OKC Thunder Full Media Availability | Post Game at Utah Jazz | January 18, 2024

OKC Thunder Full Media Availability | Post Game at Utah Jazz | January 18, 2024

Tonight uh your aggression was kind of borne out in in two ways getting the line 17 times and also pushing pushing the break getting 29 fast break points what did you do successfully to get that rolling for you and your team um it just tried to play

Downhill um try to play to our identity uh where a team that likes to touch the paint and play from there um we’re our best when we do so so just putting emphasis on that before a game so you manufacture a lot when you’re kind of in

Control and dictating but tell me about that that shot late when was like five on the shot clock and you kind of just had to had to make something up there um yeah situations like that just force you to playoff Instinct um and that’s kind of just what happened I just tried

To go left got cut off um and made a counter move and Tred to shoot a shot I’ve I’ve shot many times and it went in and then you guys attack the Zone uh really effectively tonight in terms of a step forward maybe from the the Lakers

Game when they zoned you a lot what did you like best about how you guys uh maybe engaged different parts of the floor we moved it um made quick decisions um and we got good shots most importantly um I think in the Laker game we got some pretty

Good looks but we we got them um without making the defense work and I think we did a better job of that tonight so to point it feels like that Minnesota game back in in late November was the first time the Zone really done this team I just wonder what progression

You’ve seen since since that night in terms of zones and whatnot um yeah we for sure gotten better uh we obviously have seen it a lot more um and with raps you just get better uh but yeah we are definitely uh a different team playing against the Zone

Since then sure com it out like fourth quarter Jay dub is like actually a thing in in recent weeks just what have you seen from from him in terms of his comfortability and in the fourth and you know how how much or how little loss you

Guys feel once you go to the bench he comes out yeah um he’s yeah he’s playing really well um he um he’s starting to understand like his spots um not only on the floor but like throughout the game um and that beginning of the fourth is for

Sure um I guess it’s time to shine uh yeah it’s been like that like the past month he’s played really well to start the fourth um and it’s been huge for our team it’s for sure the reason why we’ve won a lot of games right and until that point because he’s know this

Far along I guess in his progression it feels like there been a lot of the reason you guys have won like you mentioned I just wonder like coming into the season did you think he would be this level of Creator halfway through the season um I honestly he did uh the

Thing with Jaylen is like he’s he’s he loves basketball and he’s like a kid that like plays with feel so like as he gets like more reps and more games under his belt he’s just going to get better because he’s just going to see more um and he’s a really quick learner

So like he’ll pick up things quick um and he’ll Implement into his game really fast so I I for sure expected this what did you see from K Steph the starting just knocked down a huge shot for you guys in the fourth quarter you needed it

Yeah uh K is who he always is super steady um he knows what he brings to the game he knows his job every night and he does it at an A+ level every night um other the ball is going in or not he always brings toughness physicality um and good decision making

To the floor and he just did it again tonight him and Chad kind of came up with some big plays down the stretch for you guys and just you know for rookies in a crunch time situation to rise to the moment like that what does that say

About you know this group overall that I mean it seems like none of you guys regardless of AG to get rattled sitations yeah um it speaks to our maturity um level-headedness we have a we have obviously a really young group um we don’t look at ourselves as young

Um we look at ourselves as we’ve played a lot of games I think we’re like halfway through the season now so we have some game even though rookies have some games under their belt and know what to expect and what not to um so we don’t really look at ourselves as young

Basketball players where do you feel like you’ve grown most defensively since uh early in your career um my physicality um and just knowing other teams Tendencies your usage rate obviously is much higher than it was maybe second third year even the last few years um how difficult is it

For you know a high usage score to also give you know you know that type of effort on the defense of that um you have to be in good shape um but it really just comes down to to wanting to um once I like uh made a an emesis to

Try to infect the game on both ends of the floor um I’ve been I’ve been able to and found myself having success so for me it was just a want to you mention the maturity of his team and I remember back before the season slam did that coup story there was some

Mention like from you guys saying that you guys are kids and and that’s kind of like helped with you know bonding together and growing together but at the same time every been times throughout the season where you’re saying like you know you guys are mature and you want to

