Warriors-Celtics postgame: Poole; Marcus Smart dirty play? + more

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Latest and greatest quotes below from Steve Kerr, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Jordan Poole, Draymond Green and Marcus Smart after the loss to the Boston Celtics.

This is part of my workflow so please excuse my timestamp notes, and any typos and other errors. Check our YouTube channel later for the quotables versions. Full videos including Ime Udoka and Jaylen Brown are below the transcripts.

DRAYMOND

• Frustration level of losing Steph after you just returned (1,005 days): “It sucks. Sometimes that is how the cookie crumbles. We have to figure it out and deal with it. It is rough. It sucks for sure. Unfortunately.”

• Marcus Smart: “I would expect Marcus Smart to make that play. He plays hard. I can’t call that a dirty play. As unfortunate as it is. If it was a dirty play I would have went and dove into his head. I had a great look on the play. I was right on top. Maybe unnecessary but that is the most that I can call it. Unnecessary. I can’t call it a dirty play. The ball is on the floor and at every level of basketball we are taught to dive on the floor and go after the ball. That is what Marcus did, so I can’t call it a dirty play. I will say it was probably an unnecessary dive because if you don’t go through him, then you don’t get the ball, because the ball is literally in front of him. If anything, you can say it was unnecessary, but I can’t call that a dirty play. If you said someone dive for the ball, someone was trying to get it on the Celtics team, there was a loose ball, someone came and dove for it, he hurt his foot, I’d tell you right away, Marcus Smart dove for it. But in saying that I can’t say he was dirty for diving for the ball. I thought he was going after the ball and he came up with the ball. And so if anything, you kinda just tell yourself ahh, I ain’t gonna do that because of what could happen but I can’t say he was being dirty.”

0:18 • Did you see the kick on Klay? “Nah. I mean, I was right there. I saw the kick, but shit happens. I have kicked somebody before. So it is what it is.”

1:53 • What did Boston bring that Defensively was so difficult for you guys? “I thought that our defense was really good. They ended up scoring 110 points but for the most part they were around 80-90 points. We just couldn’t buy a bucket. Now saying that, you have to give their defense a lot of credit and they sped us up early. Once you speed someone up early, those shots that are open don’t seem open. Everything is just sped up and in a rush. If they did anything well, I think they did a good job of switching, making us take tough shots, and they had us in a hurry. Once you get in a hurry, it is kind of hard to settle in. We settled in a little in that 3rd quarter and made a run. For the most part they had us sped up and we missed open shots. We got a lot of open shots but we just missed them. That is also a buy product of their defense. Eight turnovers, I think we did a lot of things well, we just couldn’t hit shots. We have to give their defense a lot of credit, they have been building around that. They have Al Horford doing what he is doing, and Robert Williams controlling everything. I think it is something that if we were to see these guys again, we could figure it out. Tonight, it was different and they did an incredible job. Ime is doing a great job with that team. They started off pretty shitty and the way that they have turned their season around, they are really putting it together. You have to give those guys a lot of credit.”

0:10 • Were you able to talk to Steph at all? “No…”

1:26 • How will the offense face playoff defense like the Celtics? “Anytime you haven’t had the opportunity to play together it’s a worry…every time we get someone back someone else go out…one of the most important things on offense is continuity and consistency and we haven’t been able to build that…100% a worry. I’m not worried so much about that was a playoff defense and we struggled tonight. That’s fine. Playoffs, you make adjustments…I don’t doubt that we can figure that out…”

• Are you ready to take on more minutes? Do you expect to start? “With Steph going out that kinda changes things. Somebody leave the game limping, go get an MRI, I don’t expect him back Sunday…I probably will be starting especially if he’s out but I feel fine physically…I’m not sitting a long stretch…”

1:10 • What’s it like to come off sitting for a long stretch? “Just stiff. It’s hard to get back loose after that…it happened tonight unfortunately…”

0:19 • Are you and Steph watching the Davison vs Michigan State game together? “I’m not sure he wants to watch the game with me. I ain’t that fun to watch the game with when my team is kicking your team’s ass…Go Green.”

