Andrew Wiggins is out tonight with a non-COVID illness (see details below) and we noticed he was sniffling on the podium yesterday, see for yourself below. Good education on gun safety — don’t use the words “gun control” — from Steve Kerr in the wake of the Half Moon Bay shootings. And finally, James Wiseman and Jonathan Kuminga sounded very confident heading into tonight’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies and after the loss the other night vs the Brooklyn Nets, respectively.
Everything below is listed in reverse chronological order dating back to pregame against the Nets.
DISCLAIMER: These are all just notes for my main workflow of YouTube videos, tweeted by beatwriters, as listed, or transcribed by me. I used to transcribe every interview but it became too tedious and not worth the investment for the small amount of views we got on the soundbites on YouTube. The links to the tweets are not available because sometimes I don’t use the full tweet and just having a ton of tweets on this website imo isn’t aesthetically pleasing and gets away from the main goal: transferring information (not so much entertainment) to the brains of DubNation asap.
• Steve Kerr pregame on Andrew Wiggins not playing tonight against the Grizzlies (non-COVID illness): “I got word this morning that he was feeling sick. He checked in with a doctor this afternoon and was ruled out…I don’t feel like revealing (the starting lineup) tonight, just one of those nights.” (CJ Holmes, Alex Espinoza)
• On Kuminga and having Draymond in at the same time: “I’m sure he’ll guard multiple guys tonight…lob threat…same threat Andre Iguodala has given us over the years…with shooters…post-up threat…and he’s really versatile defensively…protection in different coverages.”
• On Jaren Jackson (JJJ) being a candidate for DPOY: “you have to account for him. The focus last year on the playoffs was not to challenge him at the rim going off one foot…not going to happen…attack the paint with the idea of keeping your feet on the ground…jump-stop…otherwise he’s just loading up.”
• On the struggles recently: “The ball stopped moving…spread pick and roll but we weren’t getting past people…pick and roll can lead to a rotation then we start moving the ball around…we got stagnant.”
• On the Warriors-Grizzlies rivalry: “The flagrant foul on Gary (PaytonII, last playoffs)…there was plenty of drama…I think this is a good example of the age-old story of a young team trying to knock off the older team.” (KNBR)
• On James Wiseman’s role as he returns: “A lot of guys I would like to play…JaMychal didn’t play last game…you just do the math and it’s hard to get four centers into the game especially in 2023…matchups…and seeing who’s available…before the recent ankle sprain…playing very well…Christmas Game.”
• Andrew Wiggins after practice on his process: “It’s been tough, finding my rhythm.”
• On finding a rhythm in-game: “trying to control what I can control…putting the work in practice, preparation.”
• On any specific prep with his adductor: “(long pause) Yeah, just taking game-like shots…everything game speed…practice is fast but the game is even faster (sniffles).”
• On how tough it has been: “hopefully win these games coming up. I’ll be back.”
• On still locking in defensively spilling over to offense: “Yeah sometimes that translates…to a degree you can control whether you make shots…100% can control playing hard.”
• On the rustiness affecting going to the rim: “I don’t see that as why I’m not attacking as much as I used to…I think it’s just a mindset thing.”
• On specific things he’s doing to get his rhythm back: “putting a lot of shots up getting back to that rhythm.”
• On James Wiseman: “Watching from afar he’s been looking good…scrimmages he looks like he’s dominating.”
• On if he has the 49ers winning this Sunday: “You said Niners or Eagles? 49ers.”
• On Draymond saying he hasn’t held guys accountable, any dip in fiery-ness: “Maybe a little bit. Yeah, maybe a little bit.”
• On helping Draymond get back to being able to hold guys accountable: “Shoot, idk. I couldn’t tell you. I feel like only he can answer that… I haven’t been in this position before. None of us have.”
• On the extra vibe vs the Grizzlies and it being good for searching wins: “For sure…maybe a little history the last couple years…these are the games that bring out all the energy…it’s gonna be fun.”
