Here are some notes from the Warriors’ trip from Charlotte to New York. I’ve tacked on everything from Philly and Charlotte below all that to make this the longest article ever posted, but let’s get into the NYC stuff, which was taken from the behind-the-scenes video I just posted (grab your 🍿 for that!).
• One Wardell Stephen Curry was walking— let’s call it — carefully from the team bus into the hotel in Manhattan, but there was no terribly noticeable limp and as we all know, he was fine by the time tipoff occurred maybe 15 hours later.
• The only one to sign autographs? Steve Kerr. And he also spent extra time doing so before boarding the bus to Madison Square Garden.
• As you may have seen in a post from Warriors Social, Steph made his pregame warmup “super-scoop”, albeit on a bounce. In fact, Brandin Podziemski was right on top of it, making sure everybody knew the ball had a good chance of bouncing in after the landing first fell short. And then I noticed Curry added a nuance to his jumping side bumps, let’s call them: pointing at each teammate before each side bump. How prescient, as you’ll see below.
• Draymond Green has a pretty good percentage winning the opening tip, but the taller and more athletic Mitchell Robinson won out this time. The first possession of the game ended with Jalen Brunson offering a nifty scoop layup past Moses Moody, but thankfully Moody put the clamps on, for the most part, the rest of the night. Jimmy Butler said in the locker room postgame (see videos and transcripts way below) that the team turned the corner, but nothing epitomizes that more than Moody’s outstanding one-on-one defensive and largely point-of-attack assignment on Brunson. Mo has had trouble with POA in the past and, yes, Jalen is a better matchup as he’s more of a physical ball-handler who uses his body to gain an edge rather than the lightning quickness of a Damian Lillard or Kyrie Irving (prayers up!) — who might be better covered by, say, Andrew Wiggins.
• Buddy Hield sets nice screens for Steph and so does, of course, Draymond, but Green’s in particular when there’s a lot of space to operate with, it’s hard even for probably the best wing defender in the league, Mikal Bridges. Yet another arrow in the quiver against the zombies who think there is more than a zero percent chance of Dray ever being traded while on the same team as Curry.
• Jimmy rarely has to get a bucket these days, but when he does, it’s a reminder of how 90s his game is. And Buddy mentioned it after the Charlotte game (embedded video and transcript somewhere on this site, later): “Once he wants to turn it on, he’s gonna turn it on and we saw him in playoff mode and he just fitting his way in. He’s taking a slow time doing that. We haven’t seen a big offensive explosion game with Jimmy yet, that we all be able to see, but he’s doing the right things to complement this group.”
• Podz is making all kinds of Manu Ginobili-like shots from all over the floor, against quality defense, even a finesse high-board scoop over Robinson, making you wonder how he could’ve ever had a slump. But a young player is a young player and you’re always gonna see the ups and downs — outside of the scope of the New York video clips and despite me being super-high on Quinten Post actually had a spate of struggle possessions against the force of the Knicks, but it was corrected in-game and it looks like he is getting the best possible tutelage and love from Draymond in the process, see the birthday party below.
• There’s a snippet of a Hamilton (The Musical) solo mini-performance at halftime from MSG 🤌
• One of the Podz-Jimmy connections had OG Anunoby seemingly inexplicably gambling to a swing pass from Podziemski to Butler. Jimmy easily went backdoor for a dunk. Note: this action came after Steph’s initial entry to pass to Dray with a cut and nothing there, pass back out to Podz. My theory as to why OG bit: the fact that countering the perimeter ball movement of the Warriors due to Curry has been drilled into his brain over and over again. It’s just hard to adjust to the adjustment, which in this case is the highly fundamental basketball-playing Jimmy (and Podz).
• This next one is just so beautiful, I’ve ddecided to put the whole embed of the BTS video above 👆 — Here’s the list of things Steph did in the possession:
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Initiates pass to Moody on the wing and approaches pick coming from the other wing by Post,
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Use his arms to counter the non-foul-call-able semi-hold by Mikal and runs into Moses in the fray, who was there to set a pin-down-like screen at the nail (i.e., free throw line),
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Motions to Draymond, who now has the ball in the low post after Moody had fed him, to dish back out to the still-cutting Quinten, not at the top of the arc,
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After QP gets the pass back out from Dray, motions to QP to throw the ball back to Dray,
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In the same motion, initiates his curl cut (not technically a split-action, in my book, but close) past QP, ready for the under-handed shovel pass from Dray,
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And finally, turn and pivot for the three just ahead of Mikal’s pursuit, then avoid tripping over the courtside fans due to the tender ankle.
Idk if Shaquille O’Neal has watched my close-up videos, but it’s stuff like this that truly puts Steph in the GOAT conversation. He’s literally quarterbacking the entire offense without the ball and it’s amazing to watch unfold. Thank you to the higher-lower-bowl attendee(s) for that clip!
Oops… GSW-BKN gonna start soon. I gotta go and will post Charlotte and Philly transcripts somewhere on this site at a later time! Also the notes on the remainder of GSW-NYK, including Dray and Quinten at his birthday party.
Here’s a bts clip from the NBA of Draymond mic’ed up that I could not include in the YouTube video:
GSW-NYK VIDEOS AND TRANSCRIPTS
00:00 When did you know today you’d be able to play?
00:01 STEPH CURRY: Pregame, like, when I got on the court and did some treatment stuff this morning. It was sore, but I had all the strength and stability in it and it didn’t get worse when I went through my shooting workout, so that was the sign I could play.
