Quinten Post: Steph Curry “said something before the game. It was good”
[GSW-POR videos/interviews/transcripts]
Belated post, but postgame at Portland was kinda funny. One Wardell Stephen Curry got a lot of praise for coming back from not playing and dropping 28 points.
Quinten Post:
I think there’s a big statement game for him. Like, he was out last game and then just to come back. He said something before the game. It was good. I just don’t remember what he said, but his leadership and just setting the tone offensively, he had 28. He was, he just makes all the difference.
Gary Payton II:
Ah, he’s Wardell. We expect him to come in doing what he does where he left off and nights like tonight, he leads for us and we follow and feed off him. Nobody worries about him.
Steve Kerr:
Just a methodical approach as usual, very calculated conditioning wise. He works really closely with our strength and conditioning program and with our guys, Dave Taylor, Rick (Celebrini), And it’s been a good, perfect progression. I asked him at the timeout, mid third or late third if he wanted to come out. I think it was four and a half minutes. And he said, gimme one more run. And that’s how Steph is. Like, he has a good feel for his body and what he needs and I thought he tonight was a really good night for his rhythm and his conditioning. You could see him playing through some stretches and he’s right where he needs to be.
My game observations:
I thought I liked Rodney Mott before the game when we looked at the assigned refs. Imo he missed quite a few calls, notably the obvious one on Jonathan Kuminga that preceded JK’s ejection. Mott will move out of my Top 10, but then again other guys have, too, notably Tony Brothers. Again, just my opinion. Scott Foster is, to me, still the best. Ed Malloy is second. James Williams, James Capers and maybe Mitchell Ervin round out my Top Five — Eric Lewis was in there before the NBA got rid of him smh. Always a balance of technical ability with player rapport, which is how I ranked my own refs when I ran Dream League and, at its peak, hit about 125 teams playing simultaneously every Sunday.
I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t know you could eject a player and only have one technical on him. That being said, if I were running the league, I would have assessed another tech for two total, along with the fine (maybe $25k, not $35k, as the two techs would’ve totaled $10k alone). So, yeah, I would’ve been harsher on Kuminga because you simply should not touch an official, no matter how bad the (non-)call was.
Will Richard sets great screens. The pick-and-roll with JK to get the latter downhill was super-exciting (8m19 q1). At 6m49 q1, Richard set another one, rolled, got the ball and found Curry baseline wide-open, but Steph smoked the layup.
At 3m15 q2, Richard made a slip cut that Steph found. Beautiful basketball. Richard really does “play the right way,” as he likes to say. I wonder where he got that acumen. Makes me want to go look up articles because usually that comes from dads or other family members, if not coaches, but who knows.
JK had a mid-post catch that resulted in a defensive three-second call. Thank you, Steve! It was pleasing to see the trust in Kuminga as the fulcrum of the offense. How really different is this than, say, if certain sects of Warrior fandom on Xitter had gotten their wish and we’d somehow acquired DeMar DeRozan? The hate that Kuminga gets from the usual suspects on that app reflects the general lack of actual basketball experience from those who are addicted to judgmental thumb-typing, one tweet at a time.
Post really struggled, again, before a late surge (again, lol). His footwork needs improvement, but then again, it’s actually pretty good for a seven-footer. He knows this, per his postgame podium (full transcript below), and it’s good to see him never just flat-out have a bad game in all facets. I wondered if losing weight could help with nimbleness, but I’m no expert on that. In any case, QP came through in the end as he always does, course-correcting within the game, to deliver the Andrew Bogut/Zaza Pachulia between-the-legs assist to 30. But yeah, no one is really worried about QP’s IQ. I always recall that closeup courtside play where he’s following Wardell’s improv (see below). It’s literally just the footwork in terms of rebounding, retreating on switches to guards, and not reaching for fouls — that’s basically his short list of bad habits.
At the 8m00 q3 mark, Richard had a blocking foul where I wondered if he, opposite of Quinten, might benefit from gaining weight. Remember, I’m super-high on Will for his defense, so this is hardly a criticism. And then sure enough, three game minutes later, he caused a charge on Deni Avdija whilst defending him from behind. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen that. That was amazing. You can’t teach that.
At 9m49 q3, Al Horford had another one of his signature two-way sequences where he found Curry in the corner for 3, then came back and got a disruption at the rim. He didn’t really make the leap to being a three-point gunner until he got to Philadelphia in 2019 at age 33. He was making $28 million at that point and there was probably no way to get a salary slot like that considering we did the D’Angelo Russell-for-Andrew Wiggins deal plus got Kuminga out of it, but it’s fun to imagine a younger Al alongside a younger Steph.
