Media Availability: Brian Keefe, Corey Kispert, Kyle Kuzma, and Jordan Poole | 02/29/24

Media Availability: Brian Keefe, Corey Kispert, Kyle Kuzma, and Jordan Poole | 02/29/24

I thought it was great um we talked about playing closer to 48 minutes of basketball consistent we had a little of that problem the third quarter of our last game and I thought our guys end up being 53 minutes tonight they played the whole game they try to play for Best in

Possession we made a nice run in the fourth quarter I think it was like a 15 to four run at like the six or seven minute Mark uh to get it into overtime we had the last shot so I thought our guys played hard with the consistent

Shared the ball did the things we were asking the whole game we just didn’t come up with at the end Jordan’s two highest scoring games have come uh this week Cleveland I think and then and then tonight what were you seeing from him tonight stuff that we all think that he

Can do uh we told him that we want him to be aggressive for himself and for others and uh you’re seeing that when the shots are going in it’s the same shots he’s going to get the process has been good he made him tonight and then

He was sharing the ball what did he have for assist ton I think he had seven so he was making plays for others too so like he can generate a lot of offense for us this is part of the reason we wanted him with the ball more I I wanted

To ask you about his decision making and and how much he was able to kind of create for himself tonight with the kind of defense and pressure that the the Lakers bring what did you see from him um from the decision making uh he was had an attack mindset from the first

Geto when he got in the game um looking to get downhill get into the paint spray out for his teammates and if the shot was there he made the right play so he made the right play all night long what did you see on the last possession

Of Regulation was that the kind of shot that you were hoping for um we held it for the one they fouled they had a foul to give so then we had to take the ball out on the side U I think it was four seconds left right and

We got the ball who we wanted to have the ball uh he pump faked got the guy up in I think was LeBron James in the air and he had a good look I was right line just missed it so it was it was the shot

We wanted how much a momentum Turner was that LeBron chase down block on on Jordan followed by LeBron’s three over KY uh yeah that would have made a five-point game I think right we were up three so big play by him credit to him we’re always going to do that uh he’s

Obviously done that a few times in his career um but we still had our chances at the end so that didn’t derail us and I think that’s the message for our team tonight is that we had some moments where we you know runs back and forth we

Just stayed in the moment we kept pressing ahead so that didn’t end the game for us we still had opportunities at the end to tie it so that didn’t completely the end the game for us but it was a big playan maybe this is a dumb question but

If if Jordan in overtime if Jordan is running Point why have tus out there with him instead of Corey uh tus is the guy who organizes tus the one who gets us into the sets we want we always trust we trust all of our players but tus is our organizer our

Team we always feel comfortable getting us in the sets we want Cory plays played a g great game it’s nothing against one or the other but he’s he’s the guy who settles us down makes sure as we’re organized um he’s been doing that for us all year so we trust him to do

That hey Brian in light of what you’re talking about with Jordan’s play what’s been the buyin process with his new role with coming off the bench uh Jordan’s been bought into what we’ve been doing pretty much since I’ve been going uh since I’ve been coaching um he’s been

Very professional obviously it was not exactly probably what he wanted but like he handled it professionally and this put his head down I think I’ve said this to a lot of the other guys mark But like this is a guy who’s a worker this guy is a model for organization how he takes

Care of himself and his craft so he just kept working and I think it’s opening up more opportunities with them being on the ball so we’re going to continue to use him in that way what did you see from your interior defense tonight they got us early you know free

Throw line obviously points in the paint but I thought we made a good adjustment late and kind of cleaned up some of the mistakes we were making and that was part of that run that got us in we started clogging the paint a little more taking some away their roles from Davis

From Reeves attacking from James attacking um but they did hurt us in the paint tonight yeah I mean he’s running he’s running doing what he can run the show um we trust him with the ball on his hands and he’s going to get better and better as a playmaker and obviously

His scoring is back his confidence is back and um when you can marry those two it’s going to be really special but yeah he’s special Off the Bench he’s special scoring and um he really helped us tonight for sure yeah of course of course I mean he

Is he is 39 and no one’s doing what he no one has done what he’s doing at that age for sure and um you try to kind of flush those thoughts quickly because you’re trying to beat them but um um you know as a fan of the game too you have

To respect and honor the kind of career he’s put together for sure I I think we just uh we had a couple just uh mental lapses um might have had one or two turnovers in that overtime we had a couple just uh miscues defensively um when they were trying

To um you know signal out the mismatch and um couple times low man wasn’t there um you know even fourth quarter Reeves came down uh hit a pick and roll with LeBron he came up hit a jumper in the Middle Lane like those the type of

Things um we just have to have that attention to detail throughout the whole game and I think we did a better job tonight um with just that mental focus um but at the end it just wasn’t good enough can you just kind of generally if the action flows differently for you

When tus and Jordan are are separate now that they kind of each have their own units most of the time uh I’m just really just flowing off with them you know um I can play on ball I can play off ball um I could be the screener I

Could be um the ball handler so um just trying to uh play Within and let those guys really have the ball because they’re so great um and that’s their strength when they have the ball so um just playing off of them uh picking my spots and um you know just trying to

Affect the game positively uh when I’m playing the five um I think you know we can have some success with that uh we just haven’t practiced enough um you know quite frankly don’t really know what we’re trying to accomplish offensively when uh I’m at the five just because it’s such a

Small sample size we haven’t really done it as much but um yeah M KY is comp no one in this Locker knows LeBron is what you do um as competitive as you are uh as much as you give No Quarter during a game H how impressed are you with how

Good he still is at 39 and how he can turn a game up on a tier I mean that’s that’s what happens when you uh you know he just keeps the main thing the main thing and um he has his whole life um you know everybody just the glitz and