00:20 Steph, you’re 12-1 for your career at MSG.
00:24 I heard 13. I don’t want to cut you off.
00:26 Wait, did it come to 13, though?
00:27 Somebody on the court told me 13. Whether they did a fact check, I’ll take it. And it (when he scored 54) was my best individual game. Weird. Sorry to interrupt you.
00:36 No, thank you. What is it about this building?
00:40 This is Madison Square Garden. It speaks for itself. This is this place that brings — it just naturally has great unique, authentic basketball energy and the fans are unreal, the who’s who of celebrity row and all that, but just everybody’s anticipating great basketball and from my first game here in college to now, it’s always delivered. So, and for us on the Western Conference, we only get one chance here and try to make the most of it.
01:13 Speaking of that, did you actually — they did a good job containing you to keep it close in that first half. How did you overcome that and break away in the second half, specifically that fourth quarter?
01:23 They’re a great team and we know that their starters are gonna play big minutes and you just kind of have to play solid, sound basketball, make them take and make tough shots, offensively, and over the course of 48, if you don’t shoot yourself in the foot with turnovers or empty possessions, then that was our formula for the night and it worked. We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well in the first half, but we were having really solid possessions and then our defense won it in the second half, pretty much. Buddy got going early in the fourth, but then our defense really settled in. That was a great performance.
02:04 Steve mentioned he feels like you guys are developing an identity now with Jimmy. What do you feel like that identity is, that it is these last 10 or 11 games?
02:13 You just try to defend at a high level, first and foremost, with Draymond at the 5, Jimmy at the 4, you can play pretty fast and try to speed teams up on both ends. And then at the end of the day, kind of the same point, you just try to limit your turnovers and usually good things are gonna happen. Whether we make or miss shots, we don’t really live and die by that. It’s just truly the fundamentals of the game. Play good defense, take care of the ball, and then we’re getting better at getting organized offensively with certain sets and actions that Jimmy likes. And then we all know, like, if I get the chaos of the offense going, we can create good shots that way, too.
03:02 Steve said you guys had some film sessions recently, kind of talking about that, but using your havoc better for the rest of the team. I mean, what did those film sessions accomplish, and did you see it?
03:16 Yeah, we still had a rough patch, I think it was the third quarter. Like, we have to be a team that leverages, obviously, the attention that I draw whether I’m on the ball or off the ball. But then if I’m off the floor, we gotta know how to create good shots using — I think we don’t ever really have a set or stretch where me and Jimmy are off the floor. So you have to be able to kind of adjust and adapt and we’re getting more comfortable with that being more intentional offensively. But the film sessions just allow you to see certain actions that create an advantage. And at the end of the day, it’s really just getting off the ball. If you don’t have anything, like, we’re — don’t over-complicate it. If you have a shot, shoot it. If you don’t move it, we’re not an iso team, so you’re not gonna see us squaring, sizing people up. It’s just move the ball, get things, get things done.
04:10 Jimmy said he’s trying to help implement more of a mindset from y’all, like, the paint is open when you’re out there, like, attacking more, not just everybody. I mean, are you feeling him kind of bring that?
04:21 Yeah, but it’s how you do it and I know he’s talking about that, too. It’s, like I said, it’s not just the, you give somebody the ball, you space and have somebody break down the defender, get two feet in the paint. It’s set a pin-down, ball swings, drop-down pass, that person might not finish, you get two feet in the paint, swing it to the weak side. Coach always talks about playing against closeouts, which are for us the easiest way to create advantages. And if we can do that over and over and over again, then, one, you’re tiring out the defense because they’re flying around and then you’re creating easy shots and there’s a rhythm to it.
04:57 What’s the key? — You guys have to support your role. (Inaudible) in the fourth quarter. You have to get good rest. You have to rest, finish strong. Who are the guys make that role?
05:11 We have a lineup that starts the quarters — starts the second and fourth quarter. I think it’s Brandin, Buddy, Jimmy and QP and they played pretty well most games recently and just understand what they’re trying to do, getting stops and they’ve helped us a lot.
05:36 What was it like at halftime, did you give any encourating words to your team?
05:46 Pretty normal halftime. We were on a back-to-back, so you have to acknowledge you might not be as fresh as you would be otherwise, but you can still win it with your brain and your IQ, so we’re trying to talk through some stuff.
05:59 Steph, obviously, you were the first to hit the 3,000 mark as far as threes are concerned and pretty close to 4,000 at this point. Have you allowed yourself or are you kind of tuned it to really think about where you think you can push it to when all is said and done, as far as how many you can hit and kind of the trajectory (inaudible) the rest of the league?
06:19 I feel like I’m living a constant dream kind of vibe, because from when 2974 happened here three years ago, that was never, I mean, it was a goal, but it was never, I never thought it’d be a reality. And it’s cool, like, there’s a joke, I’m setting a new record every night, every time you hit a three. I’m trying not to think about it too much because last time I did, I psyched myself out for, like, a five-game stretch and shot horribly and made it too much of a weight I was carrying for no reason, but it is pretty amazing to think about.
06:54 There was a moment when you had an interaction with Spike. What was said and what was that about?
07:00 He was telling me how to read the pick-and-roll on, like, they were blitzing a little bit. He was just giving me some pointers.
07:10 Does it sting at all that, not sting — is it mind-boggling to you that the one game you didn’t win or you brought up before is the one that is, like, the big Steph Curry game here?
