our best offensive game of the series, even though we didn't shoot well. The ball really moved. We had great pace, great tempo. I thought brandin did a really good job of pushing the ball, getting it swung side to side. We were able to attack them on closeouts because the ball was moving. Our spacing was much better. That was a big problem for us earlier in the series, just the lack of spacing, obviously, playing some new lineups that hadn't played together, a lot of lineups that had guys who are used to being in the paint and we were asking them to be on the perimeter tonight. We did a much better job of that, of getting spaced and that allowed us to move the ball and both JK and Brandin, had big scoring nights. I was really thrilled for Moses. It's been a tough postseason for him, but he showed exactly who he is as a player, as a person, just staying ready, coming in, having that big fourth quarter. That was meaningful and I love our guys. Like I said, this was a hell of a run for us, considering where we were at the trade deadline. Jimmy changed our season, flipped everything for us, gave us a chance. We became one of the best teams in the league and, obviously, you get to the final eight in the NBA, you're one of the best teams and we had a shot, but things didn't go our way. But like I said, Minnesota deserves the credit. They were the better team.

05:44 With that said, how do you feel about the future — and I'm talking more just next season with Jimmy now here and what you guys can maybe build on?

05:52 Yeah, I mean, I'm excited. We got, obviously, Jimmy and Dray and Steph all coming back. Our young players performed really well this year. There's a lot to look forward to.

06:05 Not trying to set you up with excuses, because I know you don't want that, but was Butler pretty much a hundred percent or was he compromised physically?

06:13 Well, I think he was definitely compromised all series. I think the injury in Houston definitely impacted him. He's been playing through pain and I think the biggest thing in this series is that without the spacing that Steph gives us, Minnesota did a great job of just playing us one-on-one. They guarded us on the perimeter. They just, they were trying to take away our threes and that forced Jimmy to play a lot of one-on-one, against a long athletic team and his whole game is to iso, get the ball into the paint and then move it to generate shots. And they just made the decision not to leave our perimeter guys, even our non-shooters on the perimeter. They just stayed with them everywhere and made Jimmy play one-on-one and because they have a lot of length and athleticism, it wasn't easy for him to get anything at the rim and in the paint and, obviously, they've got Gobert back there, so they made things difficult on Jimmy, but once Steph went out, it changed everything for our whole team, but especially for Jimmy.

07:20 Steve, you guys did a nice job, especially in the first half, of getting Anthony off the ball, which is what you wanted to do. He had six points at halftime, but you guys were down 15. Is there an adjustment that you can make from that or, I mean, what do you go from that when you're down 15 and he has six points?

07:33 Yeah. I mean, we blitzed him early in the game. We were trapping him and they got free and they scored several times against our blitzes and that's the risk you take when you go to that coverage, so I thought all in all tonight we threw a lot of stuff at him, box-and-1 one possession, a lot of zone trapping in the back court, but they're a hell of a team. They've got shooting everywhere and that's the name of the game in the modern NBA. If you can space the floor with four or five different guys, it makes defense really, really difficult and I thought their spacing, their shooting just spread us out and that allowed their guys to attack and get into the paint.

08:22 Following up on the earlier question about Podz and Jonathan, your younger guys, obviously, with Steph's injury, they had a bigger role in this series. How much can this playoff experience sort of help them going forward.

08:33 Fantastic playoff experience for both guys. Very proud of Jonathan to go from where he was in the Houston series, not really being part of the rotation, and then when Steph got hurt, staying ready and coming in and he played really well here these last four games. And BP, this was a great experience for him. He said there were times in the series where he was hesitant to shoot. Even tonight he was 4-for-6. I thought he could have gotten 10 or 11 threes off and we needed those and I told him that after the game. I said, when we get back here next year, you are not gonna turn down a single shot. And that's part of the playoffs. I lived it as a player. It is a mind — it's a mind game. I call it something more profane, but the playoffs are a — they are a mind game. And it's really easy to lose your confidence. Teams throw different schemes at you. You have a bad game and everybody's talking about your shooting percentage and you feel like you're on an island. I've been there and it was great for Brandin to go through that and then finish the series with a great game because he's gotta understand, this is what it feels like. Nobody cares in January if you have two games where you're 4-for-20, but in the playoffs everybody's writing about it, everybody's talking about it. You feel exposed and that's a big part of playoff experience, understanding you gotta keep firing. You gotta stay aggressive, keep your confidence any way you can.

