1-22-24 Phoenix Suns Postgame Media Availability: Frank Vogel, Kevin Durant, and Drew Eubanks

1-22-24 Phoenix Suns Postgame Media Availability: Frank Vogel, Kevin Durant, and Drew Eubanks

Western Conference player of the week followed that up with a hell of a performance that’s one of the best performances I’ve been a part of with Kevin Durant did tonight that was special including the uh the gamewinner the double clutch 17-footer I haven’t seen a shot like that that’s pretty

Awesome which lead me to ask you know they were both talk Kevin was just talking about you went with the same play when they committed the the foul intentional foul um but they they read it and then n made the pass maybe just taking me through how you were viewing

That last sequence yeah I mean it’s just um we just want to get K KD the ball and try to get the last shot and you know with all denials first play of the game last play of the game start of quarters you know we just uh we play through the

Big and then back back cut you know the guy that’s being denied you know to burn call flash burn Flash the big burn on the backside and um you know those guys executed it when we needed it the most and uh and he did a ridiculous shot

I’m just you’ve seen Kevin do it so many times but but tonight was it just maybe just take me through the emotion of all that was going on in the game and him to do what he did at the end yeah I mean the emotions are are all positive right

Now you know we got a great deal of belief that’s building with our group and um our togetherness and our cohesion you know the way we were in in the fight together and in those huddles and you know everybody pulling in the same direction um you know not losing their

Mind when things weren’t going our way you know which a lot of times that that happens um you know guys just kept kept trying to figure out the game you know and credit the Bulls they came out and and gave us their best shot we is we

Have a team that we’re going to get a lot of teams Best Shot you know and uh and those guys played terrific they made threes they they brought defensive pressure uh they played a terrific game but you know we stayed uh we stayed together uh we learned last week against

Sacramento that you know we’re never out of a game we don’t give up and um we knew we’re going to have a chance if we stay with it you’ve been sticking with k a little bit off the bench the past little while he with a couple could have

Gone either way types of fouls and everything else but what have you seen from him in terms of impacting the game yeah I mean he’s he’s a guy you it’s all matchup based you know with how I’m using my bench right now and um you know

Kayada did a great job with uh with d Roan in Chicago uh throughout the game but also uh with the game on the line you know getting two stops on him and um you know we knew that this would be a good game for him with Eric being out

You know and need to go a little deeper in into our bench be a good game for him and um he came in and hit a big three made some good plays off the bounce um you know played within himself offensively but uh brought a defensive disposition that really helped us win

Apologies if this was asked already coach but just the chemistry you’ve seen between nerk and Durant Kevin said after that play isn’t necessarily one by Design just read and react when did you notice nerk developing that type of chemistry with with the prim threats on offense yeah I mean the action is not

Just with nerk it’s with anybody that’s being denied but um but nk’s a great passer you know what I mean so our guys have confidence to um you know to hit him you know if if we can’t get the ball where we want to go we can hit nerk and

And everybody’s in movement at that point you know and he’s got great sides great hands and and great vision you know to make those types of passes and he made a hell of a pass to uh to KD for a a big time shot um but I think that’s

That’s one of the first things we recognized when we saw nerk play with our group is you know him and KD have have had great backdoor timing um for very early on Coach can you talk to me a little bit about how critical your bench was tonight especially on this the second

Night of a back to back yeah that’s that’s where you need them you know that’s where you need them the most uh starters played heavy minutes last night um you could see that with uh we were just the step step slow of a lot of

Things a lot of shots were short uh in the first half and um you know that’s part of why we we uh created that deficit you know that we had but you know Drew Eubanks in particular I want to shout him out you know he’s had a a

Rough stretch you know where he hasn’t played his his best basketball but you know he’s been staying with it working and getting with the coaches and watching film and um you know I keep having one-on-one conversations with him to keep make sure he’s staying lifted

And and um you know how valuable he is and he came in and that was his best game of the year for us you know uh his energy really changed the game you know we got we’re able to get a lot more aggressive with the the pick and

Roll coverages and you know we’ve been really working with him when the ball finds him in the pocket against double teams making the right reads he made some great plays you know with with those situations so um he was great but our whole bench you know was a big

Factor in the game Frank what is this season with all the kind of ups and downs that brought taught you as a coach of how do you feel like you’ve grown and learned about yourself just in this season about myself um I mean it’s just a different