07:22 I mean, it’s kind of ironic. The only thing I, the only reason that I can come up with that game, I played the whole game. So it’s kind of like a weird, your endurance of trying to close it out after scoring 50 or whatever. But, like I said, the Garden brings the best out of me and I enjoy every time I get to play here, for sure.
07:43 I know what you’ve said about the state of play in the game of the NBA right now. I just wonder, if there was a perfect NBA game that you could engineer, would it look like the game that’s being played now pretty much, or would there be anything substantially different?
08:08 That’s a great question. I feel like it’d be pretty close to what it is now. I haven’t been an NBA fan since I can remember, like, Jokic and Embiid are kind of like the — I might be missing somebody — like, the two more traditional “I could just throw it on the block” and watch how that changes the geometry of the game a little bit. And there’s not that many guys like that, so to have a little change, that would be fun to see that more consistently. But other than that, I like this brand of basketball. It’s just, it highlights the skill set that guys are working on constantly all season, year after year and you see just around the league, how that’s evolved. And that’s, for me, it’s fun to see because that’s how I play.
09:00 When you have a spontaneous play, like Draymond gets the loose ball, hits Jimmy, Jimmy hits you for the three, as you three are trying to develop that chemistry heading into the playoffs, what can a play like that do for you guys?
09:12 Which one? The–
09:13 It was late in the game and–
09:14 When I hit a three?
09:15 Yeah, Draymond gets it, he hits Jimmy in the paint, and then Jimmy finds you in front of the bench for the three.
09:20 That was like the broken — Bridges threw it? Yeah. Like, those are just, it’s all about just having composure, like, something good is gonna happen if one of us three has the ball in our hands and that’s kind of indicative of what I was talking about to (Anthony) Slater’s question is, if you have — if somebody’s open, throw it to him and, if not, drive, kick, do something with it. So Draymond got a steal, he threw it to Jimmy because he was closer to the basket, Jimmy saw me wide open and it was just, like, second nature kind of vibe. So it was good to close out a game like that.
09:58 (Inaudible) separate, just as far as tonight, but something I’m working on is that with you, guys that have played with you, played alongside you, whether it’s Olympic guys, whether it’s, like, Donte DiVincenzo had a little bit of time with you, a bit of chance to see the way you work, and your routine. Do you take pride in guys being able to, kind of, study you and just work with you and be able to intertwine it, something like Anthony Edwards (inaudible) has taken a lot more threes and stuff. How much do you guys pick your brain and how willing are you to (inaudible)?
10:32 I’m an open book and I do appreciate that feedback. You want to leave the game better than when you found it and that evolution of the game and how guys approach it from high school to college, to when they get in the league, that all matters. I have people that I could tap into when I was coming up. I watched my dad play for a lot of his career. I got to work out with CP, Melo, KD, when I was not even in the league yet and just see what — how different guys approach it. So if I’m able to now be that for other guys, whether they’re watching from a distance or I get actual face time, one-on-one time or play with them in an Olympic scenario, whatever it is, like, that all matters. It’s just more motivation to keep doing what I’m doing while I am playing and I’ll be even more of an open book when it’s all said and done, so yeah, pass whatever information, knowledge, wisdom you have on to the next, crowd of guys.
11:37 Great. Last one. Go ahead.
11:39 How does the three-pointer feel in the third quarter, that pushed you ahead of the Knicks?
11:42 Uh, which one was that? Oh, that was after I — that was after I was over there by Spike, so I had some good juju going.
00:00 You guys use Steph to get a couple of slips and it looked like you, I don’t know, you were maybe talking to him on the bench. I mean, is that part of playing with him, like, are you starting to see, like, I guess, how you guys can utilize that more?
00:12 JIMMY BUTLER: Yeah. I mean, he draws so much attention as everybody in the world, let alone this league, knows and this team. So it’s all about using that to our advantage when he’s on the perimeter. Somebody, anybody, everybody, you gotta go to the bank because that’s gonna be the most wide-open thing. They’re always gonna overact to him when he has the ball, even when he doesn’t have the ball, so we gotta start learning what to do, if he does not get the ball and the rim’s normally wide open.
00:41 Steve said that you guys have had a couple of film sessions recently talking about just that, how to utilize that gravity a little bit more. I mean, has that been a topic? Do you feel this team getting a little bit better at that?
00:51 Yeah, I think so, but you gotta want to do it. I think when he’s on the floor, you gotta know, if you set a screen for him, you’re gonna be the one more often than not, that’s gonna go to the rim. Like, when they high-side him, he’s so smart that he’s gonna go take the lay, but if he comes off of you to go shoot the ball, trust me, your man is gonna go guard him. Even my man, when I’m right there, is gonna go guard him, so you slip in there, Dray normally has the ball, he’s gonna pass it to you, probably whether you’re open or not. And then it’s your job to make the right play, either a layup or kick it to the weak side.
01:27 I mean, you’re 9-1 with you in the lineup, but did this feel like maybe like the toughest win?
01:35 Man, all wins are tough to come by. I think this is a big win for us, talking about turning the corner in how we want to play and how we can adjust on the fly and how we really got better today as a unit and as a team. I think that was the most important takeaway from this game. I really feel like we’ve turned the corner.
01:53 What, specifically?
01:54 Offensively.
01:55 Okay. With what we were talking about?
