“Keep them to one shot” in half-court defense — Steph Curry (& Kerr)
[GSW-IND video/notes/quotes]
Really behind here with the Super Bowl weekend (😢), but some good quotes on the Warriors’ recent run up to the Number One halfcourt defense in the NBA in the last ten games (maybe eleven, as some of the quotes are from the Indiana postgame and then stretched into the pregame of Phoenix — full transcripts at the bottom):
Over the last 10 games we're number one in the league in half court defense. Our transition defense has been bad. We're still trying to improve there but much better in the half court. And because we're better, we're getting more stops, getting more deflections, more rebounds, turnovers; we're able to run and generate a little more pace.
— Steve Kerr
Our defense is a little bit better and you're starting to build an identity on You know rotating actually a second third efforts Connecting the game on both ends. We still got to do a little bit better transition defense but when we do Our half court defense has been I don't know what the numbers say but it's felt really solid and making it tough on teams and then you keep them to one shot.
— Stephen Curry
Also here’s Brandin Podziemski after the Phoenix game on learning from game tape of TJ McConnell, the Pacers’ point guard. I’ll have more on this later in a BP-only article for insiders only (which I’ve been promising for over a month now, sorry). The full Suns game recap including video and transcripts will have to just be posted after the Utah game tonight (oops), but I’ll pick some more evergreen or overarching topics from that one to discuss later:
I try to just get the ball and let Andrew (Wiggins) and Jonathan (Kuminga) play in open space. That’s where they're best at. So anytime I can get it out the rim on a make, off a miss. After the Indiana game, I looked back at our film and kind of watched how TJ McConnell did the same thing for them. And me and TJ are different players, but it was something that I could replicate.
0:00 STEVE KERR PREGAME PHX-GSW FROM FEB 10TH: “How are you guys doing? I'm good. Yeah. Go Niners. That's right. Yeah.”
On Gary Payton II’s status: “Gary's off the injury list.”
What kind of minutes restriction, if any, does he have?
“There’s not really a number. But he will definitely be on the floor especially with the matchups that we're looking at. They have three of the elite scorers in the league so he'll find his way onto one of those guys at some point. It's a good opportunity.”
0:46 Steve, piggybacking off that, Gary's back. How do you feel his game specifically fits into the identity you guys have developed over the last couple weeks?
“Our defense has gotten better. We’ve played with more pace. We’re attacking the rim a little bit more. Gary is such an interesting player because he's almost like a 6'3 power forward in some ways. So he's a little bit lineup-dependent so we'll have him in certain combinations but we absolutely want him to do what he does best which is to generate steals, deflections, dive to the rim, finish around the basket and those things as I said, they kind of fit into the way we've been playing. Anyway we're just playing with a little more athleticism, a little more pop and he fits right into that.”
1:47 Steve, off of that I noticed you guys have been playing a lot faster in the past month; you guys are Top Five in terms of pace. Has there been a more concerted effort there? What's the reasoning behind that?
“Draymond's return combined with the new starting lineup of Wiggs and JK with Draymond, BP playing a lot. BP plays fast, the ball gets moved when he's out there. He throws it ahead. So those are all factors but our defense is better. Over the last 10 games we're number one in the league in half court defense. Our transition defense has been bad. We're still trying to improve there but much better in the half court. And because we're better, we're getting more stops, getting more deflections, more rebounds, turnovers; we're able to run and generate a little more pace.”
2:38 With Chris probably the only one on the injury report. He traveled with you guys. He got some shots up before games. Is he getting closer as well?
“When's our next update on Chris Paul (asks Raymond Ridder)? Tuesday. Thank you.”
2:50 Are you sensing as your team gets healthier, does that coincide with the momentum that you're trying to build right now?
“Yeah. The momentum coincides with Draymond's return and the shift in the lineups. The young guys have been brilliant. Lester and Gui have infused us with energy and all of that has led to a few wins and the wins lead to everybody feeling better and everyone feeling better. It leads to momentum.”
3:31 Do you have a Super Bowl prediction?
