Cam Johnson talks team contributions leading to Nets win
>> HEY CAM, JUST TO START, DORIAN FINNEY-SMITH WAS A PLUS 22 ON THE NIGHT. I KNOW SINGLE GAME, PLUS-MINUS CAN BE KIND OF FLAKY, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT HIS IMPACT YOU FEEL THAT BOX SCORE STAT FLECTS HOW HE WAS ABLE TO PLAY TONIGHT? >> YEAH, DEFINITELY. HE IMPACTED THE GAME, GUARDED
THE BALL, REBOUNDED HIS SHOTS, I WAS ABOUT TO SAY THAT BEFORE YOU MEGSED IT. YOU ADD IN ROYCE O’NEALE, HE’S BELLATTI OF EVERYTHING, HE HAD PLUS 13 IN 19 MINUTES. I THINK THAT STRETCH IN THE THIRD QUARTER WAS BIG, YOU KNOW. THOSE GUYS, MAN, THEY SHOW UP EVERY DAY, PLAY HARD AND DO
THEIR JOB. YOU KNOW. JUST TWO DEPENDABLE DUDES RIGHT THERE. >> CAM, FOR YOU GUYS, JUST HOW IMPORTANT WAS IT FOR YOU, HOW MUCH WAS THE STREAK ON YOUR MIND, YOUR STREAK? >> YEAH, YEAH. >> ON YOUR GUYS’ MIND COMING INTO THIS GAME TODAY TO SHAKE ISN’T IT. >> YEAH, A LOT.
YEAH, A LOT. WE KNOW WHAT WE’RE CAPABLE OF AT THE END OF THE DAY, AND WE KNOW WE LET A COUPLE SLIP. BUT IT FEELS REALLY GOOD TO GET BACK ON THE WINNING SIDE OF THINGS, AND THAT’S THE NAME OF THE GAME, MAN, REYES I WILL GENERALS, — RESILIENCE,
FINDING A WAY TO BOUNCE BACK EACH AND EVERY GAME. IT TESS ONE TO START A WINNING STREAK, SO YOU GOTTA START SOMEWHERE. TODAY’S A GOOD START. >> THE 22 POINTS OFF TURNOVERS, I THINK THAT WAS ALMOST THE STORY OF THE GAME FOR ME, AT LEAST. JUST WHAT DID YOU GUYS WANT TO
DO WHEN YOU GOT TURNOVERS, TURNOVERS IN THE POINT, TO CONVERT AND MAKE THAT A POINT OF EMPHASIS? >> YEAH, DEFINITELY. YOU KNOW, DEFENSIVELY, I THOUGHT WE MIGHT EVEN TURN THEM OVER MORE THAN 14 TIMES. THE GUYS WERE DOING A GOOD JOB OF BEING IN LANES, AND YOU KNOW, CROWDING THE PAINT AND
MAKING PASSES DIFFICULT. BUT SCORING IN TRANSITION, SCORING OFF TURNOVERS, THOSE ARE ALL JUST BUCKETS THAT YOU WANT TO FILL, YOU KNOW, MONEY THAT YOU WANT TO GET. AND TODAY WE DID AND THAT HELPED US. >> MONTY SPOKE PREGAME ABOUT STILL BEING IN COMMUNICATION WITH YOU AND MIKAL, HOW MUCH
TIME HE SPENT COACHING YOU GUYS, ROOTING FOR YOU TONIGHT. HOW DIFFICULT HAS IT BEEN TO SEE HIM GO THROUGH THESE KIND OF STRUGGLES IN THIS FIRST SEASON OUT OF SNEENGS. >> YOU KNOW, I TOLD HIM SOME OF THE YOUNG GUYS ON THE TEAM AFTER THE GAME, THAT SOMETIMES
YOU GOT TO LOSE BEFORE YOU CAN WIN, YOU GOTTA FALL BEFORE YOU CRAWL, YOU KNOW, WALK BEFORE YOU CAN RUN. MY FIRST YEAR IN PHOENIX, WITH COACH MONTY, HIS FIRST YEAR IN PHOENIX ALSO, I THINK WE WERE ON A 10, 11-GAME LOSING STREAK. WE STARTED THE SEASON PRETTY SOLID, THEN A 10, 11-GAME