Glamors and the the commercials and everything else that comes with being LeBron James but um you know he keeps basketball and you know his work ethic and his body just priority number one at all times and um I think it’s just a good lesson for everybody um everybody in sports

Everybody every young player in this league um watching a player like that I know you know I had a front row seat for um a few years years and um you know he he he’s earned and and deserved everything that has really come his way because he he goes about it the right

Way so when you play with him what about this that explains all uh just consistency and the and the discipline to do it every day it’s is tough like it sucks to do this every day you know sometimes you know we’re all human but um you get better

And um you know you keep going by the days that you don’t want to go and I think um I’m sure he has bad days too but that doesn’t stop him from putting at work um you know making sure his mental is right and um empowering and

Lifting up his teammates so how about Anthony tonight he was a handful team more so than any other players I mean I mean he’s Beast like he’s a beast like especially when when you we’re not the biggest team you know he was just overpowering us whether it

Was you know rebounds and um you know jump hooks in the paint you know playing to his strengths and uh you know there’s a reason why he’s one of the greatest players to play this game and you know he can drop 40 and 15 and it can be quiet super light you

Know I looked up and he had like 34 and 10 in the third and a lot of it was just you know just through the action of of playing and um that’s what makes him so great as a player So speaking of jump hooks you got

The sky H going right I know CL somewhere screaming for sure just something about that you know just getting your spots I know how hard you work and the work that you put in but talk about that and your growth from when you first started here and all the

Stuff you have to endure to now what you feel like you done a good job at keeping the main thing the main thing like you said yeah uh keeping the main thing main thing and um you know really just trying to uh develop every year you know I

Think um you know being here uh having great mentors and you know seeing that you can be old and still improve a little bit every single day and I think I I take that with me every single day and every year of my career I’ve gotten

Better um you know even if it’s not noticeable to people um I feel a a difference out there and um I love it I love the grind I love um you know improving and developing in the process of it and I just try to get lost in it

And I think know I’m just blessed and grateful to uh you know be able to just do this at a high level so I’m proud of our guys just for the way that we at least closed the game um we felt more composed more poised um we just fought

Obviously they’re a really good team and they’ve uh got a lot of vets a lot of experience um but it’s a learning progression you learn from nights like this um you continue to battle and luckily we got another game tomorrow you had a chance there at the end to to win

It for your team a long shot what what was uh what do you think of that that play and how you know the shot you ended up good look um look I wanton it uh just a little bit off to the left um I’ll shoot it again had your two high scoring games

This week but it also looked like were decisions in both of those games performance um just starting to get back comfortable with just playing my true position I think we got two different type of styles right now um that second unit we play a little bit faster me and Cory got a

Really good connection get him going early he’s spacing the floor um just playing my game honestly um was thinking of I was thinking of an answer no no no I was thinking of an answer um see I think that just goes back to me just playing on ball

Because being a threat being aggressive just to get out in transition play Fast um score on the Run just opens up opportunities for my teammates um Johnny had a couple of good back door Cuts we got Cory on a couple runaways um found bag on a couple drop

Offs so um I don’t know we just play faster when I’m out there at the one um well I I feel like that um we had a nice flow so I mean that’s just how I play It’s My play my play style um that’s what got me here so just trying to

Figure out how to do it with this team what’s spend the buying process off the Ben what you mean terms of adapting into the role and something uh yeah I mean it’s not my first time coming off the bench yeah this team obviously yeah uh but

It’s cool just learning um like I said I’m a professional team player um whatever it is that the team needs me to do coach needs me to do um to help us be successful um I’ll do right now that’s coming off the bench but um luckily I’m playing more comfortable to my normal

Role and I think we’re starting to see uh how effective that is I really what up slim you been low this year huh you on the west coast yeah bro um one thing I really RO with is bro you haven’t you haven’t said anything like you know this whole time just

Staying positive talk about that and then over this last six game driv in 22.6 points just talk about that like being to yourself and I know how hard you do work you just don’t show it yeah talk about that bro for you uh it’s a good

Question I don’t know I just that’s just kind of how I’ve always been I’ve been behind closed doors get my work in never really care to be uh in the light with the extra um it’s just kind of how I’ve built my brand just hard work um a lot

Of it comes from where I come from um continue to put the work each and every day and then everything else will take care of itself um I don’t know I got to think about that one it’s a good question yeah but I’m going just stay low I always stay

Low keep my head down I just grind everything else going to come into fruition honestly um I reiterated many times that I’m big in faith so at the end of the day the Lord got me um I just go out there and just you know perform for him through his name and uh

Everything else will take care of his help you think like in this new generation you know growing up in this new everything social media everything’s lights Spotlight he how has it been for you to be able to stay low and still do that you went to LA Lair it’s not like

You’ve been you’ve been in the spotlight for a minute yeah yeah I have never been that way you know you it’s almost like natural um and I I’m more of an old soul that makes sense so that goes to the new generation who wants to post everything

Um show that there in the gym so that they’re like shooting on the court after a game is about the views it’s about the clickbait it’s about like making fun of people online right that’s just what’s hot that’s what’s new that’s what’s trendy right now I’ve never really been

That type of guy um always been humble always been modest God-fearing um so I just come in I get my work in uh great teammate try to help help my teammates get better um be a good person and um I just love to hoop so at the end of the

Day that’s just going to show my talent’s going to show um the hard work is always going to get put in and I’m just trying to be a good example for um those who go through tough times I mean it comes with every everybody goes through tough times um but it makes it

Stronger we grow from it we learn from it um we going to look back at this in a in a little bit and just laugh at honestly

Interim Head Coach Brian Keefe, Corey Kispert, Kyle Kuzma, and Jordan Poole spoke to the media following Thursday night’s matchup against the Lakers in Los Angeles.

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