• On the dog days: “the same way you’re feeling the rest of the league is feeling. If you can get that extra push…do something special after the break.”
• James Wiseman says that even though the team didn’t scrimmage today, he’s been scrimmaging the past few days: “I was playing 3-on-3 on game day…going for a hook shot and then Wiggs’ foot was in the way and my shit just twisted…I remember getting a bucket, though…I’ve been scrimmaging for the past two days…(probably be okay) tomorrow.”
• On how he feels: “I feel good…putting in work…same old same old.”
• On what he needs to work on: “Playing my role… rebounding… vertical at the rim…I really don’t need to score. I can, but I don’t really need to.”
• On not needing to score: “I’ve been watching Loon and Draymond on how to orchestrate the defense…I’m not saying I’m not going to score.”
• On going up against JJJ and Adams: “Be phycial, play hard and do what I gotta do.”
• On the mental: “just keep going…I’m not going to give up.”
• On Brock Purdy and the 49ers: “I don’t even watch football like that.”
• On getting NBA reps even when he’s on the bench: “All the stuff that I’ve been through hasn’t been under my control…my attitude.”
• On what he’s learned from getting to the next level: “Noticing what I have to do…being more vocal on defense…rim protector…offense will take care of itself…dunker spot.”
• On Santa Cruz and being more defensive: “It just takes reps…the last three years…the G League helped out a lot for me.”
• On emulating Kevin Garnett: “It’s all gonna come with time…patient with myself…tenacity on defense…on offense, he’s just a monster…his mental.”
• On the White House visit: “taking a picture with Biden and me and Kamala was great.”
• On his future upside: “a true professional…the results are gonna come…I’m in the present moment right now.”
• On what makes Penny Hardaway a good recruiter: “He been through the NBA experience…Michael Williams.”
• On if Mikey (who has already committed to Memphis) reach out to him: “I always keep in touch with my guys who are still there.”
• Steve Kerr after practice gives his condolences to the victims of the Half Moon Bay shooting: “I thought that post happened already with Sandy Hook…an issue that’s gonna take an avalanche of support…when Sandy Hook happened and we just didn’t get enough momentum…eye-opening and devastating…daily basis because mass shootings pretty much happen every day but don’t get publicity…gonna take the entire population of this country to sort of get the pendulum to swing…senators and congressmen on the Republican side who can run on a campaign of gun safety and violence prevention and still think they can win…most of those people are gonna put their jobs ahead of the lives of citizens.”
• On how difficult it is to go on with basketball: “there will likely be a moment of silence tomorrow…that’ll be back-to-back moments of silence…for sure double-figures (the amount of moments of silence)…that’s why it’s important for everybody to join the fight…never use the words ‘gun control’…protect people’s rights to own firearms at the same time…background checks, things like registration…let’s not allow weapons of war…there’s a reason why tanks aren’t on the street…why did we allow semi-automatic weapons?…Our Founding Fathers…they were very wise…if at the time there had been mass shootings at school houses and villages, do you really think they would’ve allowed this?…to just sit here and think we should honor this exact law…many experts disagree on the wording of the Second Amendment…protect our children, our fellow citizens…step forward and say this is enough and I’m going to support candidates who support gun safety measures…the vast majority of people do support…but it has to translate to our politics.”
• On Steph mentioning “hero ball” down the stretch and chemistry: “Chemistry is fine.,,we have really good people…I think there is some hero ball…I don’t think it’s 100% driven by glory, I think it’s driven by lack of execution…we had a good practice today…seven or eight games this year that we felt we should’ve won and only a couple where we should’ve lost…get better on those margins.”
• Kerr says James Wiseman practiced in full today. No scrimmage at Warriors practice. The Warriors are calling him questionable for tomorrow’s game against the Grizzlies: “He looked good, he’s moving well.” (Dalton Johnson)
• On if Draymond did lose some ability to lead: “This team is already filled with young, fresh faces…doesn’t all fall on Draymond’s shoulders but Draymond has obviously been our leader, I’ve called him our heartbeat…affected the way he communicates with the group, but there’s nothing you can do about it…I really do believe we’re right there…bench is playing great…now it’s kinda flip flopped, our starters are struggling.”