1:10 • Poole adapting: “He’s doing a great job and he still has a long way to go which is exciting…most importantly he works hard. I was just telling Andre on the bench today, like, that kid can be so good if he just takes the time to slow down and figure it out which I think he will. The first thing Andre said, ah man, you’re not lying…he has the work ethic…he has zero turnovers tonight? That’s impressive. He has the ball the whole game…gonna be really good for a long time.”

POOLE

0:21 • Describe the Celtics defense coming out: “It was good defense, aggressive. Yeah but we knew that coming in.”

0:09 • Did you see the Smart vs Steph play? “I didn’t.”

1:22, 3 • Adjustments at halftime? “Nah, just play my game.”

• Celtics stretched the lead back out in the fourth: “We played with a lot of pace. We were able to pick up the tempo a little bit. It was just a game of runs. We were able to get on a really good run closing out that third quarter. We had a good push, the crowd got into, really helped us a lot. We just have to find a way to execute and finish down the stretch.”

• How would you describe the zone you get in? “I can’t yet. I’m still trying to figure it out. Just locked in. Draymond (Green) and Loon (Kevon Looney) just told me to be aggressive and that’s all I really could do with Steph being out. I don’t got an answer for you yet, but I was definitely locked in.”

0:30 • Draymond getting back: “He looks good from what I’m seeing and it feels like he hasn’t been out when I’m playing with him and in our actions. He’s such a huge part of our team. We know that he knows that and it’s good to have him back for sure.”

0:35 • Did you see Steph postgame? “I didn’t see the play. I’m not even sure, to be honest. Obviously, we are going to hope he’s OK because we need him and we don’t want to see anybody get hurt, but I’ll probably ask the same questions you are asking me when I get down there.”

JUAN

X • Steph getting hurt: “Marcus Smart just wanted the ball. I don’t know. I don’t think it was a dirty play. He probably could’ve been a little more cautious, but when you play that hard and all you know is to do that, it’s like me diving over the scorer's table for the ball. If I had time to think about it, I probably wouldn’t have done it. Just a natural instinct. We all know that is Marcus Smart though. That’s how he plays. He’s plays gritty, 50/50 balls. I think there is a statistic we talk about where they are fourth in the league in getting 50/50 balls. Unfortunately, Steph was a casualty of that, but that’s part of the game.”

0:55 • Celtics defense: “They are a pretty big team. They have two 6’8, 6’9, 6’10 wings. They have some mobile bigs so they can switch a lot of stuff. That’s what makes things easier for them. When you can switch pin-downs and ball screens, to hell with the gameplan just keep the ball in front of you and be aggressive on the switches. I’m pretty sure that’s what they do. When you have a team that is versatile, it’s easier to guard. When we are clicking we can do that too. We have a lot of versatile guys that can guard multiple positions. Tonight, they showed that.  Shoutout to them, they are a really good team.”

0:56 • Steph’s injury affecting the team: “I’m not sure the severity of what happened to Steph. He’s a trooper, I’m sure he’ll be alright. It’s part of the game. It happens. Unfortunately, it’s happened to us a lot lately. We talk about our depth. We have to make that come alive and can’t just talk about it. From the first guy to the last guy, we have to come ready to play and ready to compete. Injuries are a part of the game. You have to take the punches on the chin and keep rolling.”