“Right here (points to 49ers logo on shirt). Go Niners.”
3:41 For Lester and Gui, it's not always easy to be a two-way player or a guy at the end of the bench to be that infusion of energy. Maybe there's someone looking around at who else is on the floor with you. But what do you think about their spirit or just their sense of, ‘I'm going to go get them, I'm going to make the most of this opportunity’?
“Well, they're smart. If you're a young player and you don't play very often and you don't play hard, you're in big trouble. So these guys are getting their opportunity and they both play extremely hard. Lester's ball-pressure defensively has made a real impact for us. Gui’s awareness, his passing ability, cutting awareness. He just plays hard every second. He's had some sprints back in transition that you have to watch the tape three times to just believe how fast he's sprinting and especially in a year where the transition defense has been bad, that just gives us a huge lift and it's an example to our other guys, like this is how it's got to look. And so yeah they’ve been really good. But young guys coming off the bench better bring energy and they better bring life and joy and ball movement. And that's what those two guys are doing.”
5:01 Hey Coach, Draymond's impact on the court has obviously been positive. I'm just curious. Part of the reason for his suspension and part of the work he was going to do was to focus on himself as a person. I'm curious if you've seen any change in his demeanor, his approach, anything since he's been back from suspension?
“He's been perfect. We did not want him to be Mr. Goody Two Shoes. We wanted him to be himself but not go over the line. Is Mr. Goody Two Shoes politically correct? I'm not gonna get fired. I said it twice. So I apologize to anybody out there who I have offended with the use of the expression Goody Two Shoes. Let's get that clear. So please don't — like I just want the political correctness police, please don't come after me for that. Anyway we want him to be on the officials but not yelling profanity at the official. That’s what he's doing. Like, he's himself but he's not crossing the line. He's been great.”
6:13 Coach, I'm looking at the Suns. They're a different team when you last saw them in December. I see Brad (Beal getting healthy). Now they've got more continuity. What's the biggest challenge you see facing them now that they've had their big three play probably 15, 16 straight games?
“Yeah when we hit it when we last played them I don't think they'd developed any kind of continuity. And now you can see they’ve got a lot of continuity. They're playing at a really high level. They constantly have two of the best offensive guys in the league on the floor together. Grayson Allen is a really good player, connector for their big three. He's the guy who's moving to the right spot moving the ball on. Somebody else is getting a wide open look. And then Nurkic is playing at a high level too. So Phoenix is playing a lot better than when we saw him earlier. But so are we. And we feel good about our momentum right now. We gotta keep things going.”
7:22 Coach, you maintain a lot of positivity here at the podium, even with a couple of really tough one-point losses. And it seems like after a 4-1 road trip the team's starting to find a little bit of form. What are some of the things that you saw on a day to day basis that might not always be televised that allowed you to keep that belief?
“Our guys are fantastic. They're great guys. They really are, every single one of them. I enjoy seeing them every day. They enjoy being together. The vibe in our building all year has been fantastic, started out that way and even once we kind of went south, the guys stayed with the vibe and the connection and nothing's changed. And that's always a great sign. As a coach you can always kind of feel it, what kind of group you have and is a group connected, and they're really well-connected and like a group of old high school buddies, like that kind of connection.”
STEPHEN CURRY POSTGAME GSW-IND: “The context matters too, just because we were coming off back to back and they're a fast paced team. They run up and down. So for us to get off to a good start was key tonight. making that many threes and finding spots and then kind of setting the tone was big 11 point lead after the first quarter. You play from a lead on the road it helps. So yeah. It was some of them were some tough ones so it was pretty special.