01:57 Yeah. Not only that, though, like, helping myself pick my spots better to get in a little bit more of a rhythm. And I think everybody’s always looking for me to be aggressive and, like I tell everybody, I can’t help it, but to make the right play, time and time and time again. And I hope that that’s contagious knowing that just because the play’s for you, does not mean that it’s your shot. So, that’s what we turned the corner on.
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02:21 STEVE KERR: Really good win. They all count, obviously, but this felt good, on the road, on the back-to-back against a great team, and kind of hanging in there when shots weren’t going in in the first half. Just liked how solid we were for the whole 48. Every possession mattered and there was a purpose and Jimmy has a lot to do with that. And, but I give give all of our guys a lot of credit because they’re finding a real identity and it’s fun to watch unfold.
02:53 What would you, I mean, you said a real identity, what would you say that is?
02:56 Two-way. Two-way team. Last ten games we’re, I think, we’re second in both offense and defense. Obviously, small sample size, but that’s when we got Jimmy and so things have clearly turned with him. He’s a great complement to what we already do, just with his ability to pass, but what he’s adding is that maturity and poise that — we’ve made the Andre comparison. He’s not the exact same player as Andre Iguodala, but he has the same influence, just constantly reading what’s happening, settling us down and creating good possessions at both ends.
03:45 What dynamic does it give you guys when he is aggressive and drawing fouls like that, getting to the line?
03:51 Yeah, I mean, that’s — obviously, what we’re looking for is to have a two-pronged attack with — obviously, Steph is the guy who’s gonna create a lot of chaos and havoc and come off screens, but we need what Jimmy’s doing, nine free throws tonight. He kind of just bludgeons people in the lane. His footwork is incredible. My favorite play of the game was his jump-stop, the foul at the basket and let everybody fly by, goes and lays it in. Not many people do that anymore, but you talk about playing off two feet. In order to avoid mistakes and turnovers, he epitomizes that and with that kind of strength, he can envision — he makes that jump stop in the lane, he can score, he can find shots behind the play and it just, it’s part of why he keeps things calm out there for us. So it’s really fun to watch.
04:53 You talk about their basketball IQ all the time. How much did you like that play where Draymond gets involved, it’s Jimmy inside, Jimmy hits Steph —
05:00 Yeah, yeah. I mean, those three guys are really a good fit for that reason. They all have great vision, great feel for the game. I think you can add Brandin to that. The four of those guys all really have a great sense of the game. I thought Moses was fantastic tonight. His defense, he did a great job just staying disciplined with Jalen, making him make mid-range shots, not biting on pump fakes, and he scrapped out about three or four loose balls, diving on the floor. Moses was fantastic.
05:36 What do you think was the biggest difference between the first half and the second half of the game?
05:40 Honestly, the ball finally started going in. I think we were 5-for-23 from three in the first half. We had plenty of good looks, but we stayed with it and everybody who stepped on the floor competed and was solid. And we kept having good possessions, but the second half, the ball started going in. I thought Buddy’s stretch at the end of the third, early fourth, was really an important part of it.
06:06 Have you had conversations with Jimmy about when he should be attacking versus facilitating, balancing that or like when you need him to score more, or is that just innate for him?
06:18 I think it’s a feeling-out process for him and for us, trying to find the actions that make sense for him, lineup combinations, that sort of thing. I thought tonight, we did a better job as a staff of putting him in positions to attack and we haven’t found our groove yet, but tonight was a really good step in that direction and, as we go, I think Jimmy will get more and more comfortable.
06:49 When you see numbers like Top Five in offense and Top Five in defense in a certain stretch, I don’t know if you let yourself get crazy ideas or anything, but how excited does that make you?
06:59 Makes me very excited. Yeah, I mean, that’s what it’s about. This is a league where you’ve gotta be a two-way team to win at a high level and we’ve been pretty decent defensively this year, for the most part, pretty much 9th or 10th in the league, but didn’t feel like we were great at that end. Feels now, with the addition of Jimmy, it feels like we’re elevating to a much higher status defensively and then, offensively, the game just makes a lot more sense. And so yeah, it’s fun, but we’ve got a long way to go.
07:44 You mentioned you haven’t found your groove yet. What might your groove look like?
07:48 Well, tonight, I mean, tonight in the second half, that to me, that’s what it looks like, Jimmy getting downhill, guys knocking down threes, getting out in transition and getting points off of our defense. That second half was, I think, a good example of what it can look like, but we have to do that consistently.
08:11 You guys moved into 6th place. Did you expect that to happen so quickly after acquiring Jimmy?
08:17 That was the goal and the one thing that, in this league with 82 games, I mean, it feels like the end of the season — we still have a quarter of the season, that’s a long time and so it’s a long haul. And we started out the season 12-3 and we were a 1-or 2-seed and that went away pretty quickly. So, knowing it went away pretty quickly, we knew we could turn it around pretty quickly the other way again and we have, but again, we’ve gotta keep that going because everybody’s bunched together with us.
08:54 You mentioned the havoc that’s created. Is this maybe the best this team has used that? It seemed like you’re getting slip cuts.
09:01 Yeah, yeah, this was probably — I would say it was probably the best we have played around Steph to this point and, honestly, that’s been the focus in our film sessions the last couple of days. Steph’s a unique player. If you just keep the ball moving, it’s amazing how much stuff opens up and that’s the idea. Keep it moving, force the defense to make decisions and Steph’s presence will lead to a lot of openings. Thank you.
00:00 How challenging was it tonight to prepare for the first half of the game to the second half of the game? What was the conversation at halftime?
