“I feel like we needed this.” Giannis Antetokounmpo Postgame Press Conference | 1.11.24

“I feel like we needed this.” Giannis Antetokounmpo Postgame Press Conference | 1.11.24

How important was sort of that start and to be able to to do that um obviously I think um there was more urgency coming to the game um losing four out of five games um being down in the first half 30 new um you know watch we watch the film we we

Had to be better um we had to play better um yesterday we had a great practice uh talked about things that we can do better and I think uh as I said guys were more urgent today you know from the start of the game um Dame was

Very very assertive um I was trying to go downhill defensively we were helping one another we were in passing Lanes deflecting the ball obviously we knew that they played uh night before overtime game I think against Minnesota so uh we knew that we had to

To come out with energy and and we did uh we know we know that the team that W shoot a lot of Threes And I feel like whenever they had the opportunity to shoot the three we were pressing up on them um trying to send them more into

The m r area and more into the paint uh but at the end of not just give them an easy two or easy layup make it still tough but you know that you play against a team that want to shoot 45 53s uh so I think I think we were able

To do a good job they had like until the fourth quarter until in point I looked up they had like five five thre with game but then obviously made few maybe I finish with seven eight probably so uh it’s good it’s good I think we the

Team has to be more urgent we have to be we have to be more urgent we have to like uh when we we don’t have to play a good team to respect the other team you know uh we have to do this every single

Night as much as we can it’s going to be nice that we’re going to play we going to play bad it’s going to be nice going to play well there’s going to be nights that the the other team go make the shots and there going to be nights that

They’re not going to make the shot effort they always got to be there and I think uh you know having a good practice watching film and having a couple days off that helped um we mentioned that you guys are more physical defensively just how important is that

Going to be for you guys as you try to find your defensive identity yeah we’re more physical but we we we did it without fouling that’s very very important I feel like sometimes we are physical but we send them to the free throw line in the first um half 15

Times you know uh but uh 100% like in every switch I think we’re physical like we didn’t let the guy roll behind us you know in every screen we were fighting over the screen or under the screen in every switch the guy was you know fronting the post or pushing the guy up

Like you could see like the whole team was way way more assertive than usual and um they were way more physical so I I agree with Malik as you guys are starting to switch more this year I think sometimes people see switches and think it’s lazy defense right like I be

Switch help like whatever but for it to be good it has to be physical right do you feel like that’s something you’ve learn this year I feel like for it to be good you have to be more uh urgent like when you switch it cannot be you know in

A traffic uh stop that you have the guy that the police officer that is telling you where to go I don’t know how you guys call that in how do you say yeah tra you know go you go here you come no you stop you go like switching cannot be

Like that like you have to like switch up you know you got to be physical with your guy hold your guy without fouling and when the screen come then you switch because if you don’t do it that way you allow the guy to be able to reject it

You allow the guy to be able to shoot behind the behind the screen behind the screen open three or you allow the guy to just come out and attack attack the the guy that’s switching so um I don’t think it’s necessarily lazy I’ve seen teams that have done it very very well Boston

Is one of those teams the um Houston raets against has did it very very well Toronto in the past have done it very very well there’s teams that uh you know play switch defense and they execute very well but I think once you have guys that can move their feet and can keep

Guys in front of you then you make it tough for the other teams because they have to make something happen they have to make a play you like now they don’t play no team offense they’re playing one-on-one offense you know um so no I

Don’t uh you it can be lazy at times but if you do with urgency you can uh you can get a lot of benefits from it why do you think there was more of a sense of urgency than that was because of who you were playing or because of the way

Youall played the last two games um I think I think both it was combination of both um I think the the way we’ve played the last couple of games um helped I also believe that we had two days to kind of take care of our body and uh

Work on ourselves that helped also playing the Ballon Celtics if you don’t play well you probably going to get embarrassed um so I think also there was a there was a respect SL Fear Factor also you know that’s very important for this team you know that we have to go

Out there and play at our best today uh hopefully we can like hopefully we can keep this up not just against you know the B not just when we have two days off or not when we not play well like even if we play well even we play Bad be able

To come in a game and play with the same uh urgency and with the same focus and with the same energy what’s the biggest key in keeping the momentum from tonight into Saturday against Golden State and beyond that and they’re a great team they’re a great team um if you don’t

Play that way they going they’re going to win the game um but like I feel like the team after this win feel like the team came together you know I feel like our our chemistry is better now I feel like we needed this you know I think

Like we believe in one another now uh and hopefully we can it can carry over I don’t know if it’s going to carry over but uh as a leader you know as a player on this team I want this to carry over and I think we we can do it we have to

Go tomorrow and uh watch film take care of our body and hopefully when we come with gold state we can play with the same energy and same focus and try to Wi that g i don’t this might not be a good question for you because it’s not you

Yes but most people when they give that kind of energy and effort on defense like what you’re talking about it takes away from the offensive game when you guys are an offensive team you’re setting records and all that do you think this team is trying to figure that

Out the balance between when you go 100% fighting through screens and holding up Tatum in the lane and when you’re getting open to get your own scoring and having points a game whatever it is um you know what I feel like we have to

Play defense in order for us to win in a high level uh there’s going to be times we are going to score 140 points and 150 points it’s going to look good everybody’s going you know get their uh points up and shoot the threes and everything but if we are talking about

Winning a championship we have to stop teams teams not going to they’re not going to be stopped on their own like imagine playing against us do you think that if you don’t guard us we are not going to score 130 points or we’re not going to score 120 points no you have to

Stop you have to do something that affect us from getting to the paint or uh doesn’t allow us to shoot the ball from three as well uh in order for us to be uh limited now in order for us to win in a higher level we have to play

Defense that’s my that’s my opinion I feel like we played a lot of games in the past in the playoffs game three against Brooklyn they beat us game two by 50 we came here the game three was 83 to 86 and you have a team that had KD

Kyri Irving and James Harden he was 83 to 86 like we we we kept them to 83 points and we just had to score 86 points um game six they scored 95 points you know like in order for you to win in a high level you have to stop and uh

Um we have to work on it we have to be better we have to work on it right now our defense is is not the way we want it to be but it can it can be better if we keep on playing the way we play today it can be better it can

Improve

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