Be treated like like older guys like vets is there a time and a place for you know those perspectives can they coexist or or has your mindset just changed that fast I think those two things are separate on the court off the court um we all around the same age so off the

Court we like the same thing things um usually do the same things um and then off on the court we’re all business and about winning um and have a matur mindset in that way so I think we do a good job of like compartmentalizing the

Two going to be a lot of attention kind of shot making late between you and Shay and K what leads to the the Rhythm the field that you guys have late um to actually be able to knock down those shots uh confidence I think that’s that’s the biggest thing CU you

Know there shots that we’re getting throughout the game so I think we’re doing a good job of reading the game and not straying away from what’s been working um and then yeah just in those moments it’s confidence on shooting them um we work hard for those looks so guys

Know when we get them everybody wants them to shoot them speaking of working hard for looks um especially compared to the Lakers game the way that you attack the Zone tonight with the middle touches and and the cuts and everything uh what kind of step forward do you think that

Was for you all uh we’re learning we’re learning fast um I think that that’s the biggest thing with how young we are we’re able to kind of flush one game understand what we did what we need to do better and then uh go out there and

Execute and I thought we did a really good job attacking their Zone all night I really don’t even remember a stretch where it got sticky um probably didn’t hit some shots in that stretch but we worked for a lot of really good looks today obviously over the past month we just talked about

Their increased compability and especially in at fourth quarter to the point where people are calling you fourth quarter Dove are are you acknowledging that Monica are you embracing that at all um N I don’t really give it too much attention as far as like social media goes I’m just playing I mean there’s

Some games like tonight and the half at with 13 so to end the game with 14 like there’s still a flow that I’m kind of going in I just happen to be in the fourth quarter when I’m scoring and um I think when you have Shay and Chad and

You know that group people that are on the Court it gives me a lot of space and you know they have to worry about a lot of other things so I’m just kind of ready to you know attack and play my game within that that set and everybody’s comfortable with our lineups

And how we’ve been you know kind of rotating so yeah before you came in shade was just saying that you know your leap as a creator has been a huge part of why this team has won as many games as it’s won I just wonder like because

Every time you sit down with us it feels like we’re talking about more progression whether it’s as a pass or a score just do you feel yourself every day just growing as a Creator like can you sense that goal daily I think I just understand my team more um I mean I I

Feel like I’ve always been in that Creator role especially like coming from Santa Clara that was like a majority of what I was doing so just having more and more opportunity to kind of be in those situations but I think honestly it’s understanding where our team and our

Players are at on the floor which is helping me understand what we want to do uh offensively um understanding where guys like to be at certain times um and trying to find guys in the best position to to score you know we have really talented players so it’s not overly

Complicated on where guys feel comfortable and you do you do mention that you know that was kind of your role s CL but are there like nuances at this level that just different from back then yeah for sure the game’s faster um guys are more athletic um ironically enough

There’s more space than the college 4 which makes it a little easier but but yeah there’s definitely nuances with it um you know now I’m going to pick and roll chat so that opens up a lot more space and stuff like that or you know we

Have a lot of high high IQ guys on the court as well so my reads are getting easier just understanding where everybody likes to be on the floor uh but yeah there is progression to it as well like I have to be comfortable in the positions that I’m in what does that

Scoring flow feel like cuz you have a knack for scoring in bunches it’s fun uh it’s just kind of feel it yeah I mean um I’m getting good looks too uh we’re creating a lot of high level offense throughout the year so a lot of the shots that I take aren’t you know

Clock going down 3 seconds kind of got to find something um we’re doing a good job of kind of having a good flow in the offense so I’m able to get really comfortable and then I think a lot of it too is guys trust me to shoot the shots

That that are good ones so I think when I’m constantly able to find good shots um you know it definitely helps my percentages probably go up you faced chat I’m sure plenty in Camp and probably in college um just how difficult is he to score over just how

How good of a shot blocker how many blocks he got this year just beat the rooky record right yeah he’s got like a 100 blocks already and so that that says a lot um to be a rim protector too you got to be smart um and have good timing