On if he knew he had 10 threes, creeping up on Klay’s record of 14:
“Actually I wasn't at all until probably the middle of the third quarter. And then I realized obviously they were making some adjustments to slow the pace down a little bit or my pace down. Klay wasn't around so I didn't actually think about it much at all which is weird. For sure he would have. We talked you want to continue to stay in the moment and learn the lessons that have Change for us from a execution standpoint and energy standpoint of focus. They're going to give us Some results. Our defense is a little bit better and you're starting to build an identity on You know rotating actually a second third efforts Connecting the game on both ends. We still got to do a little bit better transition defense but when we do Our half court defense has been I don't know what the numbers say but it's felt really solid and making it tough on teams and then you keep them to one shot. And that for us has been the difference. we can score. haven't had much of a problem with that. It's just the other end of the floor and we've been doing a lot better job.”
You guys were overall not very active with the deadline. it's something you kind of indicated yesterday. Are you comfortable with moving forward with the group?
STEVE KERR PREGAME GSW-IND: “Yeah I've been saying I'm excited about our team. I think we're in a good place. I think we've been through a lot but really guys have stepped up and they're playing better and we feel like we have a Good mix right now. Good rotation. And so I'm excited about what's what's ahead.”
How much do you feel like the last three weeks in particular have been your upper six in net ratings since Draymond came back? How much did that influence the approach?
“Yeah I think that that stuff matters. And the numbers are matched by how we feel about things. I think our defense has picked up. I think you can see we're A little bouncier, a little more athletic we're able to get out in transition off of misses and create some offense and a lot of guys are playing at a high level now and that's the key. We've got multiple people who are stepping up and finding rhythm at the same time. And when you do that you have a good chance to win.”
You just spoke with Michael a little bit ago and he said that Jonathan was virtually untouchable for you guys during this deadline. How integral has JK become to this team really this season but in particular the past couple of weeks?
“JK is a huge part of this team and our teams going forward. He's an incredible talent. And what I like is that he is taking some lumps here the first 2.5 years and absolutely broken through this last month. And there's a learning curve in this league particularly for players who haven't played much coming into the NBA and it hasn't been easy but the perseverance that he has shown is paying off and now you can see that the game is starting to make sense. I thought last night he made four or five extra passes that he wouldn't have made a few weeks ago. He wouldn't have seen. And now he's feeling it. He's starting to understand the game and where the ball needs to go when to attack when not to. so it's really exciting and I'm really happy for JK.”
What have you found with this five man unit that has led to so much success?
“I think better defense, number one we're more athletic with this group, this five man group. And a better two-way team than what we've been able to put on the floor before this. And it's taken a lot to get here between injuries, suspensions, guys struggling, whatever, but we're here and we've got this second half of the season that we've already started but a good chunk of games ahead of us and our guys are playing with some confidence and and we're we're excited.”
Steve it's a big homecoming for Trayce back in Indiana. Give me your thoughts on him, what he means to the team, what do you see in him and his career arc potentially?
“I love Trayce. He's a really exciting young prospect. He's a rarity in the NBA, someone who played in college for four years. So he comes in much more prepared than most young players these days. And he's been taught the game really well. It's impressive just to watch him. He understands angles, he understands guarding pick and roll and protecting the basket and there's still nuances that he has to improve with but he comes in with a really good foundational base of basketball and we think he's got a bright future with us.”
How much of that just period obviously where he had to step back and watch … how much of that kind of helped him grow in person to see him grow because of the longer playing time and the opportunity he had during that period?
“Yeah the opportunity is always important for guys and their growth. But as I said we felt his maturity as soon as we got him. He missed a lot of summer league but when we got him in training camp we could see how advanced he was and we felt like he was ready to play and feel like he's going to be a big part of our future. He's not playing much right now but that's just a sign of where the rotation is. It doesn't have anything to do with our excitement about having him on our roster.”
On Klay being listed on the injury report with an illness:
“Yeah, just didn't didn't feel well today. And so we'll go without him. And yeah we'll start BP again.”
What do you think of just the Pacers and Pascal Siakam?
“Yeah Pascal. Pascal is a really dynamic player. He gives them athleticism in their front court on the wing. Someone who can create a shot, get a shot, get downhill, get fouled. Obviously he's got championship experience and I think he adds to what has been a really impressive job by the Pacers just building their roster. Coaching these guys Rick has done a great job you feel them when you watch them on tape, they pop, they're playing with great pace, great energy, the ball moves. They've really put together an impressive group and I think Pascal gives them something that they lacked before and that's why they were willing to make that deal.”
