Domantas Sabonis, Kevin Huerter, and Mike Brown | Postgame Pressers 1.29.24

Domantas Sabonis, Kevin Huerter, and Mike Brown | Postgame Pressers 1.29.24

When you hear things like you said a a Sacramento error record yeah rebounding regulation just what um it’s pretty cool you know it’s pretty cool um there’s been a lot of greats a lot of great bigs Hall of Famers on this team you know so

Uh to get that done is a really cool accomplishment and what’s your mindset just how would you describe you know when a shot goes up you positioning just head can’t tell all the secrets but uh you know um POS positioning yourself in the in in the right position if you know

Guys are going to shoot there’s no point of spay staying spaced you just go and start doing your work early while the help defense is already thinking oh he might drive you already know and um I don’t know also what is it we shot 28% from three so that helped with the offensive

Rebounds just knowing that the the Grizzlies are dealing with injuries that they’re dealing with and the way they’ defended recently did you know it was going to be kind of oh yeah of course uh the co coaching staff uh warned us that if we didn’t

Come out um and play hard and be the more aggressive team um it was going to be a long night and it was were you were you aware of the record no no I had no idea did you even know how many rebounds you had uh I I

Knew it was I was up there cuz uh every time I was on the bench the fans kept telling me every time what was it in the third quarter that helped y’all kind of gain some separation and then late in the fourth when you really did have to

Get away we kind of lost the lead there the first couple minutes and then as the game went on uh we kept winning each quarter each three minute segment so um we knew once once we came back in the third I think we won that quarter too

And then the rest when I watch you I look at how hard you play the effort no matter it’s game one game 40 no matter who’s on the where does that come from I mean competiveness or dead no it’s the passion for the game we we love this

Game game you love your job right my exactly you know so um we we get to play this every night so uh I’m just excited to go out there and uh have this opportunity you know it’s it’s going to end one day and um I’m I’m going to be

Watching and be like damn I wish I was out there thanks everyone appreciate Kev you watch domas play quite frequently and up close what what stands out to you about just the way he rebounds I mean the the impressive thing with domas is he like he plays hard

Every single night 82 games he wants to be on the court he really sets a tone for us uh on both sides of the ball just his energy you know the way he talks to guys trying to will us to victories and uh a night like tonight where we were

Not our best obviously and he comes away with 26 20 and 26 like that’s just a dominant performance by uh by a guy that we needed it tonight obviously and he just he’s available and he’s dominant every night did you guys I mean I assume you guys knew sort of watching the

Grizzlies or knowing that they’ve been dealing with injuries and and seeing their defensive numbers in the last few games take it you knew it would be sort of a a grindy type game and how did you guys respond knowing that was coming yeah I mean it honestly it always is

Against this team that’s kind of what they’re known for and a lot of bigname guys who are out it’s no secret but you know they’ve they’ve beaten good teams as of late and uh you know give Indiana a game last night coming off a back to

Back we knew this game was going to be you know junky a little bit ugly uh we had to make shots I think that was a big part of it felt like we got wide open three after wide open three we just we weren’t hitting and uh those are

Going to happen uh give them credit you know guys came in played hard and um you we were lucky to Come Away with the victory you also were played by the turnovers anything in particular caus those was that their defense or Y get a little lack yeah just kind of the way

They play you know they’re they’re really they they packed a lot of guys in the paint kind of forcing you to kick out and hit threes and they got a lot of length you know today they starting out down and so they they got a bunch of

Guys out there getting passing lanes and uh we can be obviously a little bit better with the basketball but um just a little bit height and focus start the game but uh yeah they’re just kind of the way they play defensively given the fact they were on a back to back short

Short rotation did did y’all feel like late in the fourth that maybe they ran out of gas a little bit um I’m not sure you really it was it was a grind like there was you know they gave us a game all the way into the fourth and uh

Wouldn’t expect that these are guys think that are your guys usually out of the rotation or on their second unit that are now thrown into big minutes and so you know as an NBA guy waiting for that opportunity I’m sure that those guys are ready and uh yeah I W might