Challenge like what what I’ve done done in the past uh means nothing you know it’s uh this is what have you done lately uh type of league and um we have a new challenge with a new group that our group has has a lot of guys that have accomplished a lot of things

Throughout their career but um none of us have have accomplished it together you know what I mean so uh we all have something to prove and um I’m excited about where this is going coach when you look at the challenges that you’ve had all season of of calling for a challenge

Um Kevin was just saying the bench was saying who don’t don’t don’t don’t don’t do that and you stuck with it maybe just speak to why you sticking with that challeng guts I mean not guts but uh instincts you know what I mean using using your gut you know um a lot of

These things are so so close they could go either way and uh and quite frankly there’s there’s a lot of times where I just ask myself if I lose like I might want to take a timeout anyway you know because our guys looked a little gassed

And it might be good to just sit them down for a little bit get their legs back under him uh under them and um you know some sometimes that’s a factor but you know we have a great uh a great group behind our our bench Justin Maxi our video coordinator and and John

Pastor our assistant coach work together to to study the replay and they give me the the thumbs up and a thumbs down and most times I just roll with what they’re saying because they’re looking at it I I get to see it on the board some and I

Also you know have an upfront look at it um in person you know so combination of all those factors Kevin it’s uh crazy that it came down to that at the end because before the game coach Donovan was saying that that you lean into those moments that you’re not

Running from those moments just maybe speak to not running from that moment and wanting the shot and getting it make it out I mean it’s basketball at the end of the day man it’s not too serious I know these games are hot stakes and uh

It’s a lot on the line but at the end of the day it’s still hoop and so in the moments I try to be as calm as I can and execute the game playing really and um it’s a fun game fun game man um Chicago presents a tough challenge because they

Press you all game they they top five in the league and turn and turn the teams over they got small guards that can penetrate and shoot so you know I feel like this whole week we’ve been having a you know play against so many different types of teams that’s just preparing us

To you know as we you know head down to this you know second half of the season so um it’s a fun game do you get it do you take a moment to enjoy those moments or you know like I start you celebrating with the crowd take a chance to to like

Digest it in a in you know celebratory way or no I mean if it’s a timeout or something you know and get a chance to take it in for a couple seconds as I’m walking to the Huddle and then it’s I got to worry about the next play you

Know so um try to have a next play mentality but also understand and stay present uh understand what I’m doing and also stay present you know and you know try to keep that momentum I have as well so um it’s a balance you got to have but

I like the next play mentality that I grew tonight last thing I had was um the pass from NF how big was that for you to scramble a little bit and finding huge huge I mean everybody in the gym knew the ball was coming to me and especially

Kuso he’s such a smart Defender he jumped it him and D Roan I think kind of shadowed it a little bit out you know out of bounds pass and nerk made himself available and we work on that back door so many times in game and practice

So I seen kuso flying too so I had to double pump just a little bit um but I’m glad it went in after coming off a back to back you guys kind of started off a little bit slow defensive rotations were a little bit slow what was a s s s a

Moment in the third quarter that kind of snap things back into place for you guys I feel like I could have early in the game I had like three or four wide open threes in the first half that I thought could have settled us down or guys making great plays penetrating to the

Lane get me a three and I just Breck it and I felt like that’s you know a couple of those they ran out for layups as well so I felt like that was the momentum right there if I hit two or three of those threes we’ have went into the half

Down probably 10 or nine and that’s just a whole different game so it’s a make or Miss League I always say that they made shots in that first half they got hot may I think 10 threes that first half and um we couldn’t get none up we

Couldn’t make any and you know it was a it was uh I was 0 for six in the first half and six for 15 so we made 14 threes as a whole and got back up to 40% from the three I think we made shots in that second halfin initially got

Fou was that improving or you guys yeah I mean we was going to run the same play again where I just got it out top and just go we knew they had a foul to give so we knew they were going to foul um but like I said Caruso is a smart

Defender and he’s seen the play coming and they jumped it a little bit so nerk being smart as he is you know to always flash when I get denied and I was able to get a nice back door do you remember a moment maybe back in training camp

When you realized you had that chemistry with n and you were going to be able to move and see it uh yeah I mean I felt like we both know each other games from playing against each other for over the years I know he’s he likes to pass over