10:05 Steve, you mentioned earlier — we had a shot. When you look back at this series, at the playoffs, the way you guys played to get out of Houston, the way Steph and you guys were playing that Game 1 right before he got hurt, will you wonder, what if? What did you think? How far this team could go, the potential?

10:23 Yes, the next few days. I mean, I actually — I don't even have to think "what if." I know we had a shot. I know we could have gone the distance. Maybe we wouldn't have, but it doesn't matter. Again, everything in the playoffs is about who stays healthy and who gets hot. Are you playing well at the right time? Do you have multiple guys step up in key games, make shots, and do you have good health? And you see it every year in every series. And so there's a there's a little bit of luck involved and we, like I said, we've been on both sides of that and it's just part of it.

11:05 Does it give you confidence going into the next season of knowing what this team is capable of?

11:11 For sure, for sure. The second half of the season, we became one of the best teams in the league. We had, really. I think the No. 1-ranked defense for the last 30 games. We became a two-way basketball team. I think Mike Dunleavy's a superstar. I think what he's done in the last couple years, I have total faith in Mike and his ability to look at our team, figure out what we need and help us get better this summer and I'm excited for what's ahead and, yeah, disappointed, but Minnesota was great and I wish them well.

11:52 Steve, given the ages of Steph and Draymond and Jimmy, how much is luck just a part of when you get to this point? Luck that they stay healthy, luck that older players stay upright at this point.

12:06 You need luck when they're younger too. You do. Like I said, we've been on both sides of it. 2015 we go to the Finals and Cleveland's without Kyrie and Kevin Love and next year, we're in the playoffs and Steph goes down and he's banged up and Draymond gets suspended and stuff happens and we've been on both sides of it. And so yes, our main three guys are older now, so we're gonna have to navigate that as best we can, but you just go for it and do the best you can.

12:45 Given the arc of this season where you guys finished how do you think you'll remember '24-25?

12:51 I will remember this season for the way this team was connected and persevered and what an incredible group, going back to October training camp, playing 13 guys out of the gate and then our team transforming with the trade for Jimmy, but I enjoyed coaching every single guy on this team. And all you can really ask as a coach is for your team to commit to each other, to the cause, and for guys to fight through adversity when things don't go their way. And we saw that over and over again with all of our guys and that's really satisfying, so I thoroughly enjoyed this season. Love our guys and, like I said, it's sad that it's over, but it's a really fun year.

13:47 Draymond said something — Steve, Draymond said something after Game 4. He said that it seemed like every time we get a little run going, they have an answer for it. Does that take an emotional or a psychological toll on a team when you see you're coming back, you're coming back and they zap right back at you?

14:03 Yeah, for sure, but look, they were the better team. I mean, Julius Randle was incredible. What a series. And he's always been a really good player in this league. I think he has taken a leap. I remember playing here early in the season and it looked like a tough fit and they didn't have the spacing. They missed Towns and you fast forward to now, he's 13-for-18 tonight. He was just incredible the whole series. We couldn't stop him. Obviously, anthony Edwards is just a superstar, so they were the better team and, yeah, it's demoralizing, but that's what the game is about, can you get stops? And we couldn't. We couldn't get stops. Thank you.

00:00 Draymond, how tough is it to end a season like this under these circumstances without Steph?

00:06 DRAYMOND, POSTGAME G4-GSW-MIN: It sucks to end it without Steph, but they beat us. Injuries are a part of it. We've won championships when guys got hurt. That's a part of it. You try to — you want to be as good of a team as you can be, but you always say you need a little luck, just because health is a huge part of it, so we definitely miss Steph. That, obviously, goes without saying, but I'm not gonna come up here and harp on Steph not being there, make it like their win is less of what it is. They're moving on. Congratulations to those guys. They beat us, regardless you. If you are on the other side, you play who's on the floor and that's what they did and they won, so you gotta give 'em a lot of credit.

00:54 You obviously thought that this team had championship potential when everyone was fully healthy against the Rockets and in Game 1. How close do you feel like you guys got to your ceiling?

