Media Availability: Brian Keefe, Kyle Kuzma, and Corey Kispert | 02/07/24

Media Availability: Brian Keefe, Kyle Kuzma, and Corey Kispert | 02/07/24

Coach it was a close game there for the vast majority of the game what do you think was the turning point that gave the win to Cleveland uh they made a couple tough shots down the stretch um we talked about how we were going to respond to something we we didn’t love

Our effort the last game versus Phoenix and I thought our guys collectively responded came out and played a good defensive team against a good defensive game versus a really high-powered offensive team so I liked our compete um at four core they just made some tough shots and what went behind the decision

To put back in there with like five minutes left when the game was still in reach Jordan’s one of our guys Jordan has made big shots for us especially since I was taken over he had a huge three in San Antonio so I want Jordan in

Those moments because he has no fear and he’s going to take the shot when it’s open so I’m always going to believe in him and go with him obviously a tough night for him what does he have to do to sort of bounce back mentally to have a

Good game in Boston on Friday I’m I’m not worried about Jordan in the slightest um you know he gots him in foul trouble and sometimes that can throw your Rhythm off but I liked how he played tonight he was getting in the pain he was finding people he just had a

Tough rhythm with the fouls and sometimes that can happen Brian you talked about liking your guys um competitiveness What specifically did they do in the third after the cabs came out hot to kind of yeah I thought that was a great learning part and growth for

A team they came out I think they hit us with a 70 run the start and we made it made a stand um got physical started defending scrambling around multiple efforts and then we made a little push for ourselves um so that was great grow and that was the the bounceback that we

Wanted to see tonight that’s seems like Kyle was they deed up better on him late is that what did you see there at in the fourth quarter with with him just do they put yeah they just were you know they put one I think Moy was on them a little bit

But they were just kind of putting two on the ball a little bit Shaden to his Direction um but you know when you’re a great player you’re going to have schemes against you so so I think we got good shots and the shots we wanted at

The end um but they made a few more than we did I mean we just didn’t score enough we scored 106 I mean we played really we played solid defense tonight for sure um we just couldn’t score you know um Cleveland’s one of the best off defensive teams in the league they got

Two bigs that are always somewhere weak side um and especially with us we’re like top five paint team so um they did a good job of guarding us tonight what makes Donovan Mitchell such a tough assignment uh he’s just in attack mode every possession uh he’s a shot maker um

You know he shoots a lot a high volume but um he makes shots so um that’s always at the top of the Scout report you know his uh ability just to shoot off the bounce uh shoot in tight spaces finish at The Rim high floaters I mean it’s a tough

Guy what have you noticed about Cory’s um obvious obviously he’s improved over the season but he seems to be doing it a bit more consistently now have you noticed anything about him coming off the bench uh I mean he just needs to continue to play play more and more um

You know out of everybody on the team um I think this year from start to finish he’s gotten a lot better um he’s no longer just a shooter he is a basketball player uh plays with a lot of effort does a great job of mixing it up on uh attacking

Closeouts um he’s a ball mover he just he just knows how to play basketball um I’ve always said that about him but um you know this year he he’s taking leaps so I wanted to ask you also just kind of about the Vibes in the locker room

Before um obviously the eve of the trade deadline is it different when you’re on a roster where you know obviously it’s the first year of rebuild the organization is trying to make moves like Is this different in any way from any other trade deadlines you’ve been through no not really every team makes

Trades um it’s part of the business um you know I’ve been in this league for seven years and every year every locker room I’ve been in has been kind of the same around this time um a lot of you know anxiousness um a lot of uncertainty you know it’s

Always like that but um it’s part of the business so Kyle what did you see uh the Cavs try to do to shut shut off Jordan tonight to try to keep him from scoring at his usual rate I mean we just need him to just continue to be aggressive um I don’t

Think they just I don’t think they really did anything I think you know you know he just has to continue to be confident in himself and um trust his work he works harder than anybody on his team and um you know just going through a storm right now but it’s

Okay Kyle the last two games against the Cavs uh Jared Allen was really effective and tonight it looked like Gaff kind of had a bounceback game kind of establishing that paint presence uh finishing with a double double in four blocks what did you see from Gaff tonight um that you liked especially in