• On if it will change to have Draymond back as the leader: “Draymond is still our leader…his comments were basically more that he’s more self-conscious than he would have been.”
• On Brock Purdy: “I definitely have 49er fever…maybe Fernando Valenzuela, as a Dodger fan…Fernando-mania…became un-hittable…it’s a great reminder that the scouting in every sport is an in exact science…puzzle…if you put five All-Stars on the court, that’s not necessarily a good thing…great to see success come to those guys (who are drafted late).”
• On if he’s noticed a lack of accountability per Draymond: “To me, our guys are accountable. Everybody readily admits mistakes…I didn’t think I coached the game right, I told the team that…I understand what Draymond’s saying, we aren’t closing games…getting better.”
• On Wiggins: “I do think the long absence hurt him. It’s the longest he’s taken in his career…playing so well before the injury so I think there’s been some frustration…conditioning…break through that…I told him, everyone goes through this…82-game season, so you have to fight your way through this…working, competing and staying aggressive.”
• On if the excitement of playing the Grizzlies can help them: “Yeah…bickering…(healthy competition).”
• On what about the Grizzlies will bring good results: “they’re a big physical team, they’re young, so we have to match the energy.”
• On if Kuminga can close games: “He was out there for key stretches (the other night, if he didn’t close it).”
• On if hero ball is when the ball stops moving: “Brooklyn has a very good defense, they switch everything…execution…the ball stopped moving…could’ve got into different sets.”
• On what makes a good practice: “First one we had in literally ten days so any practice is a good practice…execution on some of our sets…tightening up the detail allows you to execute better.”
• On if the Warriors vs Grizzlies is a rivalry: “The playoff series made that happen and then the league put us on Christmas Day together and so the league is pushing for it as well…young team trying to knock the aging team off the mountain.”
[THE FOLLOWING IS FROM SACRAMENTO]
Brian Windhorst exclusive with Mike Brown, who credited Steve Kerr: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/35512961/the-hoop-collective-why-mike-brown-growth-coach-kings-beaming [Sorry, hyperlinks still don’t work on mobile browser for Substack!]
“Steve has an ability to be confident and secure; to be comfortable in his own skin,” Brown told ESPN. “It’s extremely important to get your team to believe in itself, and it was something I needed to try to install here.”
…
“At Golden State, Steve made sure every day there was a message and sometimes having the feel of the room was more important than having a practice,” Brown said. “We needed buy-in, but we also needed to believe in ourselves, and we’ve focused on that more than anything else.”
[THE FOLLOWING WAS RELEASED BY NBA]
Wiggs and JP in a new commercial:
<div class="tweet" data-attrs="{"url":"https://twitter.com/22wiggins/status/1617963346028003330?s=46&t=ImGI6n9fvN3OpQ83MiwMLg • https://twitter.com/nbaallworld/status/1617943460644024321?s=46&t=ImGI6n9fvN3OpQ83MiwMLg","full_text":"RT @NBA: Get out and #goallout to be on top of your game with @NBAallworldnnDownload it now! nba-all-world.onelink.me/kMI7/11593f2d “,”username”:”nbaallworld”,”name”:”NBA All-World”,”date”:”Tue Jan 24 17:52:35 +0000 2023″,”photos”:[{“img_url”:”https://substackcdn.com/image/upload/w_1028,c_limit,q_auto:best/l_twitter_play_button_rvaygk,w_88/a01hfjcetbrddtwcdok2″,”link_url”:”https://t.co/xJ0GooD5pO”,”alt_text”:null}],”quoted_tweet”:{},”retweet_count”:46,”like_count”:0,”expanded_url”:{},”video_url”:”https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1617886192715833344/pu/vid/320×320/IQefl6v9V84yvvhL.mp4?tag=12″,”belowTheFold”:true}”>
Download it now! nba-all-world.onelink.me/kMI7/11593f2d