01:06 I think we've continued to improve. There's no way to really say how close we got to a ceiling. It's over, so that's kind of — it really don't matter, but like I said, give them a lot of credit. They were incredible. Ju (Julius Randle) played great entire series. Ant-Man's patience was beautiful. Rudy played really well, so you gotta give those guys a lot of credit. Our ceiling is, it is what it is now. We were a second-round team and second round exit, so that's what it is.

01:51 How do you view the future, in next year, next couple years, now that you've got Jimmy in the fold?

01:58 I think we'll be right back at it. Sucks to end this way, but we think we got the pieces to make another run at it and do it again and that's gonna be our mindset going into the summer. Do all that we gotta do to improve. We got one of the best ownership groups and front offices in the NBA. They'll do whatever they feel is needed to help the team improve and us as players, you gotta get back in the lab and do what you gotta do to get better, but I think, come next year, we'll be right back at it and give ourselves a chance again.

02:38 Draymond, your final game of the season and your two big scorers, obviously, were both 22 years old, Podz and Jonathan. How would you sort of characterize their growth this year and what do they need to do next to be more of a factor next year?

02:51 I think anytime you're starting to grow in age, years, experience, the one thing you can always do or the one focus that I would say is your consistency, doing it on a nightly basis. And I think, you look at those guys and Moses as well, Gui Santos, QP, Pat, they all made tremendous strides throughout the course of the year — Trayce. And it'll be a big summer for all of them. Obviously, JK's got the contract situation. Always wishing him the best with that, being in that situation, whether it's here or elsewhere, you just wish him the best, but I think we saw the growth from those young guys. Next year, for all of them, you hope to see them take that next big step that they're all capable of.

03:57 Draymond, you had said this team had the capability of winning a championship. Is there anything you guys need to do differently to reach that or do you think it's just a matter of staying healthy next season?

04:08 I mean, you go into the off season, you better get better because everybody gets better or attempt to get better, I would say. So that's always gotta be the goal and so that'll be our focus. I think I still have that belief wholeheartedly. That has not changed one bit and you retool, you do whatever it is that you gotta do to take that next step and give yourself a better chance. And here at this place that we are, I have no doubt in my mind that they'll be looking to do it.

04:42 And with Jimmy, these last two games, do you think it was the illness he was dealing with that kind of impacted him?

04:49 Well, I think, number one, their defense just kind of started loading up on him. It made it a little tougher, but I know he was definitely under the weather, but we're not a group that's gonna make excuses. Give those guys credit. They defended well, they did a good job. Go back to the drawing board, figure out what we need to figure out and come back next year, but the credit goes to them. I'm not gonna sit here and say, "Oh man, he was sick, or he would've played better if he wasn't sick," or we would've played better if Steph was out there. Gotta give them guys a lot of credit. They're moving on to the Western Conference Finals and they put the work in to get there, regardless of who didn't score, who was out there. They're moving on and kudos, congratulations to them. They played a hell of a series.

05:36 You and Jimmy and Steph led the charge down the stretch and the playoffs and everything until injuries and stuff like that, but people are gonna say, going into next year that they can point out how old you three guys are. Is that a factor? Is that a legitimate concern or is that something you can get past?

05:51 They pointed that out last year and the year before, too. One thing I can assure them is every year we will get older, just like every year you'll get older and he'll get older. He'll get older.

06:07 Not him.

06:07 You don't age, huh, Scott (Ostler)? But I don't worry about that one bit. I feel like I'm still improving. I feel like Steph's still improving. I feel like Jimmy's still improving. As long as you're improving in this league, it'll treat you well, so when you stop improving, the bottom falls out. And I still think I personally got a lot of room for growth and I'm sure those guys feel the same way, so yeah, I don't worry about that one bit.

06:38 You feel like you guys pretty much got all you could out of this postseason, considering the circumstances? I mean, Jimmy coming midseason, Steph going down. I mean, just do you think that you guys went about as far as you could? Do you think you guys still could have gone, should have gone farther?

06:52 I definitely think we should have gone farther, but we didn't.

06:54 Yeah.

06:55 So it is what it is. Yeah, we lost, so I guess we did get all we could, but I still think we could have went further and I'll always think that, but —

07:08 With Ant being Ant and Julius playing like he is, how good is that team?

