Warriors-Bucks: Kerr pregame notes & quotes

Will Kuminga start? [free article]

It’s probably being tweeted as I write this, but what are your guesses before a beatwriter tweets out the starters? I’m gonna say Jonathan Kuminga starts against Giannis Antetokounmpo. Bobby Portis is also a regular Milwaukee Bucks starter. When we lost by thirty in Milwaukee, no one could guard Giannis and when JK was put in, he held his own but the game was out of reach until that unit brought it down to 19, then Coach Mike Budenholzer put his starters back in because they had lost a few and really needed the win.

Anyways here’s the relevant pregame transcript:

• *Rookies learning curve:* “…you never really know what to expect from rookies…more responsibility…some It because they’ve earned more minutes…”

• *Otto and Gary:* “Otto just scrimmage downstairs. He’s feeling a lot better…seasonal illness…I expect to him play on Monday…Gary did not scrimmage. I have not talked with Andre so I’m not sure where things are with him right now.”

• *Gary:* “Just day to day so we’re waiting until everything clears up before he starts scrimmaging again and he’ll need some court time before he’s ready to play.”

• *Wiseman:* “…so happy to see him the other night…just looked happy…been a long eleven months…”

• *Any part of Wiseman’s game you were looking at?* “Mainly just looking at him physically. He moved really well, he got up and down the floor…looked comfortable…that was the main point…get his legs under him…not ours just a matter of getting more reps, we’ll be able to watch tape with him…”

• *Did you talk to Wiseman yet?* “Not yet…we had the day off yesterday.”

• *Popovich:* “The number of lives he’s impacted…”

• *Defending the Bucks:* “It all starts with transition…let Gianni’s go coast to coast and dunk the ball…the other night in Denver…we’re took a lot of bad shots…when to crash the offensive boards…when to get back…”

• *Wiggins FTs:* “I have talked to him. The most important thing that I shared with him is this happens to everybody. Ok maybe not Steph…happened to me…got into my head and I shied away…this game can mess with you. Most important thing that he can do is to attack and be aggressive. You have to confront this stuff head on…Giannis…he just continues to attack…final game made 16 of 19…be more aggressive rather than cautious…now your whole game is affected…Wiggs…he’s a guy who likes to attack…”

• *Was this recently?* “Yeah within the last week…everything that these guys go through is public…really conscientious guy…trying too hard…”

• *Hard to deal with new components:* “…we’re playing a couple rookies…Draymond coming back Monday, James returning soon, a lot of balls to juggle in the air…what’s becoming apparent to me this year is we could have a different starting lineup from game to game in the playoffs, from series to series. This is not the Warriors from five years ago when you knew exactly what was coming. Got a lot of really good pieces…adjust quickly on the fly if things aren’t going well because we’re not a veteran team in terms of having a set 8-9 man rotation.”

• *What changes have you seen with Steph over the last eight years?* “…when I got here he was particularly aggressive…where he improved…recognizing the importance of getting off the ball and engaging our big guys…such good passers…becoming more of an on and off ball threat. It balanced our team out…guys like Andre and Draymond…that was a real challenge the first year. Since then it’s just been a steady maturity…work ethic has become more and more refined…off the flow in the weight room…maintaining his body…this year he’s been more of a point guard than ever…tone his own game back a a little bit…adapted…”

• *Defending home court:* “We feel like we halted that slide…get on a little run but we know that will be difficult…schedule’s not easy…”

• *Kuminga threes comfortable:* “Yeah when he’s wide open and gets his feet set…still want him to recognize the When and the Why…still would rather he waited until Steph came off the pin down…he’s come a long way…(rehashes Klay anecdote and two best shooters quotes).”

• *Starters:* “We might make s change but I’m not willing to reveal it at this point.”

• *Keys to the game:* “Giannis…Portis at 6’9 or whatever he is shooting a lot of threes. Rebounding…with their size you’ve gotta be able to attack them…”

• *Otto:* “Still on pace for Monday.”

• *Adonal Foyle:* “…Always a smiling face…”

/end