Toronto Raptors Media Availability February 13, 2024

Toronto Raptors Media Availability February 13, 2024

A tough loss last night could potentially be demoralizing what kind of lessons can you take from this as a team’s leader uh think we’re all losers on the team um but you know we just got to be able to grow from it and bounce back uh

You know it’s been two bad losses but you know just got to get better from it um keep learning and just keep just trying to grow together as a team got we asking dark I guess there’s a the game a little bit before the end final kind of a big

Deal in Tonto because two years ago Pascal did a slight simar thing end out a game yeah just wanted your you end being I was just like two or three seconds left I just left it left the game I don’t know so just left the game did you think the game

Over no I was just 3 seconds left was all going to L really huh how good um oh no oh you know left the game early uh guess you said the could went V so you know it’s was a bad look you know it

Was a mistake by my part know if if it affected him any way you know it was a mistake by me I think we’re all leaders one of the lead and so but when you’re kind of the emotion you play with when it’s good it’s know very obvious the whole

Building but at times it looks like you get frustrated there see it sometimes think more when I’m frustrated or emotional know it’s more on my part uh you know I had what like three turnovers three four turnovers in that first quarter all so you know I’m just

Frustrated mad at myself know just got to take care of the ball and it led to easy fast break points um showing theemotion you know not getting back you know it cost us on our part uh so you know it’s more me being frustrated myself and the way I’m playing and you

Know it’s not really nothing to do with everybody else you know just more frustrated on my part you kind of recogniz on all the time watching you something you got to be a little bit conscious of or I guess you know the camera is watching watch me I guess just playing

The game and you know I’m just trying to win uh not really caring what the cameras you know I’m just trying to play the win help the team win uh any way possible have dark you know CH you leaving the early or recently um no we didn’t have no conversation about it you

Know we all know I guess we all can see I’m frustrated a little bit you know think that’s more of what it is you guys this uh we talked about you know the game but I was really a partment everything uh the last since I guess since Pascal was traded you become

Probably focus of the defense you’re get some really good Defenders kind of GL to so last night couple other examples I’m just wondering how that’s how you’re handling that and is it something new you got figure out you just got a game plan for it prepare for it uh you know they’re

More compact in the paint last night you know it was more you got soan but then there’s womy in the back uh so you know it’s just him being able to rotate over every single time and you know just got be aware of a shot blocking see had 10

Blocks um long the length that he shows his presence on the floor you know it was there uh so you know it affected our shots around the rim uh and they was really trying to bait us two and threes and and then they was just trying to take everything away from the

Rision making passes helping his teammates get better have you felt that extra tension on you uh from a defensive perspective and how do you find yourself adjusting um every team’s different the principles are different you know that team you know they they I feel like they

Want you to shoot thre and when be coming over to rotate late uh helping at The Rim at all times um so I’m just trying to just trying to make the right play get open shots uh somebody was always open either if it was joaking and

Dunker Kelly had the three uh they were helping on the big you know it was a lot of open options I was still open leaving the bench yeah we did uh we talked about it uh um he thought that uh it was a shot clock violation that the

Siren was already off um he was not aware of it and uh yes we did we did have a talk uh this morning about it I just brought awareness that him as a leader of of the team like he has to be aware of those those kind of things and

That he cannot Overlook uh and that obviously being that guy you’re going to be under under always under microsof microscope so he’s aware of it and he regrets his his act from yesterday but uh it was genuine just not being aware I know you weren’t here for

It but during the tampus season Pascal did something similar in the team I don’t know what the wording was suspension Ved him they sat him out for one game is that something I mean it doesn’t sound like going down that route but is that something that you and Messi

Spoke about as a potential possibility uh from my understanding I was not here obious when Pascal uh situation happened from my understanding it was two and a half three minutes before the end of the game 30 seconds okay okay so I was not yeah so got so uh I think this was a

Little bit different situation uh definitely there is a kind of ility but at this case I don’t think we’re going to go with any disciplinary route but definitely accountability and awareness and uh just a talk that it never happens again plays with tremendous amount of passion and on the upside

It’s bring the whole crowd into a game but we’ve all seen him make a face of R sometimes you don’t know sometimes a teammate we’re not sure and how do you is that just want to kind of revisit some of the stuff with Scotty and wonder if any

Convers Oh leaving the bench yeah we did uh we talked about it uh um he thought that it was a shot clock violation that that the siren was already off um he was not aware of it and yes we did we did have a talk this morning about it I just

Brought the awareness that him as a leader of the team like he has to be aware of those those kind of things and that he cannot Overlook uh and that obviously being that guy you’re going to be under under always under Microsoft microscope so he’s aware of it

And he regrets his his act from yesterday but uh it was genuine just not being aware I know you weren’t here for it but during the tampus in pasc did something similar on the team I don’t know what the wording was suspension Avenged him they sat him out for one game

Is that something I mean it doesn’t sound like going down that route but is that something that you and MSI spoke about as a potential from my understanding I was not here obviously when Pascal uh situation happened from my understanding it was two and a half three minutes

Before the end of the game 30 seconds okay okay so I was not yeah so gotta so uh I think this was a little bit different situation uh definitely there is accountability but uh at this case I don’t think we’re going to go with any disciplinary route but definitely

Accountability and awareness and uh just a talk that it never happens again menagement of passion and on the upside it’s kind of bring the whole crowd into a game but we’ve all seen them you make a face of R sometimes you don’t know sometimes a teammate we’re