00:08 DRAYMOND GREEN: We thought we played a pretty good first half. We didn’t make shots, but yet we also felt like we could get the ball moving more, get the ball to Jimmy more and let him create and we started doing that in the second half and all the dominoes fell in place.
00:22 What type of chemistry is he creating? What is he — ?
00:26 He’s been great, on and off the floor, but just, like, aside from the chemistry is the confidence, just the confidence that he’s infused into this group, has been huge. As Raymond (Ridder) was just saying, walking over, a month ago we lose that game, no question. But the confidence that he’s brought to this team changes everything for us.
00:49 His pressure at the rim, I mean, obviously a big factor. In general, what does that open up?
00:55 Well, we have shooting and so, with his pressure, putting pressure on the rim like that, it opens up the perimeter. So we couldn’t hit a shot in the first half. Then all of a sudden they start going in the second half. No surprise because he was putting so much pressure on the rim, wide-open threes and you get wide open threes for great shooters like we have, you’re gonna make it more often than not. And so Coach Izzo used to always tell us, inside-out threes is the best three you can get. And when Jimmy’s piercing the paint like he was and then kicking out, then it’s also tiring their defense out, so then all of a sudden we just start getting throw-ahead wide-open threes. So it affected the game in a major way for us.
01:38 Steve seems to think that you guys are finding an identity now with Jimmy. How do you see that identity forming?
01:45 Well, we’ve become a team that’s putting it together on both sides of the ball. Our defense is fueling our offense, our offense is helping our defense and when you can connect a game like that, it gives you a chance to be a really good team. And we’re not turning the ball over like we were turning the ball over. We’re getting to the free throw line better than we were getting to the free throw line, which allows us to set our defense and our defense, when it’s set, is pretty good all year.
02:12 You talk about the confidence changing. You’ve always been confident. Is it because you won a couple games when he got there or is it because, all of a sudden, I know this is exactly what we were missing? Like, why all of a sudden would you need a boost of confidence?
02:27 Well, we definitely — he definitely was what we were missing, but I’m confident, but you need collective confidence in order to win in this league. You can have one guy confident. I can be confident, steph can be confident, but if you’re not collectively confident as a group, in the group, you can’t win. And so I think what he’s brought is, not necessarily that he’s made me more confident or made Steph more confident, he’s made this group confident and you can’t win in this league without that. You can’t perform well in this league, when you see a guy lose confidence in this league, they’re toast. Same for a team. Once a team loses confidence, they’re toast and we had started to — we were, started off the season great, had a lot of confidence, didn’t go our way for a while. We still kept the confidence and then it just started to wane and, like I said, credit to Mike (Dunleavy, Jr.) for getting that, making that move and Joe (Lacob) and Peter (Guber) for cosigning, to make a commitment to someone like that, that big of a commitment. Because it’s definitely changed who we are as a team, for sure.
03:37 When you’re trying to develop and learn a guy and develop chemistry, what does a play like the one you get to the loose ball, you hit Jimmy down low, he hits Steph for the three, you’ve been on championship teams with chemistry, what does a play like that do? You’ve only have ten games with him.
03:51 That changes, it really changes the momentum of the game and it’s also something that — plays like that are things that you build upon. You build trust through plays like that. You build more admiration for each other for plays like that. And obviously, like I said, the momentum swing is huge. Like, that play, it broke their back. Like, they were toast after we made that play and when you’re trying to win at a high level, those are the plays that do it. And we miss a shot, come up with the rebound, get the ball back to the guy who’s been dominating and making every play and then what did he do? Made the play and so those are the back-breakers, for sure.
04:37 With the way the team is doing right now, how do you see Jonathan (Kuminga) when he comes back?
04:45 Jonathan is a hell of a player and the team is playing great and lucky him that you get to come into a situation where the team is playing well. Having to come into a situation where you trying to fix stuff with that type of pressure, it sucks. So for him, you coming into a situation where the team playing well, he’s a great player, so we’re not worried about, “How does he fit or what.” We’ll be fine, but I think, like I said, lucky for him. We’ve kind of stabilized the ship and he can come in and find his rhythm and add to what we’ve been doing which is what we need.
05:20 I know this rehab process hasn’t been easy for him. I know he’s been frustrated recently. What have your conversations with him been like as a leader and as his mentor?
05:31 Just really keeping his spirit up, checking in on him every day. How you doing? Where you at? I think it’s important and then also just making sure that he always feels like a part of the team. Man, when you’re hurt in the NBA, you do not feel like a part of the team. You’ve got these crazy schedules, you’re never with the team, you’re training, they’re asleep, you’re not getting your rest, they’re going to the game. Like, you’re never really with the team and it’s tough because you spend most of your life with these same guys. And so just really trying to keep his spirits up, but then also checking in and making sure he’s getting his work done, but not always checking with him either. Checking in with people around him, making sure that he’s on time, he’s on top of his treatment, his rehab, he’s getting the extra work in, he’s doing all the things that he can in his power to get back out there, and he has.
06:25 (Inaudible) youngers guys (inaudible) stronger, (inaudible) another team that’s gonna be bigger. For example, today Towns wasn’t there, so the Knicks is supposed to be stronger than that. Do you feel that all the kids are ready for a playoff?
06:46 They got about six more weeks to get ready, but the type of games that we’re in right now, they’ll prepare you for the playoffs. But it’s our jobs as leaders to help prepare them, to understand that they probably won’t be ready Game One, but how do you work around that? How do you make sure that they’re confident in those situations? Playoffs, championship is won over the course of nine months and each month you try to take steps towards it, each week, each day, each week you try to take steps towards that goal, so long as they’re getting better each and every day like they’re doing.