Full transcripts below:
00:00 Still had ten first half turnovers and a bunch of fouls. It’s something we talked about pre-game. Obviously, it was cleaned up somewhat in the second half, but post-game, how do you feel about how -- ?
00:13 STEVE KERR, POSTGAME GSW-POR: We didn’t exactly accomplish what we set out to, pre-game, in terms of limiting fouls, limiting turnovers, but really proud of them, the way the guys played. It felt like we just got our feet underneath us. Those last few minutes of the first half, they were taking it to us, almost the entire half. And then that stretch, that last three or four minutes of the second quarter changed everything. The ball really started to move, played with more pace, more force and really fun seeing the young guys out there competing and coming up with a win.
00:50 What did you think of Will’s performance today?
00:52 Will’s good. Will really knows how to play. He’s in the right spots all the time. He’s active defensively. He sees the game. Will knocked down his threes tonight and we’re really excited about him. He’s a very good player.
01:06 Is there a pathway toward playing time for him at some point?
01:09 Yeah. Yeah, if you’re on the roster, there’s always gonna be a path. There’s so much happens during the 82 and I know one thing, I won’t hesitate to put him out there. I have a lot of confidence in him already.
01:25 What happened on that Kuminga tech?
01:29 He got fouled. I, just, it was a frustration play. I have no problem with it. He deserved the foul. He was getting fouled quite a bit. It was a physical game and the way he ran on that play, the activity that he played with the rebounding, he had six boards in one half, 17 minutes. That’s the Jk who can really help our team and I love the way he played. I love the fire, the passion. I don’t mind the ejection at all. I liked it, actually. So I thought JK was terrific tonight.
02:13 Were you surprised that one technical tossed him?
02:17 No, because, after they called, was it one he called? He called two in one play?
02:24 One free throw.
02:25 You can eject someone with one tech only.
02:30 I wasn’t surprised he got ejected because he got right in Rodney (Mott)’s face and you can’t do that. They’re gonna, they’re gonna eject you if you do that. But like I said, I like the fire. I like the energy that he played with, the emotion. I think JK is having an excellent camp and I’m excited about how he looks,
02:53 Steph with 28 points. He’s, I think he was in double figures of his first two pre-season games. What do you make of his approach this pre-season? What’d you think? How he set the tone?
03:01 Just a methodical approach as usual, very calculated conditioning wise. He works really closely with our strength and conditioning program and with our guys, Dave Taylor, Rick (Celebrini), And it’s been a good, perfect progression. I asked him at the timeout, mid third or late third if he wanted to come out. I think it was four and a half minutes. And he said, gimme one more run. And that’s how Steph is. Like, he has a good feel for his body and what he needs and I thought he tonight was a really good night for his rhythm and his conditioning. You could see him playing through some stretches and he’s right where he needs to be. Thanks.
—
03:50 Will, can you feel like you’ve earned the trust of Steve and the coaching staff already?
03:58 WILL RICHARD: I feel like I have, for me probably just going out there and trying to play the right way, keeping it simple. And throughout training camp, I’ve just been asking a lot of questions. I wanna be on the same page as everybody. And I know we have a vet team, so it’s for me to catch up. So for me, I’m just trying to go out here and ask questions, make sure when I get on the court I know exactly what’s going on.
04:14 Have you been, have you run with the ones at all, the first group at all in practice?
04:17 This is the first time.
04:19 When did you get word you were starting?
04:21 I got a word in shoot around today, so I was definitely excited, ready to go out there and compete.
04:25 What felt, what, if anything, felt different being out there with that first unit?
04:29 Yeah, at the end of the day it’s just basketball, but it’s definitely a little different going out there and playing with Steph and those guys ‘cause they know how to play. They played a game for a long time and it’s just a lot more simple when you’re out there with them.
04:40 How did you think you did tonight?
04:42 I thought I did well. I definitely, I left some free throws out there, definitely got some defense rotation stuff that I gotta get down and get adjusted to, but I thought for my first time, being out there with those guys, I felt like I did pretty well.
04:53 What’s the biggest leap you feel like you’ve made from the start of camp to now a couple weeks?