The top he um and I’m sure in the Scout reports playing against me that back doors you had to be worri worried about my back doors coming out the anywhere on the floor so yeah and then once the first time it happened it just been we

Just been you know it’s been an easy connection since then I think it’s preseason the first time we did you were in your normal shooting motion and you had to move the ball forward was that cuz you felt yeah I I happen to see him

Late I’m like oh they going to give me a wide open pull up in the left and and at the at the elbow and um and then I just for some reason I just seen him on my peripheral I just seen somebody flying so hard and I just tried to just try to

Get a good one up and uh you know it felt great leaving my hands that’s not something you practice right n no I mean but I mean you seen you seen the Kobes and the Michael Jordans when you get a good contest they so I try to watch

Watch them a lot and it’s you know guys guys contest me pretty well so sometimes I can bring that out Kevin congrats on the game winner you’re backto back 40o games just W Western Conference player of the week can you talk to me about how you’ve had such good longevity

Throughout your career um just great teammates great coaches great teachers and mentors that poured into me and um I love the game I love the workout I love to play in the summers in my off season so I’m always thinking about the game too so I think that just keeps me in it

Keeps me energ it’s about your energy level at this point as you get older and you know I enjoy coming in to work every day the crowd really responded to that Tech on drum and Drew himself responded how do you see both the crowd and Drew

Guys yeah I mean that’s the point of emphasis if Andre gets you under the paint in a you know compromised position try to wrap him up as much best as you can and put him on the free throw line and um I understand why Dre I play with

Dre I understand why he um you know uh that foul was pretty hard I could understand why he was upset at it and I understand why Drew took the foul as well so it’s just part of the game and sometimes the ref need to get in there

And give us some text just so we can kind of clear that up and they got past it and was able to play a physical clean game after that and I think Drew’s Drew’s minutes tonight were so incredible love what he did he just turned the game for us on both ends

Finishing around the rim being aggressive in pick and roll I just I love what he did and hopefully we continue to keep building on that you mentioned the turnovers and how they can do that you I think you guys only had seven tonight and I know you’re

Inredible range in some of these games but that’s a really low number what do you think was the key there I mean 32 assists seven turnovers man I mean we pay we stayed patient we didn’t try to run into a crowd and like I said coaches that was the emphasis

Before the game and that this team is some of the one of the best teams that turning you over they got some of the best guards uh in the league on the defensive side with JC Javon Carter kuso iio you know they do such a great job of

Getting their hands in the passing lanane so I guess we were just extra cautious tonight and and instead of turnover we got shots up sorry if you’ve already been asked this but you guys didn’t take your first lead until about six minutes left in the fourth quarter

What is it about this team that just allowed you to stick with it and get it done yeah I think we were confident because we were we well I was missing threes I think we we got some we were like two for or four for 14 or something

Like that in the first and they had made 12 of them I think or 10 I don’t know the number but it was double digits and when you look at that and and pretty much everything pretty much even and you see that they just making more shots

Than you I think we were confident that we generate the same looks we knock him down in the second half and we also changed our pick and roll coverage and got a little bit more pressure on the ball and we was able to get some stops

And force him in tough shots and get out on the break that high high pick and roll Kevin that you guys run with you or B or how’s that facilitate what you yeah I mean just try to um put the defense in a tough position they got to make a

Decision they going to play off of play a drop coverage and we can come down clean and and get our shots off and get in the paint or they going to trap us out out 30 32 33 feet from the basket and now our bigs are making decisions

Now in the pocket either they can get a layup or kick out for three you seeing that’s what Drew did to get us the lead up three to Grayson they trapped it and he swung it quick and we work on that every day um and so we we try to make

Teams pay if they going they going to Blitz us all way out there how aggressive with the uh challenges what do you think about how aggressive he that was I think on dear um it was one where the refs were uh I mean where the coaching staff was

Like no I don’t Challenge and then Frank still challenged it and end up winning I that was that was that was incredible on his part to you know stick with it and uh you know try to put us in a in a good position and he’s been great with the

With the challenges all season to be honest and I feel like he doesn’t call him unless he for sure knows that we going to win and that was a huge play WIS longest Ro for the season coming up right after this how much can this do for in your experience getting on the

Right page as soon as you’re leaving home for a couple weeks yeah that’s was important for us to finish this off before we go on this long road trip this is an important trip for us where we get to balore as a team but also showcase on

