OKC Thunder Full Media Availability | Post Game at Memphis Grizzlies | March 16, 2024

OKC Thunder Full Media Availability | Post Game at Memphis Grizzlies | March 16, 2024

A you know knockout run that puts the game away but what does it take for you guys to make sure that they don’t that they don’t have a run that extends to the point that they you know get back into it completely um defense stops I think we

Did a good job this whole year of having really good stints in crucial times where we really lock in defensively you know obviously you want to have a whole game of just great defense and you know really good offense but I think our defense has been really consistent so so

Especially in those those times where we kind of need to hold together a couple stops not that we were able to do that obviously towards the end of the game we had a couple breakdowns but um just for the most part I think defensively were

Able to get a lot of crucial stops and you were there when I asked about it on the floor but just the the restraint that he shows throughout the season to play inside of things that such a young age I mean you went through this just last year of kind of understanding how

To drive winning um despite you know still learning the league learning the you know what you’re good at um where you need to be on the floor what have you seen from Chad this year uh pretty simple answer just like competitors want to win so when you are a highly talented

Competitor he puts winning first so he’s willing to do a lot of the things that involve winning that may not be seen uh like even on the stat sheet obviously you know you look he has blocks and rebounds but just little stuff like understanding coverages rotations you

Know just things like that I think he’s been locked into that all year to the point that he’s having the success that he has now seems like the last few games especially um you’ve been getting yourself really going on by making a big defensive play first is that like

Accurate and then second like are you actively trying to like I know you’re trying to make defensive plays but like are you trying to actively make like put an emphasis emphasis on those plays um I think I’m just trying to put an emphasis on defense that’s something that we’re

Going to need kind of going forward and I kind of want to be a lead on both ends of the floor so it’s not it’s really hard in an NBA game to like be like I’m going to make a a super play right now but I think it’s just more over the

Course of time doing the right thing over and over again you know as hard as I can and just competing and you know sometimes that results in a big stop and even like to The Other Extreme you know teams still might score so I just try and go out there and be incredibly

Consistent defensively and kind of established being a two-way two-way player yes you guys had six guys in double figures but three guys score 20 or more points just what’s it like out there to have that level of balance offensively for you guys that’s nice uh I think when you have

Multiple when you have multiple threats on the floor it makes it easier for everybody to kind of find their own their own way within the offense and uh allows guys guys will be efficient and get good shots shots that they work on I think I commend a lot of our teammates

For repping out shots that they’re going to see in the game and then being able to kind of put that put that in play so but yeah it just kind of opens up the floor everybody’s trying to play with each other and make the right read uh you

Know we may turn the ball over or have sticky sticky stance where we don’t move the ball but everybody’s trying to make the right play we don’t really have a lot of selfish plays if any during the game so uh I think when we kind of stick

To that we’re we’re pretty good the tight games in the fourth quarter the one tonight with Memphis how beneficial do you think that’s going to be come playoff time uh we kind of just shot yeah we kind of just shot oursel in the foot towards the end of the game couple

Turnovers uh that we shouldn’t have had I dribble one off my foot at half court but um even then I think just looking back at it now even though it’s only you know an hour after the game I think it’s just it’s also kind of good to have

Those experiences now because this is just random adversity you know trying to close out a game something that we haven’t had all year or well I guess too often so uh you know sometimes you are going to shoot yourself in the foot and you know we rarely have stuff like that

So it was good to kind of be in that situation to have to get stops and kind of close the game out quite a few times um this year and last year Shay has gone to you uh down the stretch in the fourth quarter instead of just taking over um

Like most people would expect him to do how much has that helped your development especially this year with how how well you’ve been in the fourth quarter um yeah I think it gave me a lot of confidence especially because we were doing it early in the year so now I’m

Just kind of playing off that confidence uh you know when your best player allows me to kind of create my own shot and create for others down in crunch time uh something I don’t take for granted you know I try and go out there and you know make the right read

And uh but yeah it just gave me a lot of confidence I think when your best players is willing to get off the ball and kind of trust the rest of the team you know not even myself we had that big run early in the fourth quarter

Um and he was on the bench and everybody was hitting shots and we were getting a lot of defensive stops I think just just stuff like that gives everybody a lot of confidence on the floor to go out and make plays late game hanging around and keeping this game close just all 48

Minutes just what did it take down the stretch in particular for you guys to try to slam the door shut on this one uh it took playing on both sides of the ball uh you know between getting stops uh and rebounding the ball to making uh winning plays on the offensive end too

Uh you know it didn’t go our way uh the whole game or even down the stretch on both sides but uh we put together enough plays I’ve been wanting to ask you just when it comes to blocking shots and and protecting the rim what goes into your decision- making because it seems like

You’re you’re able to kind of time out and and Pace things out so that you’re you’re able to get a block versus you know racking up fouls uh yeah it’s just uh part of it’s having a discipline knowing that um you know you’re not going to block every