05:00 I’d probably say just how adjusted I’m getting with the system. I know exactly what Coach Kerr wants while we’re on the court. I feel like I’m able to keep the game simple. I’m knowing where to go on defense. I know what to do on offense, whether that’s spacing or cutting, when the right time to cut and stuff like that. So I’d probably say just knowing what, what exactly is going on.
05:18 That it? Cool, great.
—
05:20 There’s a lot of back and forth between you and him (Yang Hansen). So from your point of view, is there a chance that does he has potential to become a legit parameter threat in the future, maybe?
05:34 QUINTEN POST: Like, you’re talking about his shot, the shooting?
05:36 Yeah, exactly. Looking at shooting motion and everything.
05:39 I think his shot mechanics are good. And I’ve seen clips of him putting it on the floor of that. If he gets that wide open three point shot down, it’ll definitely improve his game because I think he’s talented enough to put it off the, to put it on the floor of that and make plays. I think, I think he’s a really talented player and I think just with him growing, playing more games, it’ll really help him improve, just getting those reps in. But no, I think he’s a great young pro, young prospect, for sure. Keep working on that three point shot and it’ll open up the rest of his game for sure.
06:24 Quinten, do you feel like the rhythm is where it needs to be heading in the next week?
06:41 I think what you just saw today is just having Steph Curry on the court. He just makes everything so much easier for everybody offensively and defensively. I thought we did a lot better job than our first time seeing them. We controlled the pace a little better. Still, we turned the ball over too much and on the defensive glass, I don’t know what the rebounding battle was. I know for me personally, in my play, all I care about right now is just getting, becoming a better rebounder. That’s for me to stay on the floor. That’s the biggest thing, but, regard, especially comparing to how we played them the first time, I thought we did a better job today.
07:25 What was it like being out there with Will? What did you see from him tonight?
07:28 Will was awesome. I told him after the game, I told him last game, every time you’re open, just let it fly. That’s gonna help you out, just to establish yourself as a shooter. He’s a great shooter. I’ve seen him shoot so much, but for a first start, I think he was absolutely amazing. He keeps the ball moving. He shoots the, shoots the, what, how do they say that? The leather of the ball. Yeah. Good American. There you go. And, and then, I thought, I think he’s a great team defender. Like, he, he plays in the gaps. He’s in, in the right spots, so for a first game starting like that’s, he played 30 minutes. absolutely incredible. I thought he played really well.
08:05 To go back to, next question then, what you meant, what you said about Steph and just having him out there. What kind of tone has he set just throughout camp?
08:15 I think there’s a big statement game for him. Like, he was out last game and then just to come back. He said something before the game. It was good. I just don’t remember what he said, but his leadership and just setting the tone offensively, he had 28. He was, he just makes all the difference.
—
08:36 What have you thought of Will Richard. He gets to start tonight. Obviously, the young guy.
08:42 GARY PAYTON II: 30 minutes, Will played very well. Only way you can get better in this league. And as a young guy you can learn and know where your spot’s gonna be and get the feel is just, throw him in a fire and that’s what Steve did today and just let him rock. I think he played tremendous, did a lot of good things on defense, right spots and then offensively hit shots and made plays relish.
09:04 What have you seen with regards to his approach during training camp and practice?
09:07 Nah, it’s the same, same approach. He’s learning from all the guys, vets, 30. He’s picking up good habits and he’s just continued to build off that. He’s been great all camp.
09:19 Gary, obviously there’s one more game left before it all really gets rolling. Do you guys feel like you’re in a good spot given that there’s about a week before the real stuff starts?
09:30 Yeah, absolutely. We understand most of our vets are gonna be out a number of games throughout the year. So really leaning on the young guys to pick up things quickly and they’re gonna have to help us win quite a few games without them. Gonna be games like tonight where Dray and Jimmy don’t play, but Steph. So we gotta find out ways to get them going, get him going, and work and play around them. I think we did well, just to clean up the turnovers early in the first half and I think we’ll be good in a good spot.
09:59 Steph with 28 tonight. Just how sharp has he been during camping?
10:02 Ah, he’s Wardell. We expect him to come in doing what he does where he left off and nights like tonight, he leads for us and we follow and feed off him. Nobody worries about him.
10:17 How much has Steve been kinda drilling y’all behind the scenes on the turnovers and the fouls?
10:23 It’s, we know better. We just gotta emphasize on it and make the right plays and don’t always gotta look for the home run and just hit singles and be safe than rather take risks earlier in the games. So we’ll be all right. You guy are great.
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