07:13 They got a chance. They got a real shot. Anytime you got a number two that can just go get it, you give yourself a chance at to go make it happen and get a ring. And like I said, the way Ju has been playing since he came back from the injury — by the way, it ain't just started. He been the way he's been playing since he came back from his injury. He been lights out, so I have no doubt that he'll continue to play that way. He's aggressive as hell and he gonna go after it. He got that mindset, always have had that mindset, so — and it's clicking for him. So I think they got a real shot at it. When you got two dynamic — and then they got all the pieces, right? They got Naz coming off the bench, Jaden McDaniels is a hell of a young player. Rudy, four-time Defensive Player of the Year, Mike Conley and his experience, Donte flying around and defending and shooting, Alexander. They got pieces, so it's just not one or two guys. They got a real team and so I think they got a real shot at it.

08:27 Draymond, the best teams in the West at the top, they got a combination of young players who are getting better, not just Minnesota, Oklahoma City, some of the other teams. You guys are a little on the older side when you think about —

08:39 We got young players still getting better, as well.

08:41 Yeah. I was gonna ask, do you feel like those young players can make enough of a leap to get you into that conversation or do you think you need significant personnel help that's not in the building?

08:54 I think every team in the NBA feel like they need personnel help that's not in the building. That's just the way this league works. I don't think any team — maybe I'm wrong — but I don't know any team that came back with the exact same roster next year, so I think everybody feel that way and it has nothing to do with who's young, who's old, who — that's just the nature of the business that we're in. Contracts happen. Money situations happen. All of those things happens. And so I think that's everyone, but do I have confidence in our young guys that they can take the next step? Absolutely. 1000%.

09:33 In what areas do you feel like you're improving and in what areas do you want to improve more?

09:37 I want to continue to be better with the ball. I think I turned the ball over way too much this year. And I think for me, my role has changed quite a bit. I've always kind of been in the middle of the offense, running offense, making the plays, which allows you to take more risks because you just got the ball so much more. And I think for me, I continued to take the risk without having the ball as much and so it looks different and so that's an adjustment that I have to make going into next year, is just understanding what that means and learning to play better in the — you lit, huh? Respect. And learning to play better in the role that I am in now. I think that's something that I continue to improve on, so yeah, I think that'll be one of my main focuses, for sure.

00:00 Jimmy, to what degree did the fall Game 2 in Houston affect how were you feeling the rest of the postseason?

00:07 JIMMY BUTLER, POSTGAME G5-GSW-MIN: Fine. Good enough to go out there and compete. We're not going to use anything as an excuse, so just didn't win.

00:18 And then how would you just contextualize how different things were throughout the course of the series without having Steph out there?

00:24 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Obviously, it's very different whenever you don't have Steph on the floor. The room is so much smaller and I feel like everybody has to take on more and everybody has to play a little bit of a different role, but that's just the game. Injuries happen, but it is a lot different with Stephen out there.

00:47 How do you view just, I guess, your few months here and what the future — what this franchise can look like?

00:53 Great. A bunch of great guys that work incredibly hard, young talent that's gonna be incredibly successful in this league. It's all about staying healthy as it always is and getting more and more comfortable playing with one another.

01:10 When do you and Draymond and Steph get together and start talking about next year?

01:17 That's a good question. That is a very good question. Maybe on the plane, I don't know. For sure sometime this summer, but when it happens, it will happen.

01:31 Have you seen enough — I know you played, what, eight playoff games with Steph?

01:35 Yeah.

01:35 Have you seen enough to really be convinced that, healthy, this team is a contender?

01:41 For sure. I think we all know that. We all believe that, but like I said, injuries is part of it. Nobody wants to be injured. It's all about playing your basketball — the best basketball at the right time and being healthy at the right time. Unfortunately, that wasn't us and we came up short.

02:00 Jimmy, the last couple of times you've been in the playoffs, you've had to maybe carry undermanned rosters further than maybe where we projected where you guys should have been. Does this collection or group, or at least you, Steph and Draymond at the top, does that give you a little bit more optimism, maybe despite your age, despite how tough the Western Conference is, do you walk away feeling a little bit different than you have your last few playoff rounds?

02:27 Yeah. It is tough, but it's tough on both sides, West and East and like I just said, if we're healthy, if all of this and if all of that, then it may be different. We don't know, but we gonna take our chances, for sure, if Steph is out there, but you know, we'll come back and figure this thing out and next year, do the same thing.