Not sure and how do you is that something that needs to be kind of addressed with about it looks like you were in the meeting with with me this morning with with Scotty uh yes uh um we talked about that as well um obviously he’s uh he’s learning what kind of

Effect he has on team and teammates and and and everybody you know he’s 22 years old he’s going for the first time in his life through this to to you know be be the face of of a franchise and uh uh he’s emotional but he also needs to

Learn how to channel those emotions you know all of us we have emotions we we going to react certain way but the question is how quickly we’re going to be able to bounce back can to do the right thing you know and uh I always say

Like as a teammate if you Empower your your teammates they’re just going to go to another level for you and for everybody and uh that’s another great learning opportunity for him and the growth opportunity that does mean is never going to happen again I doubt but

Like I I believe that it’s going to be less and less and much better handling those situations going forward that was a tough loss it could become quite demoralizing what do you say to the team this morning to be like how like here’s how we’re going to bounce back here’s

How we’re going to learn yes uh uh we had night in turnovers that led to 32 points in in transition and I think outside of the one three everything else was at the rim and we watched the film we watched all of those turnovers that

They LED uh to to them scoring easily in transition that was a big problem of the game I thought that in a half court defense we did a lot of good stuff even with a bunch of new guys who are still learning terminology and positioning on the court and different schemes um and

Also when you uh when you miss so many easy threes wide open threes combined with 10 block shots from from one player it just it can be demoralizing so uh the whole point of my film and talk with with the players in practice today with

Guys is what can we control what can we do differently in these situations how how do we uh you know make make it better for us they did have as well they had night in turnovers and we were able to to uh to uh come up with steals but

We did not able we were not able last night to capitalize on the other side and to score enough uh so all of those opportunities are ahead of us uh um I always like like to to have a positive mentality and to bounce back while at the same time addressing the issues and

Uh trying to go to to grow uh grow through that process New Orleans game and last night’s game were games that you sort of called out the energy and intensity of your team and like obviously those games happen within a week of each other how of obviously you don’t want to

Be giving this message at all but how how many times do you have to give it until you’re concerned that it’s not that the message isn’t getting through I guess yeah I mean uh it’s uh the the message is uh is always there uh it’s always honest uh evaluation of what’s

Going on and uh uh it’s opportunity to to learn and get better like after the the Pelicans game we were able to bounce back you know uh hopefully we we bounce back from my experience last night uh having in mind that this is a young team

We need to learn what it means in the mid of the game not just after the game how we can fix that during the game what do we need like when we’re not making shots what can we do to to stay in a game you know you always want in NBA

Game to make it a 10-point game lead or or down in the fourth quarter because the game is in the reach you know so so uh that means that you got to be even more focused on defensive end that means that you got to get more rebounds that

Means that you got to take care of the ball that means all of those things together and not to allow that one thing trickles down and and makes effect on on other things you know uh I’m never looking for excuses but uh since December uh 26 we were 31 days on the

Road before coming home over here uh our team changed uh quite a bit and uh in this process that there has to be patience you know we are addressing the right things we’re working on the right things but uh but at the same time we we’re expecting a reaction I use you use

The word accountability and I know as a coach is part of your job to keep players accountable but in the locker room how difficult maybe is it for a young team with a lot of rotating is now with all the transactions happened uh to keep each other accountable without you

Having to come down wow that’s that’s really good uh question Savannah and uh with all the new players and so many young players it’s hard for them it’s not easy for them to have those those conversations and it’s not easy for them to you know they know Kelly for three

Days and like what you going to tell to him when he’s in the league for for a long time and at the same time he’s not feeling comfortable like I’m on new team like I don’t even know what what we’re supposed to do defensively or offensively what I’m going to tell guys

There you know so big voices in our locker room obviously are Garrett Temple uh this is great opportunity for Yak to be more of a voice he’s been around this team and organization for a while um so it’s it’s a growing pain for for them as well to feel comfortable in those

Situations as well but it’s it’s needed and it’s something that we addressing individually with players how they need to step up we’ve seen coaches here in the past who call players out publicly have a maybe a tougher coaching style how do you approach those conversations with your players is it different from

You know the hard ass coach or whatever um I am hard on them uh in our team setup I’m hard on them when we talk one onone I’m always uh challenging them and facing them with the truth but I’m not the one who’s going to go to media and

Complain about players I’m not I’m not that guy I’m always going to try to protect my guys and I I know that those guy I want to go in a war with my guys so I want to have I want to have their back uh in the public high but at the

Same time whatever needs to be said in a private setting in a team setting they hear all of that matchs I guess the way to put it Scotty he’s more and more often drawing the defender best def yes and how was he doing in your eyes with that I me last

Night really got into him think a couple games last I mean everything comes with the territory right uh he’s uh the future of the franchise uh he was not dealing with that in the past he was a second or third option and when you become First Option that’s the reality of life you

Know and you got to go through that and figure out how to how to to play against those those type of of of players um same thing goes for uh quickle quickly was a back up point guard playing back up minutes occasionally starting for a couple of the games but it’s not easy

And it’s not the same thing to do it every single night against the best defenders in League the best teams in League against starters in league so there is uh there is a learning curb like those things they don’t change overnight they don’t change with one film session they don’t change uh you

Know there’s going to be moments and games that those guys really shine there’s going to be moments where those guys are really going to struggle but struggle is the way for you to grow and get better and learn from you know if everything would be La La Land and

Everything would be easy there would not be growth there you would be just like stagnant and staying on the same level thanks for watching the Toronto rappers YouTube channel check out our latest video And subscribe for more lead [Applause] a

Players and Head Coach address the media following Tuesday’s practice.
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