They might have heavy legs but uh like I said you know we just trying to figure out ways to win Kevin uh speak to the mindset the psychology where you guys were mentally when they were hitting their threes early you weren’t making yours they built the 15-point lead it

Seemed like you guys just kept chipping away kept hitting singles and not thinking you know too big of a picture and everything just Tak it possession by possession right I mean that’s what it was especially that first quarter I think we started over 12 from three and

It it honestly did it felt like we were getting good looks it felt like the ball was moving we were playing the right way so it was only a matter of time unless we’re going to go on a historically really bad shooting night but you our

Offense is a lot of ball movement a lot of player movement you as long as we continue to get those shots and play the right way I think we’re we’re fine living with the results and the first quarter we didn’t make them and really the game we didn’t really make him but

Yeah we we made enough to come away with the victory obviously there they’re going to be es and flows throughout an NBA season but your shooting has been on an uptick of late is there anything specific that that you can attribute that to uh couple things um yeah but really I

You know better rhythm in games I I would go too but uh obviously getting extra shots off the coure but um you know it’s this this just one of those upticks it’s what I say when we go the other way is it’s all going to come back and

Uh you know just continue to be consistent with my work and try to find those shots in games and uh continue to try to play with confidence um in a lot of ways if if there was one area that uh you know that I felt we need to clean up from tonight

Uh without watching the film is uh is we we didn’t do a good job taking care of basketball you know you can give Memphis a lot of credit um they’re long they’re athletic Taylor does a good job with those guys especially defensively and they got their hands on on our ball

A couple of times which created turnovers we also were a little careless from time to time but uh other than not the the 19 turnovers uh for 22 points I thought we played a really good game I thought uh we had some really good looks from the three-point line that normally

Go in we had guys wide open I mean we move the basketball we space the floor the right way um I’ll take every shot that you know that we took tonight I’ll take it again and even though we didn’t shoot well from the three-point line with the with

The looks that we had um we still ended up shooting 51% so our guys knew that uh you know we have to find other ways to score and um you know 17 Second Chance points was huge you know game that you’re not knocking down threes having guys attack the offensive glass the way

We did domas with with six of them was was was huge for us um and then 16 fast break points we wanted to get out and run um at at at the end of the day you know also if you’re not shooting it well you got to defend and I thought our guys

Did a a really good job you know they got loose a little bit in the first quarter they hit some threes I think they hit seven in the first quarter didn’t hit any uh I don’t think in in the uh second quarter quarter or from that point on the last

Three quarters they hit a total of 6 threes and so guys played with a little bit more awareness guarding that three-point line but again you know to hold an NBA team to 94 points especially when they had 33 in the first quarter on 37.5% from the field that’s a a really

Good defense T night and we needed to get something uh done on that end of the floor uh with the way that we missed those open shots got a great left or great Boost from uh from our bench I thought the energy that they brought we

Had a group out there might have been domas Trey uh Davon maybe Kevin I can’t remember everybody was on the floor maybe HB but uh you know we were down double digits and those guys brought it within five or six or something like that they had a nice little run out

There and it was because they were getting stops and then getting out and running uh in transition so great lift by by Tre Off the Bench by javel Off the Bench Davon and Malik bringing a little bit of energy when we didn’t quite have it in that first quarter uh but at the

End of the day you know um dolas he just had a monster night uh I mean that’s why he’s in that’s why he’s an Allstar that’s why he’s in the MVP conversation um I mean the number that numbers that he put up 20 26 uh five uh 10 for 11 for from the

Field that’s Wilt Wilt Chamberlain type numbers I think uh somebody sent me something or told me that Wilt Chamberlain uh is the only other player that uh did that there might was what five more he did a six he did a six times so five more to so he did it six

Times uh putting up those types of numbers and obviously domas I’m not saying he’s Wilt but to be in in mentioned in that category uh uh for putting up the statistical line that he did as just absolutely amazing that doas probably doesn’t have you know quote unquote Elite size for

For Center what makes him such a good rebounder in your it’s just first thing he got a great nose for the ball that’s first thing and then then he’s he’s strong uh you know he could take a hit not be knocked off balance and he knows

When to go get it and that’s part of having a nose for it so uh a lot of times he’s going to you know he’s going to put his body on you first the right way to try to create the space that he needs to be able to have to go