LOSING STREAK ABOUT THIS TIME OF YEAR TOO. GAME WINNERS AGAINST US. JUST WEREN’T ABLE TO CLOSE OUT GAMES. BUT YOU LEARN FROM IT. THEY HAD SUCH A YOUNG TEAM WITH GUYS THAT ARE REALLY TALENTED, SOMETIMES IT’S A MATTER OF STAYING THE COURSE AND HAVING THAT BELIEF. BUT I KNOW, YOU KNOW, I LOVED
PLAYING FOR COACH MONTY, FOUR YEARS OF IT. ANDRE GO CLOSER DURING THAT TIME ANDRE LEARN A LOT ABOUT THE GAME. I LEARNED A LOT FROM HIM. A WHOLE LOT FROM HIM. AND SO HE WAS HUGE IN MY DEVELOPMENT AS A PLAYER, AND SO, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WHAT HE’S
CAPABLE OF ON THAT END AND THEY GOT SO MUCH YOUNG TALENT THAT THEY BELIEVE, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN REALLY BE A SOLID TEAM. YOU KNOW. A CONTENDER. >> YOU HAD EARLIER MENTIONED THE THIRD QUARTER AND THE RUN. THEY HAD CUT IT TO 2. >> YEAH. >> THEN THERE WAS A TIMEOUT. >> YEAH.
>> WHAT CHANGED FROM THERE? >> YOU KNOW, THEY WENT ON THAT RUN THEY WERE HITTING SHOTS, AND KIND OF TOUGH ONES TOO. SO YOU GOTTA WEATHER THOSE STORMS, YOU GOTTA BE ABLE TO WEATHER THOSE STORMS AND BE ABLE TO FIGHT BACK. AND YOU KNOW, THE BENCH CAME
IN AND DID A FANTASTIC JOB OF GIVING THAT BUFFER AND FROM THERE THEY WERE PLAYING CATCHUP. >> CORRECT ME IF I’M WRONG, BUT I BELIEVE THE TEAM ENTERED TODAY 0-2 BACK-TO-BACK GARAGIOLA’S BEING THE FIRST ONE AT HOME. WHAT DEW CAN YOU TAKE FROM TONIGHT TO THE FUTURE? >> I THOUGHT THE FIRST COUPLE
MINUTES WERE A LITTLE SLOW BUT WE HAD GOOD JUICE AND ENERGY. OUR MINDS WERE IN THE RIGHT PLACE, AND THAT’S ALL YOU CAN ASK FOR, YOU KNOW. I TRUST IN OUR PT STAFF AND PEOPLE AROUND US THAT ARE ABLE TO MONITOR US PHYSICALLY, AND SO WE GOT GOOD CONTRIBUTIONS
FROM ACROSS BOARD TOO, DAY’RON PLAYED A GOOD GAME, DORIAN 28 MINUTES, HIT SHOTS, DEFENDED, REBOUND. ANYTIME YOU HAVE DEPTH YOU CAN RELY ON, MIKAL PLAYED 33, EVERYBODY ELSE AROUND 30 IN THE STARTING LINEUP. IT WAS BIG. WHEN YOU HAVE THOSE MANY PLAYERS YOU CAN RELY ON. ON A NIGHT-TO-NIGHT BASIS.
>> AND THEN ANOTHER GAME AGAINST DETROIT AT THEIR PLACE IN A FEW DAYS. WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES THAT PRESENT THEMSELVES, ALMOST LIKE A PLAYOFF SERIES. >> YEAH, ONE IS RIGHT AFTER CHRISTMAS, YOU KNOW? AND SOMETIMES THOSE CAN BE A LITTLE TRICKY, SOMETIMES HOLIDAYS AND STUFF CAN LET YOUR GUARD DOWN A LITTLE BIT.