Anything you didn't know about Tyrese Halliburton that you learned after your meetings (with Team USA)?
“I knew he was good but just getting to know him for six weeks and coaching him. He's got a joy about him that's infectious and reminds me a little bit of Steph. There’s a beautiful combination of humility and confidence slash cockiness and it's really a great combination. It's something that is important because the guys have faith that he's going to make the right play every time down; they have faith that he's going to lead their team into to victory. And then he's also really humble and just a wonderful person to be around every day. So that combination is pretty powerful and I think it's helping to fuel the vibe that the Pacers have.”
How do you feel like Moses is reacclimating since his return to the baseman's league?
“Good to have him back. He missed 10 games so it always takes a little while to get your feet underneath you, but I was happy to see him get some minutes last night knock down some shots. He had a great block at the rim. And it's just a matter of continuing forward and he'll get a little more time tonight with Klay out. And so I'm excited to get him back in the group.”
DRAYMOND POSTGAME GSW-IND: “Kobe means so much to all of us. You know what he meant to the game of basketball, what he meant to the world. You can only hope to have a reception half of that when you go. And obviously that's a brother of ours that we miss dearly. It's great to see him get honored with a statue. Obviously we all knew what was happening and wish he was here to see it but the legacy that he left, the mentality that he carried, is what we're all striving to be.”
TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: “It felt good just being able to come home. Obviously this is the longest I've ever been away from home, like eight months so just coming back and then getting the ovation that I got just all the hard work that I put into the university. It felt good. It's a perfect chance to realize your dream, like at the beginning of the fourth quarter there were little spurts where like ‘TJD, put TJD in,’ and then like towards the middle like six, five minutes left and that's when everyone heard it…”
On the team gaining some momentum:
“It's business right now and so we got in like one or two last night and woke up and had the team meeting and then I took a nap just to make sure my body was ready for tonight just in case you never know. And then we're off again so I'm coming back for All Star break so that's when I'll see my family. Well obviously I'll see them after the game but I actually get to spend time with them. So at the end of the day this is a business and we've still got a few more games to win before All Star break.”
STEPHEN CURRY: “I don't know what the numbers say but it felt really solid and making it tough on teams and then you keep them to one shot. And that for us has been the difference; we can score. I haven't had much of a problem with that. It's just the other end of the floor and we've been doing a lot better job. Every game these last four, different people have stepped up even like a game like tonight. Gui has two big threes in the fourth. Lester's been giving us great minutes, just making sound basketball plays. BP's playing with both units a little bit so he's understanding when his spots are how to manage the game and get guys involved, made a huge play tonight that lob to Gui in like a very pivotal moment where it could kind of swing one way or another, the momentum. So everybody's contributing… that's the way we're going to build a run like we have and like we want to keep doing.”
On the trade deadline:
“The normal conversations we're thinking about, there's opportunity for that. But really it was very quiet for the most part, especially today. Sucks losing Cory. If anybody knows Cory Joseph and his personality, his presence, he's the ultimate professional. He brings just a great spirit about it in the locker room helping the young guys. He's been around, he knows how to play, so that type of guy is a connector and we're gonna miss him for sure. And that was obviously a tough one. I understand the business of the game and the money. And all that but I'm gonna miss him for sure… until there's like a material deal, you don't really get too worked up about it. Especially from a player standpoint. I know front office is – probably sure I get half of the news that they talk about and their meetings and all that type of stuff. It's just confidence that this is our team. This is our challenge. We have great energy. We have guys that love playing with each other and you know this last half of the season is up to us to go out and again try to build as many wins and be a team that nobody wants to see come playoff time and take it from there.”