02:52 Jimmy, you guys were so close in Game 3. You had 'em, what, six minutes to go. You were up and they blitz at the end there. When you look at what they were able to do to you guys with your offense, what made them so successful defending you guys?

03:07 I don't know. Maybe some physicality, making us take tough shots, but I don't think it's ever the offense. I think, what, tonight they shot 62%, so if we can't stop guys from putting the ball into the basket, it's gonna be hard either way, so I'm not gonna say that our offense was a problem, guarded three, you know, make them miss a little bit more.

03:31 On the other side, then, you guys had a really strong defense last few months of the regular season. What did they do to sort of take that apart?

03:40 Moved the ball incredibly well, get into the paint. I don't feel like we took too much away from them. We talked about what we wanted to do. We did it in, in some spurts, but not the entire game, which we needed to do, so it played well. You gotta give 'em that.

03:57 Jimmy, it feels like you guys have been going a hundred miles an hour since you got here when you were traded. What's it gonna be like having a full season with this team and do you think you guys can do more, based on having a full season, full camp?

04:11 It's gonna be fun. A lot of great basketball to be had and to be played and I can't wait to get to that point 'cause I don't wanna be not playing basketball.

04:35 (Inaudible) ...2024-25?

04:36 (inaudible) New destination for myself (inaudible).

—

04:49 BRANDIN PODZIEMSKI: I seen an interview with Ant he just talked about how out of shape he was last year in the playoffs and the only way you can train for something like that is kind of go through it. And I think I felt that, not from being out of shape or anything like that, but everything you learn in the playoffs you only can experience by going through the playoffs. And for me, for JK, for Moses, for Trayce, all guys that are really first-timers with an extended role. You understand that was hard, but there was also moments for each of us that we can do it and we belong and so that gives us good confidence going into the off-season of this is what we expect, this is what we can do, and just like anything, everybody's gonna get a little bit better going into next year.

05:32 Brandin, you guys played two really good defenses, Houston obviously, and then Minnesota here. What did this team do to your offense to sort of make it difficult to score, because obviously there were a lot of possessions that there were a shot clock violations and stuff going on?

05:47 Well, I think the difference between Minnesota and Houston, houston was super-big, I'm gonna protect the paint. We're gonna make you make the extra pass and they really tried to take Steph and Jimmy out and make others beat us. That's why you saw the big games from Buddy, saw a big game from me, saw a big game from Moses and Minnesota essentially said — obviously, it's different 'cause Steph was out — but they said, "Jimmy, you're gonna score over your matchup and Rudy and everybody else is gonna kind of push out." From watching film, you guys can see yourselves, the paint is literally wide open and everybody's just kind of hugged up to their man, and so they knew that Jimmy likes to facilitate and make plays for others. And so they said, we're gonna have you constantly beat us. And that's the same for whomever was driving. They took away the three-point line. They wanted us to score over Rudy and make plays in tight spaces and so I think that's the difference between — and I think we started to realize it tonight now — that it was just gonna be us and Rudy in there and everybody else was gonna fan out, so I think there's two different defenses. Each of — each were effective in their own right. But like I said, another way you learn from things is going through it.

07:02 You guys, obviously, emphasize trying to limit Ant's effectiveness tonight. You blitzed him, you threw some defenses at him, make, and he had six points at the half. Mm-hmm. You guys were down 15. When you do — when you're so effective at doing that and you're still down 15, what goes through your mind at halftime there?

07:20 Well, I think a lot of it was the things that we could control that we weren't controlling. Big emphasis was taken away the three-point line. They shot a good percentage and I think made maybe six or eight at halftime. And so if we just took those away, especially for the row guys, Conley, Di Vincenzo, McDaniels, take away those kind of things early for them, it puts a — not a timidness in their mind, but as the game gets closer in the game, gets later in the game, those shots that didn't go in early, maybe they're now, they're hesitant to shoot 'em or they're rushing them 'cause they wanna make 'em. And so I think their role players played really well, tonight to help Ann. Obviously, ann only got up 15 shots, which is what we like, had seven turnovers and so I think we did a pretty good job on him, but the role players are kind of what killed us. Everybody in the starting lineup had 15-plus, so.

🫶💙💛