Get it uh and then he’s he’s a he’s a quick jumper he may not be a high jumper but he he’s a pretty quick jumper he’ll go go go because he sometimes he tips it to himself and then he’ll still go get it so um all those little things uh um

Bode for him being a tremendous rebounder and we need that especially at our size as a team and given you know Memphis their injury situation um I assume you you knew going in that it would be a game where they’re defending you with with a lot of effort and things

Like that um how do you think you guys responded just to you know knowing that it was going to be sort of a grinded out type of game I I thought we did a great job and and I’ll say this you’re right we told them before multiple times and I

Not just me we had multiple coaches say it in front of the group is you know it’s a dangerous team they they’ve won three of their last four could have beaten Indiana at Indiana and it’s because they have a lot of guys that just play extremely hard and in their

Minds this is their opportunity and they’re hungry to show that they belong in the league they belong in somebody these rotation uh they can make plays uh and they have nothing to lose because everybody’s quote unquote writing them off or thinking that the game is lost

For them before it even starts and so they’re playing with uh about as free of mind and and heart or conscience as you can play in a situation like this and that’s what makes them so dangerous and then on top of that they still have uh you know Jaren Jackson out there who’s

Uh an NBA All-Star you know all defensive type player uh level type player for them so dangerous team we knew it was going to be tough um and our guys responded the right way in my opinion dear set a new career pass in made threes I think it was only 39 games

After needeing 73 last year just what has the three-point shot and the increased efficiency from De done done for his uh it it’s opened up his his game a ton you know people have to respect that and and even in and settle ways that don’t show up in the box score

And you know we put him uh we move him all over play sometimes he’s on a single side tag when domas is playing pick and roll with the two guard and they’re not leaving him you know in the in in the pass you’re sitting at the one foot in

The lane line one foot outside the lane line so you can crack back on domas and you let him throw at the fox and you close out short you can’t do that now if you do that he’ll make you pay and scary part is if if you let him see one or two

Go in uh it can be a real long night for you because he’s going to make multiple threes uh especially uh if you disrespect them away yall Chi away through the game and you get to the fourth quarter what was the difference down the stretch for

Y’all against them I I just I I thought defensively uh we started doing a better job of getting to their guys you know uh we didn’t necessarily uh say Alama was hot going into the game and you know he hit two threes early on or three threes

Early on and and uh you know once we said he was hot our guys did a better job of trying to get to his body and uh you know same with Matt hert you know um again those guys they’re just itch and in opportunity and they stepped up

Tonight try to take advantage of it and uh we as the game went along started turning up our defensive intensity and and um trying to limit them to one shot and and then trying to get out and run I also thought I also thought you know we continued taking the right shots

And they started going down in that second half too what did you notice about Kevin his role in the offense or just the way he’s playing that’s that’s led to improved efficiency with the shooter he he’s still taking the same shots as before he just you know he went

Through a slump and he found his way out of it he worked his way out of it and you know that’s what great Shooters do because they all go through them at some point in time and and they find their way out of it and I told him I said when

I when I pulled him out the starting lineup I told him I said hey this isn’t permanent now I said I don’t know when I may change it back if we’re playing well I’m going let it ride for a little bit but you know I I was trying to do

That just as much to see if we can do something different with the team and and maybe that helps him get out of it you know I I don’t know you’d have to talk to him but uh he’s he’s been playing at a really really high level we

Do a lot of things with him we use him obviously as a space guy we play two-man game with him and domas you know we use him as a screener because teams don’t want to take their body off him um so we move him around quite a bit and uh his

Velocity uh his ability to shoot the ball uh his intelligence is I mean he’s a great cutter all those things come to play and you see him score in multiple ways the course of the game uh because of his intelligence first his velocity second and then uh and then the way we

Play offensively third thank you guys thank you

Domantas Sabonis, Kevin Huerter, and Coach Brown speak to the media following a win over the Memphis Grizzlies on January 29, 2024.

0:00 – 2:15 Domantas Sabonis
2:15 – 6:08 Kevin Huerter
6:08 – 16:10 Mike Brown