On the team’s newfound momentum:
“Yeah there is for sure. But again the challenge is to not get too ahead of yourself thinking that you can just show up and win games like that can never be the mentality you have to. How do you win? I've been saying it forever. How do you win this particular game? And until I find a little bit of I don't even know what the numbers look like in the standings but we got a long way to go to get to some security there and nobody's counting or looking too far ahead right now. So you want to get to the all star break with a lot of momentum. And if we can get that done I like where we are.”
Gui Santos puts on the headset. We're going to make this a regular thing. It's going to be the Guy Santos post game show I think. That's what we're going to do. Hey career highs tonight rebounding in points but how good is it for you guys, to end this road trip 4-1 and to go home with some momentum finally.
GUI SANTOS POSTGAME RADIO: “Man, it's amazing like this season was not an easy season for us. So we have this couple wins here on the road. That's amazing for us. Give us some momentum like you said. Some momentum to go and start playing back at home. Feeling good, you know.”
Well, you've been around the club for a couple of years. But this number 30, does this Curry ever stop amazing you? That's just unbelievable what he did.
“No, no, no, no. I watch him since I was like little kid, since 2000 like I don't know but every game that I watch him playing he makes some crazy shots that I don't – He's the only one in the earth that can make these shots. It is amazing and we should never take it for granted. He's such a special player.”
He had 11 threes tonight and 42 points. You mentioned to me the other night that you come in with energy but you also come in with a three point shot. How long did it take you to get the confidence in that kind of shot to take that in the game?
“The coaches and also the players, they always give me confidence. They say like when you’re wide open I know you can make shots. So shoot that. Let it fly. So I know that when I have the open shot I'm going to shoot it. Even if I make or not I know that I'm taking the right decision because the coaches and the player always like saying to me yeah keep shooting that you can make this shot. So if you shoot that shot we're not going to get mad at you. Keep shooting that. So that's where the confidence came from.”
I got a final question for you and for those who aren't familiar with your journey, you've spent some time down in Santa Cruz. You played for the Warriors G League team down there. What did that experience do to you and how has that helped you in the NBA?
“That helped me a lot especially because before I came here I was playing FIBA basketball. So FIBA basketball is way different. We gotta move the ball a lot. We gotta we gotta like play a little bit slower than here but here in the NBA the game is way faster the game you can shoot when you whenever you open you can shoot it it's different from the the FIBA because in FIBA even if if you open, like with 20 seconds in the shot clock you're not gonna shoot it; the coach is gonna say to you like to find the best shot, so for me come to the G League first and have all this experience like the difference between the G League the NBA and the FIBA that's gave me a lot of experience to come here and to play in the NBA.”
That's a great point. I hadn't thought of that. That it's a totally different pace than what FIBA has. Well tonight Gui, 20 minutes of play, you had 13 points, career high there. Career high 8 rebounds with an assist. 5 of 8 from the floor. Again just another job well done sir.
Is this the most momentum you feel like you guys have had probably.. energy and effort and execution?
STEVE KERR POSTGAME GSW-IND: “It's definitely a nice run that we're on. And we gotta gotta keep carrying it forward.
On beating the Pacers:
“Well they average 124 a game number one scoring team in the league. So to hold them to 109 it's pretty impressive especially after that first quarter when we gave up 34. But Steph was scalding hot that first quarter. So for us to score 45 and go into the second quarter with a lead because of his brilliance. We were able to get our defense settled and we held him to 24 in the second 18 and the third so that's when we took control of the game.”
We talked about the depth that this team has but did you expect it to be kind of at this point now where you're getting the kind of contributions from Gui from Lester even Brandin and Trayce that you guys are getting?
“No I don't think we knew at the beginning of the season how good Brandin was going to be we were hoping JK would have the breakthrough and he's clearly had it here in the last few weeks or month and then Wiggs has really picked up his game; his defense has been great just the way he looks on the floor. He's just much more fluid and bouncy and the group is feeling good. They're enjoying every game and they're connected and it's just really fun to see. Yeah. it's been impressive to watch. Dario has been doing this for us all year. He's a post up nightmare so when we can get a switch and get him down on the block and play through him we can be very efficient offensively. And then the surprise is just Lester and Gui which is such a great testament to our Santa Cruz franchise. Those guys have been down there the last couple of years putting in the work and our development coaches have been working so hard with them. And you look at what they're contributing at both ends. I thought Gui was fantastic. His two threes were obviously really key but just the rebounding, the hustle So it's fun. It's just when young players kind of break through and impact winning it's really exciting.”