07:23 I’ve always admired your job at that.
07:26 Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you. Appreciate that.
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07:32 Brandin, just how different does this team feel now than a few weeks ago?
07:39 BRANDIN PODZIEMSKI: I mean, in terms of our energy and our camaraderie, I think it’s the same. Obviously, it looks different because we’re winning a lot more. I just think Jimmy’s a different player than what we had and so just added a different element to our group that we already had.
07:55 What’d you like most about the way you guys played the second half?
07:59 Yeah, I mean, we got a lot of transition buckets. We started to get stops and stretches and so you put those two together, that’s how you start runs and then when we’re in transition a lot, it’s hard to find the guys they wanna find and so other guys become open ’cause of that.
08:14 Brandin, how much is Jimmy (inaudible) weak side movement?
08:19 I mean, it’s just — not even weak side, just in general, it’s hard for guys to just guard him one-on-one. And so when you put two on the ball, just like when Steph comes off the ball screen, it’s just our ability to play 4-on-3 and make the right decisions, right read and make the shot.
08:36 Steve just mentioned that, past couple of days, some of the film sessions have been about maximizing Steph’s gravity and kind of playing off that. What were some of the points of emphasis, being somebody that’s played with Steph for a year and some change, how would you just kind of assess how you guys were able to do that the second half of the night?
08:52 I think it’s just understanding where he’s at, understanding a lot of things can be created for him just by screening off the ball for him. And so everybody just kind of having an awareness of where he’s at, but also not being robotic and just be like, I have to get the ball to Steph or I have to screen for Steph. And so there’s a good balance that you have to have and that even Steph himself preaches to us to not just always look for him, like, be yourself, too. And I think tonight, in the past few games, we’ve had a good balance of it.
09:25 Do you think you picked up the pace in the second half where the Knicks (inaudible)?
09:30 I think it was our defense. Honestly, we got stops and we’re able to get easy buckets in transition and that’s every team’s most efficient offense, is in transition. So the ability to get multiple stops in a row and string them together, ended that third quarter going into the fourth, we did a good job of it.
09:51 You guys held them scoreless for like four straight minutes in the fourth, finished on a 20-9 run. Just defensively, what was the difference there?
09:59 I think limiting Brunson’s shot attempts, understanding when he was out there with that group, he’s the only one that — not not only one that could score, but the only one that usually facilitates the offense and makes things kind of run for them. And so if you limit his touches and limit his field goal attempts and make other guys have to create for someone else, it takes them out of their patterns and what they like to do. And so we wanted either Robinson or Achiuwa, Josh Hart, guys like that to have to facilitate and make plays for others.
00:00 What did you see from the offense during that stretch?
00:03 TOM THIBODEAU, POSTGAME: Missed shots, slow getting back. So, gotta play tougher than that down the stretch.
00:11 I think at halftime, you guys were still up eight.
00:13 Yeah.
00:14 That kind of went away pretty quick.
00:16 Yeah, to start, we were low energy coming out to start to third, so they made up that ground real fast. Then we fought back, went back and forth and a couple of mental errors, left wide-open three-point shooters and against a team that’s that good, you just can’t do that, particularly when you’re shorthanded. We can’t throw possessions away.
00:46 What did you see from OG on offense, like, his time heading in the group?
00:51 Yeah, I thought we had a really good rhythm in the first half and then in the second half, we didn’t. So we gotta change it.
01:00 Kind of with that, it felt like guys would have a shot, dribble, then do a step-back and do a three. It felt like individual guys with them in terms of just shooting quickly. Did you notice, like, guys not being able to let it fly? Do you think that hurt part of the offense, too?
01:15 Well, part — like, some guys, they were closing hard, too, trying to run them off the line so that the right play is to shot fake, get along the curl or hit the paint again and some guys, they were closing short, too. So that, you gotta read the closeout and then you play off of that. So we needed to get some stops, which we didn’t. We needed easy baskets and they swarmed the ball in the paint, so we lost — there were a lot of loose balls that we got, were knocked away from us, and there was a physicality to the game that I want to take a look at the film, but they didn’t have any fouls in the third quarter, so we’ll see.
02:06 A couple minutes left, you went with McBride, went with that small lineup.
02:11 Yeah, we were just, we were down and trying to make up the ground and then just trying to get more three-point shooting on the floor and, you know? So.
02:22 With Curry, you guys seemed first half to contain him and then he seems to go on his little bursts.
02:30 Yeah.
02:32 Inevitable?
02:32 Yeah, it doesn’t take much for him to get going and he never stops, so you can handle the first part, then there’s gonna be a second and third one. And so a couple of them were guarded extremely well and he made and he has that ability, but we gotta find a way to win that game.
02:57 They’re obviously a team that moves well without the ball and I’m sure you guys preach that going into the game. Is that a thing where it’s, like, easier said than done, or is there some things that the team needed to clean up on?
03:07 Well, I think with Curry, the way he moves, there’s gonna be a lot of attention on him and you have to be disciplined because they’re also gonna screen and step, they’re gonna slip screens and so, because of, if he hits a shot and — I thought Butler made a couple of really good plays for them with Hield. The way Jimmy plays, if a guy hits a three, he’s gonna search him out on the next play and he reads the game extremely well, as does Draymond. So you have to have an awareness as to what’s going on in the game and we probably could have communicated better than we did.