Response to the last two games against the cast uh I mean we we played a we played a different style of the defense now so um I think those two games at the beginning of the top of the year in Cleveland we were playing a different type of defensive scheme that really

Allowed him to really cook um you know Gaff probably remembered that played a lot more physical tonight and um had a good showing so now that you’re a veteran do you go into a tra deadline less individual anxiety you would have ear in youri yeah

For sure you know I think when you’re a young player um it’s a lot of uncertainty it’s a lot of um you know it’s a scary transition to get traded especially I can only imagine if you get traded uh mid year um it’s never always ideal you know picking up and

Leaving um in the middle of the season for sure but um you know I think um you know on once you are in this league for a little while you just understand it’s a business and you don’t get too attach to things um you know you you always understand um

You know just the business of basketball at this point so Cory it was a pretty uh pretty steady diet of scoring for you tonight from the first through the fourth what was working for you and how did you find that level of consistency scoring the ball yeah just being really aggressive

Early um did a hard look at some the I film over the last couple games um and think we found something that would that’s really going to help me um be consistent for the rest of the year and kind of stuck to my guns um I was out

There for a long time played a lot of minutes and um I’ve been pretty good been better and getting better and better at finishing at the rim and taking advantage of that when guys close out so when the shot wasn’t open I was able to drive and and

Get to the cup too so um yeah I kind of got it got it going from all different areas of the floor and um you know once you know it’s it’s always good to make your first shot too and the first three went in and um kind of let it roll from

There is there anything from that from that film study that you can share that you guys found yeah yeah sure um it’s Arc honestly um I have a pretty naturally flat shot and when I miss shots consistently it’s because it gets too flat um so we really kind of looked

At the last couple games and then specifically the Phoenix game didn’t make one um and really kind of worked hard at putting some air underneath the ball and um turned out pretty good tonight and so we’re going to you know roll with it for the next you know

Couple of games and um try to iron that into my routine when you make changes to your shot like that you know with from the repetition in practice to then replicating it in a game with with less shots in a game than you’re going to get in practice how how

Conscious is that at the top of your mind like before you rise up for a shot in the game like I got to make that that change or is do you work it in and it just feels natural yeah you work it in it feels natural I it’s important to get

Those reps in when you have a controlled environment um and kind of you know work that into the fold and then when it comes to the game time you kind of it’s like playing golf and you have a swing thought you know you want to you want to

Stick to about one or two of them or else you’re gonna get too far in your head so um you know having a shot thought and a swing thought are was was an easy easy translation for me I would ask you what your shot thought is how

Does something like that on film come up after what is this your second or third year I can’t remember but like how does that come up this season yeah I mean it’s it’s come up before and like I said earlier my shot you know even when I’m feeling good is naturally a little

Flatter um but when it gets to a point where you can notice it on film that’s when you got to correct it so every single game we’re watching film it’s not like I’ve you know I don’t watch every game but um you know when you when it

When it pops out at you on the film that’s when you kind of got to go back and reassess so um it’s just it’s a small tweak it’s an easy tweak um but it’s just something I need kind of constant reminders of to uh make sure

I’m at my best from back there was this the first this wasn’t the first game you played where you made The Tweak or was it this was yeah um I also wanted to ask you just generally about the uh trade deadline and wondering how you personally kind of deal with all the

Uncertainty stuff in the air it’s the most interesting time of the year for an NBA player that’s for sure um yeah I mean you kind of you you talk to your people um but there’s really no way of knowing what’s what’s going to happen until it does so um it’s part of

The life of playing in this league and it’s kind of one of the darker sides of it guys got to pack up and move you know from across different teams and um you know everyone’s prepared for the beginning of February so um definitely on all of our minds and um you know but

At the same time we’re prepared for it you know we’re prepared to play if nobody gets traded we’re prepared to play if a bunch of guys do and um it’s just kind of how you how you roll when you’ve been in the league um it’s definitely something you got to get used

To um and I’m feeling like I’m more prepared for it this year than ever and um you know whatever we decide to do whether it’s a little or none or a lot um we got to roll with the punches

Interim Head Coach Brian Keefe, Kyle Kuzma, and Corey Kispert spoke to the media following Wednesday night’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Capital One Arena.

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