You've already kind of talked about it but like why do you think Quinones is used to it? Like what's he doing with it now?
“Well on-ball defense, number one. He really pressures the ball. He's bouncy. He's got a ton of energy. And then we love the fact that he's another ball-handler. Playmaker. Same with Gui. Both guys are really adept at handling the ball in transition. You saw Gui make an amazing pass to JK for a dunk. When you have a group of five guys who can all pass it just really makes a game a lot easier. And both Lester and Gui can take the ball-handling responsibility in any possession and just really make the possession click. And so it's fun to watch like I said with Dario out there and Moses and the different different groups coming off the bench. It's just great to see them contributing so much.”
On looking ahead with the rotation with CP3 and GP2 coming back:
“Not for too long because I've learned there's no reason to think too much about what's going to happen in two weeks because everything might be totally different in two weeks. So this is a good problem to have. We've talked about it all year. We're going to be able to withstand injuries and absences at a lot of positions because these young guys can all play.”
On if he heard the chants for Trayce Jackson-Davis:
“Yeah I heard the chants and it was great to see. My favorite play of the game is literally he gets in the game and JK finds him for the lob and you saw the joy on JK 's face and it's fun to see, as I said, young guys kind of coming of age but part of that is really enjoying the achievements and accomplishments of their teammates and that's when it really starts to click. And that's what I'm feeling with this group right now.”
How about the ovation he gets out of the stadium? He's obviously a local legend. Cool for you to see?
“Oh, it's great. What a great environment out there and the whole whole crowd chanting his initials. And then for him to go out and do what he did. Three and a half minutes was fantastic. Thank you.”
Do you guys feel like you got to build a little bit of momentum?
GUI SANTOS: “Yeah for sure. Like with these wins on the road especially on the road give us some momentum because like you feel the energy like everybody's happy. Everybody knows that's the team that we have. We have such a good team. So with these wins like we just show up to everybody that we still having a great team with in the Warriors… Man, that was like a nice week for me. I'm not gonna lie. I'm really happy now especially when you have when you got the opportunities and you're ready to do these opportunities because I've been working hard a lot like since last year, since that I got drafted here. Actually it's my whole life but especially when I got here working in exactly what they want from me on the court and I have opportunity to show it in the court and like show on the court and show doing well helping the team to win. So that's the most important thing like you to see, like when the team is winning and I'm the court. So that's making me feel better.”
What kind of chemistry do you feel like that unit is developing?
“Man, I'm gonna say the energy like the second unit is coming to the game like with a lot of energy like especially because we know Steph is like the you saw today like what he did what he did today. He's the guy to make us be on another level. So in the second unit we know that we got to go there and play really really hard to keep the momentum really well. So when he get in the game again, he keep building up, building up, building up.”
When he has the first quarter like the one half today, what's it like to watch him?
“Man, it's crazy like because he just I think how many threes he hit? Like six, seven on the first quarter? Six right? So it was not like wide open shots. It was not like regular shots that regular plays makes was like shooting like running around. You never expect that he's going to shoot it and then he shoot it and he make it. That's making him more special than everybody else.”
Is that the best individual performance you've ever seen from Steph?
“Nah, because I watched him drop 62 points. Yeah I was in the game. So that was for me. That was where he was from another world.”
How do your two threes feel?
“It feels nice, especially because one thing that I was talking to Steph like because I'm always looking to get him open. And he has – like I don't know how to say that – but like a big gravity with him because where he, everybody's like trying to look at him like don't let him shoot. So when I said they scream and everybody goes to him, I'm going to be wide open. And today I make these shots and that's making me feel good.”
You excited to go home?
“Yes. Yeah I can't wait.”