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  • coach.

  • Congrats on the win.

  • What worked so much better with the offense tonight, then?

  • I have no idea.

  • You know, we played with better pace and energy.

  • The ball moved, guys made shots.

  • I mean, you know that.

  • Nothing to do with me.

  • I'll tell you that.

  • It was, You know, guys just played the game better tonight.

  • I thought we were.

  • We attacked the basket a little bit more.

  • 54 points in the paint.

  • I thought we did a good job and put more pressure on their defense, which also created some better looks from three.

  • So, um, yeah, it was a lot better tonight.

  • I just think guys played the game better and certainly your bench gave you some much needed effort.

  • What was the key to their success this evening?

  • Especially Akil Alexander Walker may be facing off against his cousin.

  • I think the key toe McKeel successes that his coach letting play a little bit well, said Coach, Thanks, coach your ring in the new year with a solid win.

  • Look, you had seven in double figures, held Oklahoma City to 80 points, but I just thought the play of Eric Bledsoe, especially in the first half kind of set the tone.

  • He was very aggressive and and really settled into the game.

  • And I thought everybody else followed suit after that.

  • Absolutely.

  • That that Z you know, that's who Eric Bledsoe is.

  • I mean, he's a great attacker, one of the best in the league.

  • We saw that tonight.

  • Hey, made good decisions.

  • He always defends.

  • I mean, um, yeah, it was good to see him attacking the way he did.

  • We got really good guard play tonight.

  • We'll coach.

  • You had some adversity and Brandon Ingram got ejected in the second half, and you don't know how the team's gonna react, but it obviously rallied the troops, and, uh, they went on a run and put the game away with your best player in the locker room.

  • Well, and and we only got, you know, 18 minutes or 17 minutes and change out of Zion tonight.

  • So it was a night where a lot of guys had to step up and play well, and they did, um, so a really good in that regard to see other guys contribute as much as they did is stand Christian Clark here with no dot com.

  • Um, you know, Eric had a few baskets at the rim.

  • Nick Eel and Lonzo is well, just how important to the offense is just guards, you know, willingness to drive it in there and try to finish at the rim.

  • Yeah.

  • What?

  • We need to attack.

  • We need to drive the ball to score.

  • Um, you know, we need to try to get a few more cuts to score.

  • Can't be just Zion and Brandon Attack.

  • And so tonight I think we got more guys in attack mode.

  • I think that was a lot better.

  • Some coaches as well, from the athletic.

  • Just what exactly was the explanation that gave you on the B I ejection?

  • Just what they came over and told you?

  • E didn't really ask for one.

  • I mean, I thought it was I didn't see the play on tape will, so I don't know.

  • They said he wound up and followed through.

  • So that was the explanation.

  • Didn't seem.

  • I didn't even seem like a flagrant to me, let alone a flagrant two.

  • I was a little.

  • I was a little surprised if they would have come back and said to in the ball I mean, that's sort of the way the league has gone over the last couple of years.

  • Um, you know, but man, have a flagrant two and say he was ejected When a guy first said to to me when Jonathan Sterling I asked to calm, he said, too.

  • I thought he meant just two shots.

  • I thought it was just gonna be a common foul.

  • I really did.

  • He said, flagrant two.

  • I was like, Oh, okay, so yeah, it wasn't a good moment for us, but our guys overcame it.

  • Well, hey, Coach, it's Andrew from ESPN.

  • Uh, just what would have been your thoughts, uh, of Nikias play in the last two games.

  • I know you joked about his coach finally being able to play.

  • And what have you thought about his minutes on the floor?

  • They've been good.

  • He plays with a good energy level.

  • I think he's made some really nice strides on the defensive end of the floor.

  • I've got good trust in him there.

  • Hey, can definitely score the ball.

  • The turnovers have to come down.

  • I mean that.

  • I think that was, you know, a problem in his rookie year, and it's it's even as well as he's played.

  • It's been a problem in these two games, so I mean, that's the area, Um, especially as you get into close games and things which he really hasn't been in yet.

  • Um, you know, you got to take care of the ball three turnovers tonight, a couple of the other night, you know, that's got to come down.

  • But his energy, his ability to score the ball.

  • And I've been happy with his work at the defensive end of the floor.

  • Stan Scott Kushner with no dot com Happy New Year, Uh, the ability toe finish, the way that you guys did without Brandon at all.

  • I think you guys held them to two points in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter.

  • Uh, the game was never really in doubt, despite, you know, Zain in foul trouble and all that like there was some adversity there.

  • Uh, does that Do you take anything away from that, or is it just It's a win and let's move on.