03:48 Where do you think Mitch (Robinson) is at with this defensive timing right now?
03:51 Yeah, it’s a work-in-progress. It’s, there was some really good plays. It’ll come. He’s — it’s about where we anticipated it.
04:03 Pretty tough road trip coming up, especially the first three games, Lakers, Clippers, Warriors again. Just what do you think needs to be improved?
04:10 Yeah and that’s why you guys think it’s cliche, but that’s why you approach it the way we do, is we’re not — we want to see what happened in tonight’s game, make our corrections, get ready for the Lakers. That’s all we’re thinking about. We’re not thinking about five-game trip or whatever it is. Just think about the Lakers and then you take them one by one. And we know we have to be ready for that game. Yep. Thanks.
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04:41 Steph playing?
04:42 STEVE KERR, PREGAME: He’s gonna warm up, hopefully go, but don’t know.
04:46 Just real quick on GP2, non-displaced fracture of the nose, status for Thursday, we’ll know later,
04:55 Day-to-day?
04:56 Yeah, status for Thursday to be determined.
05:04 Towns is not playing tonight. How different does your game plan might have to be for the Knicks with him not available?
05:19 Yeah, I mean, it’s different and then you have to account for Mitchell Robinson being back, too. And we’ll see how many minutes he plays, but we haven’t seen him in a couple of years and he’s a game-changer for them with being the lob threat, shot-blocker. So it’ll be definitely a different team than with Karl, but you gotta adapt and we still know they’re gonna run stuff through Jalen and spread the floor, run a lot of pick-and-roll for sure.
05:51 Steve, at the beginning of this season, you had the GM poll, the GMs were asked who was the best leader in all of basketball. No. 1 was Steph, No. 2 was a tie between LeBron and Jalen. I was wondering, you spent a lot of time with Jalen, what do you think makes him a good leader and what do you think about him being the captain of this team?
06:09 Yeah, I mean, I can see why he was rated so highly. I mean, having coached him in the World Cup, he’s got a great combination, similar to Steph, great combination of confidence and humility. Everyone really likes him on a personal level because he’s very down to Earth and just a normal guy, but game comes down to it, he wants the ball in his hands. He’s gonna take over and I think teammates love that kind of guy. So there’s a reason jalen is who he is. He wasn’t a high pick, he doesn’t have the prototypical size and leaping ability, all that stuff, but he’s a fierce competitor and really, really skilled.
06:53 How do you game plan for a guy like him who just doesn’t back down? Any defensive (inaudible)?
06:57 Well, yeah, you have to mix it up and, last year we came in here, had a good game, got off to a great start and we defended him pretty well. And then I think three weeks later at Chase, he came out and just torched us, had about 38. And so we know what kind of competitor he is and so it’s more about how ready we are to play and are we locked in from the start? And we know they’re a hell of a team, 40-20, pretty big-time record. And so this will be probably our biggest challenge since we’ve gotten Jimmy on our team and we’re excited.
07:43 You’ve experienced so much of Jimmy’s all-around game, how much do you think you’ll need to turn up his scoring?
07:50 I think there are going to be nights where we need him to score, for sure. Last night was not one of them, but I’m not really concerned with numbers because Jimmy’s not that kind of player. I’m more concerned with just the overall nature of our attack. We need him to be a focal point of our offense, no matter how many shots he hits. He’s an incredible passer and it’s really what he prefers to do when he’s dominating the ball. He likes to get off the ball and draw people and kick it and that should be really powerful stuff for us, but I didn’t love last night. It just, it didn’t feel like we involved him enough and what I talked to our team about was, we can’t catch and hold. We gotta swing the ball and there were several possessions in the first half where guys could have just caught it and swung it to Jimmy, run into a pick-and-roll and just kept the action going, but we caught and hold and we tried to go one-on-one and it’s just not — we’re not gonna take advantage of his skills if we play that way.
08:51 Steph said he would wait and see how his ankle’s feeling in the morning. Were you able to see how he was feeling?
08:57 Yeah, I mean, one trip to the Garden, I’m pretty sure he’s gonna do everything possible to play, but he also knows he can’t do anything silly, so we’ll — hopefully, he warms up and feels ready to go.
09:12 Steve, when, as the years go on and as you coach, you get some gut punches where guys get hurt and another gets hurt and you say, how bad can it be? Like, if you’re Jason Kidd right now, what do you say when you’re, like, it can’t get any worse and it keeps getting worse?
09:28 Yeah, I mean, we feel for Jason. I mean, it’s just, I always feel bad for players when they get hurt, feel bad for coaches, organizations. It’s, you just want everybody to be healthy. The league’s better that way and these guys are, they’re committing their every single day to being great at what they do and then, obviously, with Dallas, it’s coming on top of the AD injury, so they’re getting hit hard right now. And it’s it’s brutal, but it’s part of it.
10:05 Everyone always says to us “next man up,” is what you guys always say. Players say eventually, like, do you have to say something different? Can you keep saying that? And that’s really — ?
10:14 I don’t think there’s any alternative. I mean, you guys can say other stuff, but for us, it’s like, what else can we say? Because that’s — it is the truth. I mean, you still go and play the game and you still have to go out and compete and try to win, so it literally is “next man up.”
10:34 Steve, what approach have you seen Steph use? You’ve obviously been with him for so many years and the team has some experience when we talk about his leadership and the idea that, in Olympic scenarios, players from other teams get a real chance to see how he prepares. What does his leadership look like to you from that standpoint, in terms of guys potentially learning from him or kind of taking qualities that he has in terms of preparation?