So he he’s been uh phenomenal in that in that regard um I think what’s been going under the radar is just him being on the perimeter um you know cuz we switch a lot too so I think him being out there on the perimeter and giving us that look

As well he’s he’s been great there um yeah he’s he’s he’s a really smart Defender too so I think that that flly is under the radar with him did you find yourself wondering as he’s ENT was entering this season you know how he might physically hold up and and and how

Impressed have you been with just like being a an NBA Center defensively very hard as a rookie he’s you know highend defensive Center yeah I didn’t have any doubts about anything with his body or anything like that I was watching him work out so I think when you put as much

Time and dedication into something as he is it’s I I didn’t sense a struggle um but for a rookie as fast as he’s learning to on you know I think the NBA is big on Personnel so the he’s he’s been able to really do a good job of

Figuring out who does what and kind of position himself in that way so like different teams he’s kind of rotating a little better or just kind of figuring out you know ways to be productive and and use his strength the best he can and um he’s been he’s been doing a really

Good job that last one for me on this you guys didn’t really play with the center much last year um do you feel just his threat not even just the shot block but what you have with him behind you who like impacted the way offenses

Attack you for sure I threw one lob last year so um yeah he gives us a lot uh offensively he’s able to stretch the floor and shoot it well um he’s a lob threat as well with the roles uh he does a good job at Short rolling too so good

Passer good shooter smart IQ so um you know obviously def L as I just talked about so we can utilize him in a lot of different situations you mention a lot which I mean it’s gotten to the point now where like you throwing stuff like you do

Where he tried to stand one hand was that was that like that was a bad pass okay I was about to ask like was that ambitious did you feel like he could have threw that down uh no it was a bad pass I overthrew it but the idea is

There um I think even some plays are bigger than you know obviously we get a turnover there but now the defense is thinking about a lob so so even that just opens up some more space for us to be effective um but yeah it was a pretty

Bad pass cuz I overthrew somebody 7 feet so I got him back I think after that or before that so we were pretty even thanks D charging at you what did it take down the stretch to seal off the wi yeah I mean they’re they’re a talented

Team and they they kept coming at us all night and uh we knew coming in though were the hottest team in the league and um especially in front of the home fans it’s tough place to play um you know once they go on run the crowd Gets

Behind them so I think we did a great job you know weathering the storm down the stretch they made their runs but I don’t think we flinched and uh we responded the way we needed to we got timely stops I thought uh We Made You know guys made big plays on the other

End of the floor so um they’re a talented team and they gave us their best shot but um you know I thought our guys stuck it out down the end and didn’t you know didn’t get too worried when they went in their run and kind of

Knew that was going to happen but I thought we responded the right way when they mixed up looks defensively it seemed like you guys were able to engage the middle of the Zone more you scored on a couple of those uh cuts from the angle in the corner tell me about how

That all broke down tonight yeah um I thought you know they zoned us a l teams to be zoning us a lot lately and we kind of starting to figure out how to attack it best and um I thought it was a good response from the other night against La

Where we settled for a lot of Threes but tonight I thought we made a heavy emphasis of getting into the paint making the Zone collapse and then threes were there we shot it well uh and if not guys we getting layoffs we’re cutting we’re getting you know mid-range stuff

So I thought we did a good job attacking the Zone um I thought guys made you know the right play a lot of the time and um up to the rest of us to you know finish off the plays you had one of these tonight where J up cut and then you

Followed right up behind him and we’ll see that sometimes where you’re kind of cutting right behind another but why does that open up for you all yeah I guess when a guy cuts through the middle of his own naturally um it’s the middle so people are going to collapse and it’s

Going to attract attention and then once he got it kind of near the rim uh he had you know Kesler and oen I think were looking at him so I kind of cut behind and he found me and um yeah I think it’s just finding ways to attack his own we

Got guys you know especially with you know Five Guys that stop the game uh all of us can handle and make plays which is a luxury to have so um you know whether it’s you know chat at the five shade at the one it doesn’t matter um everyone

You know trust everybody to make the right play and I thought tonight against the Zone we did that Josh obviously we haven’t talked to you in a while but it feels like since we last talked to you fourth quarter Jay dub has become this thing I just wonder what you’ve seen