On the road and the tough environments what we made of and uh our last couple a road games we played New Orleans and I forget who we played before that Portland you know we we played two solid games on the road so we try to build off

Of that and keep that momentum and uh love we are I mean 25 18 man just a week or so ago we were it felt like we were one game two games over 500 so you know we trending in the right direction said it recently that you embrac a struggle

In this game like this where in the second quarter you were down your head was down and your body language kind of sued m a type of example that my body language was bad it seemed it look like that coming out of bounds you analyzing my body language that

Deep yeah I mean it’s a tough game and sometimes you can’t help but the drop your shoulders when they make a tough shot or we get a turnover I think that’s just natural human reaction and I’m not going to be excited and smiling if we if

We get down 20 points you know what I’m saying so but we got good intentions always we try to just you know go out there and play hard every possession and see what happens and it was able to turn for us and coaches did a great job but

Um you know implementing game plans that’s going to help us you know get back into the that helped us get back into the game simp fly the offense um and defensively we were more aggressive so yeah I mean you know once the game started to turn our crowd got into crowd

Was insane tonight insane and they could have booed us early on they did that before in the season and we understood but they stuck with us and and gave us extra some extra energy to finish this game out I don’t know if you saw sc0 70 yeah Jo 70 today

583 he had 70 so what did kns like tonight mean in the NBA I say C had 40 a half I mean the skill level in this league is insane and and and actually the coaching the schemes on offense is insane you seeing so many different sets being run uh for

Bigs to get threes I mean coaches are being way more creative to put their best players in in great positions to get those numbers and you got Shooters all around the floor you got penetrators I mean this is the peak of basketball in my opinion you seeing it with guys doing

Manan come on man I bigs we got bigs in the league getting 70 and 60 making 9 10 threes shooting pullup jump shot I mean say say what we got going on you’re wondering about the third quarter moment when you came in and that technical foul what happened between you and Andre

Seemed like it was a gamechanging moment for you guys in terms of getting the crowd energy up and also pretty much just making sure that you guys are still in it even though you were down by as much 23 yeah I think just the you know

It’s the second night of a back to back came out a little a little flat they were make they you know they knew we were on a back toback to so they were trying to run us up and down the court uh I I don’t know exactly what I did on

The technical but the crowd saw it on the big screen I don’t think they just the way the night went they weren’t like going to just give into that that kind of got them going and uh then I ended up fouling Drummond underneath the underneath the basket and he ended up

Pushing me and it just kind of got the crowd into it and uh we we were able to make the run but uh no the crowd tonight uh they definitely we definitely had home court advantage for sure yeah with you coming in and you and Kevin working

Together to spark that run that you had in the Third how pivotal was it with basically getting Kevin and having those rebounds and those back to back dunks to pretty much give you guys a new yeah no he he did a great job of of

Finding me my job right now on this team is get them open roll hard make the the defense collapse in and find Shooters and you know they they were hugged up on their guys and KD did a great job of finding me underneath so just trying to

Find that chemistry uh with you know with some of the the rotations sometimes guys will play sometimes they won’t um next man up mentality so um he he did a great job of being a scorer and a distributor for sure Franken mentioned before he got done talking is how he was

Giving you shout outs about your mental state and making sure that you were still poised Beyond looking at the amount of minutes that you haven’t gotten you know over the past couple weeks or just the amount of uh the performance that hasn’t been there like at the start of the Season how important

Have those conversations been with you and Frank huge huge uh you know this is my my sixth year in the league and I can say for sure every single year has presented its own unique challenges and and and Road and roadblocks in the way and you know just when you think you

Have you have it figured out or you know what to expect you’re in a different situation on a different team and and it’s it’s different challenges every night so for for guys to stick around in the league you got to be ready every single night and you have to be ready to

Go out and play and bring energy and do what the team needs you to do uh and so that’s just what I got to keep reminding myself is this is a new year new experience new expectations and you just kind of got to keep an open mind and and always stay

Ready um that’s not me getting on my high horse cuz I had a good game that’s just how I how I approach every single game and that’s how one through 17 or 18 or however many guys we have on this team everybody on this team can play um

But we just we have very talented team so some sometimes it might not be naz’s night may not be my night may not be J’s night but um but we got guys who can play and and we just got to stay ready said this is your best night as a phoenix son playing