BUT WE JUST GOTTA REMAIN LOCKED IN KEEP THE MAIN THING, KEEP OUR FOCUS LEVEL HIGH AND APPROACH THESE GAMES VERY SERIOUSLY. WE’RE COMING OFF A LOSING STREAK, SO WE NEED TO, YOU KNOW, TURN THINGS AROUND AND START A WINNING STREAK AND JUST KEEP PUSHING THROUGH AND CONTINUE TO GET BETTER EVERY DAY.
>> CAM, NOW THAT YOU GUYS HAVE ENDED YOUR LOSING STREAK, HOPEFULLY THE WINNING CONTINUES, WHAT WAS ONE THING YOU LEARNED ABOUT THIS TEAM DURING THAT TOUGH STRETCH? >> YOU KNOW, IN A SENSE, I THINK IT’S GOING TO STRENGTHEN US IN THE LONG RUN. I THINK WE RECOGNIZED WHAT
KIND OF WENT WRONG, THE LOSING STREAK AND THE JUICE THAT WE NEED TO HAVE NIGHT IN, NIGHT OUT. AND IN A WAY I THINK WE BROUGHT A LOT OF JOY BACK TO PLAYING THE GAME TONIGHT, AND EVEN LAST NIGHT. YOU KNOW, WE TAKE THOSE THINGSRY PERSONALLY, AND THE FRUSTRATION, BUT I THINK
SOMETIMES WE WERE ABLE TO SPIN IT INTO A POSITIVE AND JUST FIND JOY IN PLAYING AND PLAYING HARD AND TRUSTING EACH OTHER. >> CAM, GOING BACK TO THAT FIRST YEAR WITH MONTY WILLIAMS, YOU GUYS WERE STRUGGLING A LITTLE BIT, HOW DOES WHEN YOU SEE, HOW DO YOU RELATE TO THAT EVEN MORE?
BECAUSE THAT FIRST YEAR WAS A TOUGH YEAR THAT LED TO WHAT YOU GUYS WERE ABLE TO BUILD IN PHOENIX A LITTLE BIT. >> I THINK THE ONE THING WE DID IN PHOENIX WAS WE BUILT A REALLY SOL ILDEMARO CULTURE. THE CRAZY THING IS, BEFORE THE BUBBLE WE WERE 26-39 SOCIALTION WE WEREN’T, YOU
KNOW, IT’S NOT A GREAT RECORD AT ALL. AND WE BARELY GOT IN. WE WERE THE FINAL DISCUSSION. YOU KNOW, HOW MANY GAMES OUT CAN A TEAM MATHEMATICALLY MAKE THE PLAYOFFS, AND WE WERE THE VERY, VERY EDGE. AND WE WON EVERY GAME IN THE BUBBLE AND STILL DID NOT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.
BOUGHT LOT OF PEOPLE LOOK AT BUBLG AND SEE THAT AS A CATALYST. SO YOU KNOW, THAT WHOLE ENTIRE FIRST SEASON ASIDE, WE WERE ABLE TO FIND REALLY POSITIVE THINGS. AND WE WERE ABLE TO GAIN MOMENTUM AND LOOK BACK ON THAT SEASON IN A VERY POSITIVE MANNER. SO SOMETIMES IN THIS LEAGUE
YOU CAN TAKE LUMPS, AND YOU KNOW, THERE’S TALENT EVERY. WHERE EVERY TEAM OUT THERE IS AN NBA TEAM WITH NBA PLAYERS ARE HIGH-LEVEL PLAYERS. SO THERE’S KIND OF AN ART TO WINNING GAMES THAT YOU LEARN WHEN YOU’RE A YOUNG TEAM, AND YOU KNOW, JUST FIGURING OUT WAYS. AND THAT’S KIND OF HOW WE
DEVELOPED IN PHOENIX. AND WITH A YOUNG TEAM, THAT’S JUST HOW IT GOES. JUST NEED TO FIGURE OUT WAYS TO WIN GAMES. ESPECIALLY AT THE END. YOU
Cam Johnson is happy with the resilience he saw from the Nets to end their losing streak and get back to winning. Subscribe for daily sports videos!
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