There in terms of his comfortability and just what’s unfolding for him to be this kind of star in the fourth quarter especially he’s been great um I mean he usually the fourth with with Shay on the bench so you know puts the ball in his

Hands a lot and um I think he flourishes in those moments he he loves the the challenge of um you know putting the team on his back down the stretch and uh making big plays and um it’s something you can’t teach um he he’s gifted with

That and um he you know relishes those big moments and um you know we put the ball in his hands and and uh let him Rock so he’s been great uh not just in the fourth but um you know the last I think couple weeks you know more so um

Specifically he he’s been awesome for us and um just giving us that you know big punch that we’ve needed and um he he’s helped us get over the line a lot of times what impact did K have stepping in for Lu that he was great I mean you know

Obviously uh he’s a great defender for us and um you know when when he’s in the floor he’s primarily task regard any other team’s best guy but I thought um and you obviously we we know we can all shoot the ball and tonight I thought he played his role perfectly he he shot

Open shots he made them uh he defended well um so he did everything you know that he was supposed to do out there and I think um you know obviously it’s a pretty big void when Lou is not playing you know as our main Defender but I

Thought queso did a great job tonight and he’s done a great job all season of um stepping in and playing his role perfectly Josh typically you’re the one finding Jay dub on those cuts and he found you for like three p three assists tonight just what’s it like when when

The rolls were reversed like it’s great uh he I think he’s really taken another step in the right direction as a playmaker um and and I’m starting to see it now and um that’s why I’m cutting and and you know making those reads when he’s got the ball in his hands because I

Know that he could find me and he will and uh we we’ve started to develop that probably started you know earlier this year where um just on back cut but now we’re starting to see it on middle cuts and different things like that so um

He’s a talented guy with the ball in his hands and not just scoring he can he can make um you know others around him better and um I think we’re all starting to see it and um it’s fun playing with him because he attracts attention and

He’s more than happy to you know get off the ball as someone who passes a lot in their career and knows where guys need to be does it make it easier for you kind of cutting knowing where guys might want to get definitely I mean as you

Said the rols revers usually I’m the one you know passing to Cutters but um and and it it does help um when you’re on the other end of it because you kind of know where you like the ball to be placed and um you know I’m the same as a

Cter you know I like the ball in a specific spot and same when on passing the ball I like to put it in a specific spot so uh we kind of all that chemistry is growing as as we play more together but um we’re all starting to figure each other

Out you were asked tonight about the The Zone just engag in the zone but I wonder because that that night in Minnesota that like the early December or late November whatever it was was really like the first time it felt this team really was like stunned by his own I just

Wonder what development Evol evolvement You’ seen from you know this team in terms of handling zones and I know it hasn’t been perfect but just with steps like tonight yeah um I mean I think tonight was a step in the right direction um teams have throwing a lot

Of different looks at us you know whether it’s cross matching zoning man defense box and ones whatever they’re doing uh We’ve started to find ways to cter different defenses and I think um zone is something we’ve seen a lot I I think because we’re a very heavy Drive

Team uh we like to get in the paint a lot um but you know I think as I said you know against the Lakers we we settled for a lot of Threes And played right into their hands that’s kind of what they wanted from us and we didn’t

Shoot it well and on a night like that um that you kind of got to live and die by the three you know but tonight I thought we shot the right shots we made them uh and and even if we didn’t make them tonight I still thought we had a

Good dose of you know threes and getting to the rim against the zone so uh I thought we played and attacked it the right way tonight and um you know hopefully going forward we can kind of learn from um you know past and what we’ve done against Zone and and what

Works and what doesn’t anybody else thank you Josh thanks thank Mark you uh you guys had a lot you know thrown your way in this game uh would you make of the way you guys finished it um and got the job done down the stretch yeah I thought uh that was

An impressive 48 minute effort uh in the middle of a road trip off those two games we just had the other day you know we’re not feeling 100% And yet really competed you know for 48 minutes together on both ends um they’re the hottest team in the league coming in you

Know they play with a lot of confidence they put a lot of game pressure on us the crowd was great was a great experience for us coming off of La the way that they tried to Zone you tonight it seemed like you guys got what you wanted and really attacked through the