  • Yeah, I mean, the main thing is is it's just a win and let's move on.

  • We're early in the year we're trying to get better.

  • We'd obviously been struggling offensively.

  • It was good to see the ball go in the basket a little bit tonight.

  • Um, it was good to score some points.

  • I thought our defense was pretty good overall.

  • Um, you know, So it was just a good night, and we need to keep moving forward.

  • You know, the games come fast and furious area playing playing every other day.

  • You just gotta get get some rest and get ready for the next one.

  • Yeah, because you mention the points in the paint.

  • Doug, I can't hear you.

  • Oh, how can you hear me out?

  • Want to know?

  • Can you turn up your volume or something?

  • No, it got worse.

  • Doug, go back over the will.

  • Mhm.

  • What's up?

  • Coaches will again.

  • You mentioned, uh, Eric's play tonight?

  • What do you think about Alonso?

  • And just maybe him playing a little bit more aggressive.

  • I think he had a season high and assistant.

  • I just whatever yourself from him.

  • Yeah, and I think where the, You know, where is this sis come from?

  • I mean, not all of them, obviously, but hey, had the one really nice law, Zion.

  • But when you're getting downhill and attacking your force and help you could make plays.

  • So, um, that's something that we just he's gotten better at.

  • He wants to improve it, that I think he's serious about it.

  • But, you know, it's habits, and we want to just keep him on the attack more and more and more.

  • Thought he had a couple good ones tonight.

  • All right, stand.

  • Take two.

  • Can you hear me?

  • Any better now?

  • Yeah, I can hear you now, Duck, I think there we go.

  • Alright.

  • Plus 24 plus 18 Rebounding are those categories you would expect to be good at.

  • I mean, is that sort of who this team could be?

  • I'm guessing you're happy about those numbers.

  • Yeah, and that's how we have to play.

  • Listen, I mean, were we're a, you know, I was saying to the coaches the other day, and a lot of were a throwback MBA team.

  • You know, we're big and strong and physical, and, you know, we're a team that's got to attack the paint, and so those numbers have got to be good.

  • We've gotta offensive rebound the ball, and we've got to keep other people from scoring in the paint, You know, I mean, that's just who we off, um, and that's how we're gonna win.

  • And, you know, I thought from a defense of standpoint, Look, you know, I know a lot of people are going, and there's gonna be nights that people probably three us to death.

  • And, you know, they had 11 threes at halftime and only had 47 points.

  • So, you know, if we don't give up points in the paint if we don't foul people, if we don't turn the ball over, we're gonna have a chance every night.

  • And those air, big things for us.

  • And, yeah, they were three of us, and it was like, Oh, my God, are they ever going to start missing?

  • It was like the Toronto game opening night.

  • But, you know, I don't wanna give him I don't think it's gonna tell my fellow coaches anything they don't know.

  • I mean, that's how you're gonna have to beat us.

  • I hope you're gonna have to go in and make a lot of threes.

  • A stand.

  • Scott Kushner One more time.

  • Uh, you know, the game in Phoenix was so lopsided.

  • One way to be able to come out and respond as well as they did.

  • Is that meaningful for you?

  • You haven't seen this team go through necessarily something like that where they played so badly, uh, to then come back the next game and, you know, put together a pretty complete effort.

  • Does that matter to you when you're kind of trying to judge exactly where this team is or how far they have to go?

  • That's a great question, and actually a great point.

  • You're making Scott gin before the game asked about, you know, how do you get him ready emotionally?

  • And I said I was being honest.

  • I really wasn't worried about that.

  • I think this is a resilient group.

  • I think they come in every day legitimately trying to get better on didn't have any doubts they'd be ready to play.

  • You don't know how you're gonna play, but I didn't think there would be any hangover effect at all on.

  • I think it speaks well of them that they came and played at the level they did tonight against the team that has been playing really well early in the year.

  • Is you guys know, um, you know every game they've had been really close and eso to come in and play like that tonight after the Phoenix skin.

  • Yeah, it was, uh it was great.

  • It shows that they listen in this season, the games were coming quickly.

  • Um, you've got to be able to let go of the last one and get ready for the next one.

  • I mean, that's gonna be a key.

  • I think for everybody.

  • Um, this season, the whole next game, last game thing is gonna be important.

  • I mean, I've got a really good friend who is a major league baseball manager.

  • Now he's a bench coach for Baltimore, Fredi Gonzalez.

  • And, uh, you know, we talk all the time about the differences between the sports, and that's one of the things he says about baseball because they play every day.

  • You have to learn to let it go.

  • I'm not great at that.

  • But our players, I think, are, uh, you know, and they let it go.