Do you agree with that uh yeah maybe yeah I if he says so you mentioned just keeping an open mind what else has been key for you just staying ready as a player for your opportunity yeah uh like I said it’s just you you never know what to expect

Like I I played 78 games last year meaningful minutes on a playoff full team and then I get an opportunity on a on a championship hopeful team and you know I thought I I played with Dame I played with a superstar and I’m like

Okay like I know how to do that like I can I can play with three I but it’s a whole new Monster playing with uh playing with three Superstars and you got a lot of int intricacies you got to figure out and you just you always got

To be a learner and just because training camps over that doesn’t mean the work the work stops you got to continue to get better continue to work on your craft and that’s that’s how I’ve been able to stay in the league for as long as I I have and hopefully I can

Keep going with being a Learner in particular Katie coming off a new season High 43 points 40 Keys last night what do you learn from him and what do you continue to learn from him and just the caliber of player get him open screen his guy get him open and and he’ll he’ll

Nine times out of 10 10 times out of 10 he’ll make the right play so uh I just I’m trying to work that chemistry with him and and uh get him to trust me more and uh just get him to do his thing really D how much did you sense that

Your hard foul on Andre not only turn momentum but got the crowd really yeah I I mean it was just a hard foul he he was a foul guy he gets underneath the rim we got to foul him send him to the line uh you know I’ve I’ve had my

Battles with him over the last couple years we got a mutual respect for each other I mean he’s a I got to hit him he’s huge so I got I got to lower my shoulder and try to get some some uh whether we’re boxing out or he gets

Underneath I got to hit him hard cuz he’s he’s a big guy so uh I think the technical that I got got the crowd into it and then him pushing me in the back and uh not saying anything about that but him pushing me and him getting the

Technical I think really got the crowd into it do you how much did because you started finishing around the B how much did that fuel you that that sequence to do what you do yeah I’m I’m an energy guy um I feel like if I get like a

Couple plays going I touch the ball a little bit uh block a shot get a rebound get a steal dunk like I think that snowballs for me so like I was telling uh you earlier I just got to um trying to find that Rhythm and that chemistry

Of book KD and Brad and everybody else out there to hey like I’m available too like you know I’m trying to get them open but you know I’m I’m I’m here too so your Tech wasn’t really clear in the moment what was that for exactly was I

Think Carl said I pushed him in the back on a rebound but it was like very incidental and he I mean he was like that I may have missed that like that’s my bad but it is what is it happens your physical play makes you no stranger to

Those types of scuffles and just remaining calm that moment not even even after the shove you didn’t react at all where does that of focus come from because as book was say locker it’s an emotional game and you can get emotional yeah uh years and games of going over

The top especially in college and in the G league and being in those moments has taught me to you got to play Angry you got to play aggressive but you can’t go over the top and you can’t uh do anything that’s going to put your team

In uh in trouble or anything and I getting like I said I was just trying to hit him so he couldn’t get the shot up and and foul him and uh I think just the way the game was going for them it was emotional for him and it got the better

Of him uh best of him in that moment but so I was just like I already I just got a technical on the previous play I’m just just turn around and show my hand so that of Confidence from the minutes in the game he calls you back phenomenal ship

You what what was I thinking or what you sorry how how made you feel the confidence that you get from your coach not that sh we want you to come back in yeah no I mean it made me feel good I mean um I I’m very confident in in what

I can do and what I bring to the team uh and so to get that Confidence from Frank to put me back out there it meant a lot your block or was it Kevin’s block on dear’s oh I don’t know who’ they give that to they gave it to Kevin but yeah

Classic to you they it to Kevin yeah so who you think good for Kevin he’s got enough he’s got enough so game within the game with you know one of your dunks I believe you started talking to you know Andre a little bit he started laughing down the court you

Know on that next B possession and also he he caus that turnover on him when he lost the ball out of bounds toward the end of the third so would you say that that’s kind of a mental one by you yeah I mean I I like I said we had a mutual

We a respect for one another we both play hard we’re both physical that’s on our business card so uh we we got the the technical and you could kind the the crowd was fueling it too and I may have just been playing into the the crowd in

The the flow of the game but yeah you’re right there’s mental intricacies thanks true

Head Coach Frank Vogel, Kevin Durant, and Drew Eubanks speak to the media postgame on January 22, 2024 following the Phoenix Suns 23-point comeback.

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