Middle of the Zone what was different tonight in terms of a step forward in that regard yeah we caught a little more of a rhythm uh we made some threes which is helpful but we also activated Some Cuts and I thought really knew what we were doing and uh we organized the guys

Did a great job of recognizing it they changed defens is a ton uh in that game especially in the first half it was almost on a possession basis uh and so the recognition by the team and the collective awareness I thought was very good how important were jaylen’s baskets

Early in the fourth quarter to give you that cushion because they eventually made their run dub Jaylen yeah um well he had 11 points in the four yeah I mean he’s been doing that he’s been on one lately um in the fourth quarter throughout the games super efficient but

The thing that I’ll say about him is um you know he guarded marinan all night you know and that’s like the invisible thing you look at the Box scorer you see the shot making and you know it puts the attention on his offense but the guy

Lines up and guards a premier match up every night tonight it was marinin who’s obviously a great player uh and for him to be able to do that offensively and that defensively is a very complete game it’s very impressive going to put more attention on his offense I just wonder um because

You know as good as he’s been is just how massive it’s been just for him to to almost leave a sense like there’s no drop off from no third quarter to to him in the fourth like does it feel that way to you yeah we want to be a 48 minute

Team and we’re constantly looking for ways to do that um and that unit for a while now has been uh very effective and he’s got a lot to do with that but you know obviously talked about the defense and the thing I always drive to offensively with him is just his floor

Game you know he had assists again tonight he makes the simp pass he gets it off at early um that’s the maturity that he plays with you know it’s one thing to have a guy that uh is just like a Hired Gun Shot maker but he’s not that

At all he controls the game he gets his teammates involved he makes appropriate plays um and he Blends in his own aggression and he’s really finding a a very potent balance between the two right now uh so he’s playing well but our team’s playing well when he’s when

He’s in that mode as well how did Cas impact the game I think he only missed one shot tonight and he had that big three with the game on the line yeah it was a huge shot great confidence to throw it to him there and um you know

He’s you know he’s not flinching you know he’s been he’s really been like that from the from the GetGo and um similar thing you know he takes on you know pretty major matchups you know seon’s playing as well as anybody right now and he guarded him uh and had his

Chest on him on a lot of plays these are great experiences for him he’s very early in his career as a young player but uh just great Poise and um mental toughness it felt like earli in the year morning earli year we were talking about Shay maybe not getting those calls and

Maybe not getting to the line as much and it felt like tonight he got to line maybe as much as he has all year I just wonder what you saw there especially through that third quarter where it felt like that was a lot of the offense yeah

I mean he’s obviously a really tough cover you know and so he gets people on his hip and gets them in illegal positions uh and you know when the defender is not legal and there’s contact those are fouls so um I thought he did a really good job of of getting

Those plays recognizing ing the bonus and continuing to attack um you know that he’s done that for a long time now anybody else go ahead dra I do Wonder because um the defense the defense of Raiden isn’t where it was maybe in like a month like like December

I I wonder um how much of that maybe is because of the you know the the front line defense and what you see maybe in terms of how CH is having to come up or how high he having to come up or just that whole cord deal I mean the defense

I would say you know I again I’ve said this before really with anything it’s like there’s going to be stretches of the Season where you know you go through a ton of ups and downs I mean it’s 82 Game season um every team in the league

Right now is going through pretty much I think all but two teams have a very condensed January because of the inseason tournament and so you know you look at some of the scores at night you know there’s like some gory scores right now so like I don’t think anybody’s

Feeling great and um you know we’re we’re drumming up a good amount of energy I think I think um you know tonight’s a good example we probably didn’t have our fast ball physically um but we had our fast ball mentally and and competitively and that’s all we can

Ask for and so you know we’re not going to shut everybody out every night we’re trying to be the best defense we can I always try to evaluate our competitiveness our energy and I thought that was there tonight thank you coach thank you guys

Hear from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Josh Giddey, and Head Coach Mark Daigneault following the Thunder’s 134 – 129 win over the Jazz.

0:00 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
6:16 Jalen Williams
13:14 Josh Giddey
19:04 Coach Daigneault

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