1:52 • Poole: “I think he just has to keep being him. He’s a really good player. I’ve always been a big fan of his. It’s his third year in the league and Steph is in his 12th or 13th year - that’s a huge difference in maturity and being able to lead a team. I don’t expect to get the leadership that we have from Steph from Jordan Poole. That is not any knock to Jordan Poole, not saying he’s not capable, because he’s very capable, but I mean Steph has been in this league for 12, 13 years doing this stuff. I think he’s just got to keep playing his game, keep being aggressive and keep making shots and keep making plays for us. I tell him all the time that I’m excited to see him grow and continue to grow this year and so on. I think he can be a really, really good player in this league. Maybe there will come a time when he has to demonstrate leadership and demonstrate him being kind of the head of the snake. I think he demonstrated tonight in the third quarter, but I’ll challenge him to do that for a full game as opposed to just a couple of minutes. I’m always challenging him to be a better player, teammate and bring all the intangibles that don’t show up in the box score or on the stat sheet. I don't know. The sky is the limit for Jordan Poole and beyond that. I’m a huge fan and will continue to speak highly of him and hope he continues to grow.”

STEVE

• Steph: “Steph’s getting an MRI right now.”

• Top of Steph’s foot? “Yeah.”

• Level of concern: “We’ll know after the MRI.”

• Steph’s injury: “I thought it was a dangerous play. I thought Marcus dove into Steph’s knee and that’s what I was upset about. A lot of respect for Marcus. He’s a hell of a player, gamer, competitor. I coached him in the World Cup a few Summers ago. We talked after the game. We’re good but I thought it was a dangerous play. I just let him know.”

0:17 • Starting Draymond second half: “It was a result of Curry being out and us being down quite a bit, and wanted to make sure we got off to a good start in the third quarter to keep us in the game.”

0:45 • Boston’s defense: “I thought they played great defense. There’s a reason they’re number one in the league in defensive efficiency. They’re athletic, physical, they did a good job. We did miss some open ones but I think when you play a team that’s that physical and long, the open ones that you get sometimes aren’t as comfortable, because you feel their defense. I thought we felt their defense early, they did a hell of a job getting into us and when we did have open looks, we didn’t knock them down, and that’s what keyed their first half surge.”

0:09 • Moody injury: “I don’t know if he’s getting an MRI but he hurt his right shoulder.”

0:52 • Keys to Celtics defense: “They’rea really big athletic team at every position. When we did get penetration, Robert Williams was there to block shots…switching on the perimeter. They have a lot of continuity. That group has been together for a long time. And they’re clicking right now. They weren’t healthy earlier in the year when we saw them. They are really well connected…”

1:03 • Snake bitten with injuries? “No. We’ve been unbelievably fortunate with the Warriors here over this last decade winning championships and having great players…adversity hits everybody at anytime and you just roll with it and you keep moving forward…I told the guys I was really proud of their second half effort staying in the game and getting the crowd back in it…there’s no reason why we can’t bounce right back from this and continue the nice run that we started…”

0:45 • Poole: “I was really proud of Jordan after a slow start…against a great defensive team…attacking. I thought he played a helluva game…”

0:35 • 37-point third quarter: “Just the sense of desperation…the pace that we played with. Anytime you play a team that is that physical and athletic, you have to play with pace. In the first half we were walking the ball up the floor too often…e we got better looks and we started to knock some shots down.”

MARCUS SMART

• Kick foul on Klay: “Actually I was just flying in to try and block it. He gave me a nice pump faking and I tried to stop myself in the air, which didn't work out too well for me and you know it got me up in the air and you know my leg got caught going up and that was it. I wasn't trying to kick anybody I wasn't trying to block a shot with my foot, literally he made a great play and I was going to block it and tried to stop it and he gave me a pump fake and one part of my body kept going and the other party didn't we see it happen all the time it’s part of the game you know especially when you are playing against a great player you know you are trying to make a play on the ball and he does a good job of setting his shot in and getting to the free throw you know even after the play I check in on him even after the Steph situation went down, I’m asking everybody if they are okay anytime I hit the floor or anybody hits the floor you know I make sure everybody is okay you know it's part of the game we are doing nobody is out here trying to hurt anybody we just playing the game of basketball.”

POSTGAME VIDEO

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