11:00 As far as the olympics are concerned, what I really enjoyed was seeing Steph and LeBron in tandem and their preparation and their focus and their leadership. And that you could sense that they really enjoyed each other’s company and kind of feeding off of one another and so it’s amazing to watch. I mean, I’m used to coaching Steph, so it’s really fun to watch LeBron. They’re very similar in that regard. I mean, 100 percent of the time they’re thinking about taking care of their body, preparing their mind, focusing on what’s next and so the two of them together was, it was incredible watching them. But as far as here with the Warriors, I mean, it’s one of the great blessings of our organization, is young players come here, new players come here and they just, they see Steph. I don’t have to say anything. He just, how hard he works, the preparation, the daily focus and the joy in all of it, he loves it all. So that just sets an amazing tone for us.
12:07 Steve, you mentioned Jalen earlier. From the time you first got in contact with him with Team USA —
12:11 With Jalen? Uh huh.
12:13 From the time you first got in contact with him, the USA Basketball team, where have you seen this game evolve the most?
12:19 I think to me, we played him against Dallas, ’22 West Finals and he was obviously a really good player at that time, but when he left Dallas and came here, just seemed like he took on a different role and responsibility, became the guy, embraced it immediately in New York. That’s pretty impressive and, for a team and a city that was desperate for success, for the Knicks. So it’s just the responsibility that he shoulders and then building on his game and getting better and better. So I don’t necessarily think there was a big change from when he got to USA Basketball. It was more, to me, he took that leap when he got to New York.
13:11 You guys, your turnover differential is sort of flipped in these last seven, eight games. You’re forcing more, committing less. How important is that to the success that you guys have had recently? And also, like, how real do you think it is, or how sustainable do you think it is on either end of the floor?
13:28 Yeah, well, we got Jimmy Butler at that exact time frame that you mentioned, so he’s a huge part of that. He doesn’t ever make mistakes. He is a very controlled player. I think he’s a perfect complement to Steph and Draymond. Those guys are a little wild, usually in a good way, sometimes in a counterproductive way and Jimmy complements that because he’s — every possession matters for him. He makes the most of every one and then defensively, he’s kind of in tandem with Draymond playing on the back side of the defense. It’s really impressive watching them work and so, yeah, it’s a big part of our turnaround, is that differential and points off turnovers, in particular.
14:14 What have you thought of Kevin Knox and just the way he’s handled the 10-days, the G League stuff as he’s just a former first rounder kind of trying to claw his way back?
14:23 He’s been great. I mean, I’m just so impressed with the fact that he’s on this path, on this journey and not giving in, going to the G League and putting in the work. And he’s done a great job and we’re thrilled to have him. He’s a great young guy, very talented, so we’re committed to helping him get better and hopefully he’s here for a long time.
14:50 I’m sorry?
14:50 What’s your plans for Quinten tonight?
14:53 Plans for Quinten? Yeah, he’s in our rotation. He’s been a really good player for us, just the spacing as a pick-and-pop big, but also his toughness, his passing ability. He’s a really good player, so we’re lucky to have him.
15:10 Steve, the combination of Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby for the Knicks, especially with what Thibs like to do defensively, using Mikal to guard the point of attack and then using OG to guard whoever else, how do you approach that when they’re so good defensively and what OG can do, but how Mikael defends?
15:25 Just have to execute well. We gotta anticipate that they’ll — that Mikal will be draped all over Steph and we gotta free him up and try to counter what they’re doing defensively with really good execution.
15:38 On the traveling side, the traveling issue, historically, as coaches and players complained in the FIBA level that there are too many traveling calls, would you like to see that emphasis on FIBA traveling?
15:49 I noticed last year in FIBA — excuse me — I noticed that the FIBA refs were learning from the NBA refs. That’s true. There was so much traveling in the Olympics, so it’s an epidemic. It’s worldwide and I’m committed to putting a stop to it. I just, no, I think we’ve gotten so loose with it and I just feel like it’d be so — it’s such a better game. The league’s always been great, too, about adjusting and adapting when things get too carried away and I love what’s happened this year, way more physical, way fewer touch fouls. The competition is better, so I love that the league responds and is always on top of things. I talked to the other head coaches. We all feel the same way and I know the league will work with us and work together, so I think it’s something that we need to address. We always have to be looking out for the good of the game and does nobody any good if we’re letting guys take three steps. They’re already hard enough to guard. We want really good competition, but we want a clean, pure game too and some of the stuff I’m seeing is, it’s too much along those lines.
17:11 Do you think we’re getting toward the apex of three attempts per game or is there — can we get to 60 per game? Is that possible?
17:21 It’s hard because the math is the math. I mean, the Celtics won the title last year taking 50 a game and I know, for us, we need to take a lot of threes where we — especially before we got Jimmy, we never got to the free throw line, so we had to take a lot of threes. And yeah, it’s hard to predict where it’s all going.
17:46 Steve, what stands out about the way Pat (Spencer)’s worked his way through the program these past few years?
17:52 Yeah, Pat’s just a great teammate, great worker, hell of an athlete, obviously, with a lacrosse background and fearless. And every time I throw him in the game, I feel good about it, so I’m a big fan and he’s really added to kind of our fiber, just every day, the work that he puts in and the energy on the bench. He’s really a good guy to have on the squad.
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