Single one and sometimes they might even score but uh just just trying to make the right play over and over and uh being in the right position um and then having uh good discipline on defense uh um you know good hand discipline uh putting your chest on guys um keeping

Them in front things like that you guys have seen Shay get trapped aggressively and doubled a lot how much more comfortable are you now catching in that pocket area making plays uh you made the the huge pass to case to really slam the door oh yeah I’m definitely very comfortable with something that

We’ve worked on uh we’ve gotten better at and um you know we still have improvements to make but uh you know we’re starting to get better with that as as well as a lot of other things that we’re seeing that um were new or that aren’t so new anymore and uh you know

When those things happen now we’re prepared for them what’s this like going through this we’re actually on the floor for the first time and the marathon of the NBA season and all of the different things that you’re countering over the course of the year that you’re making

Adjustments to and and you know you’re not doing exactly what you were doing at the beginning of the year but but a lot of the principles still remain um I mean you said it best it’s a marathon and we just have to have an understanding of that and uh you know

Not overreact to you know the way the ball bounced on a random Tuesday in in March uh but also have an understanding of uh that we have to have urgency to get better at at things that um you know we’re not great at uh or haven’t figured

Out yet and uh you know I feel like if we find the perfect balance between that um you know we’ll end up in a good spot Chad I know that there’s plenty of games left but this put y’all in a TI top of the Western Conference what does

That mean at this point of the Season uh I mean it’s uh extremely important and valuable uh to um you know have good positioning for the playoffs and uh you know kind of have a have some control of of where you fall um and we have the tiebreaker

Against Denver as well so um we’re technically ahead of them um but you know it’s extremely important this late in the season and uh you know it’s also good to see that all the work that we’re putting in um is uh putting us in a good

Position but we have a long ways to go any Relentless tonight but seemed like you guys did allow any of their runs to become so large that they were unmanageable how did you have the kind of mental resilience to to make sure that you had an answer each

Time well I thought um you know credit them they were sharp tonight uh from the jump we kind of paced with them in the first half uh because we made some jump shots but wasn’t our best first half I thought we came out of halftime in a

Good way and then the end of the third quarter that group uh really opened the game up for us you know they came back at us and then I thought I thought middle of the fourth we really dug in defensively especially I thought uh we showed great intensity and and you know

Played up to the level that the game required uh if we wanted to win it and um you know that was an impressive show of resilience I thought and the fast break points were heavily in your favor when you all were able to get to that

How how much did that dictate the way that this game went yeah I thought it was a you know defensive activity and rebounding that led to that continues to be uh something that’s critical for us is getting stops securing the ball you know whether it’s a loose ball or a

Rebound uh and then opening the court up and and running and um you know obviously that’s been a huge part of um our team to this point and it was a big part of the game tonight and I just wanted to ask you about Chad had a really great balanced efficient night

Offensively but the play that kind of sealed it was him catching at the high post and making that angle pass to the Baseline what have you seen in terms of his uh decision- making and restraint um throughout the course of the season like tonight he he you know last game

Against Dallas I thought he really played the right way um didn’t get a ton of shots you know it’s just kind of the way the game went but um he made really good plays and kept the ball ahead of the defense and had a really really

Quietly good floor game uh in that game and then tonight had some more cracks in terms of shots and finishes and that sort of thing I thought we did a good job of finding him but uh he continues to develop you know in that way and that

Was a huge play in the game you know it was late we’re protecting a lead they doubled Shay um he found the pocket and then made a really good read out of it a followup on Chad he’s just one of six guys this season with more blocks than

He has vows total and just as a rookie just what does that say about him and his decision- making around the room I mean obviously great length but also you know great timing and instincts and uh toughness you know he leans into those plays as we know I didn’t know that stat

That’s ridiculously impressive stat for someone that’s you know at the point of attack the way he is he’s guarding bigger guys every night he’s usually guarding fives he’s got his nose in the in the play at The Rim um so yeah I mean that’s an incredibly impressive you know

Feet to this point and then um just wanted to ask you about the the the final few minutes there and how Memphis was kind of able to just drag this game out and stretch it out what are what are the lessons and kind of takeaways from from that specific scenario tonight yeah

I mean you got to you know slam the door on the game and that’s a combination of executing a defense and getting stops and rebounds and then managing the clock managing the game which I thought we did pretty well tonight you know I thought we got organized for the most part um

Got a shot every time down limited turnovers um we had a couple but one of them was dead ball uh attacking the pressure as Nick mentioned with the double teams and then end a game side out of bounds defense execution having to get the ball in bounds those are all

You know really good experiences for us and obviously necessary for us to to win the game tonight Mark you had dominated the previous two games obviously they’re playing at home how much a difference was there with Bane being in in there tonight versus the way y’all played at

Home uh yeah I mean they’re they’re they’ve dealt with significant injuries this year um but when they’re whole or close to whole like tonight you know they’re tough and I thought uh he had great energy to start the game Bane did uh he obviously was ready to play uh and

Hit the ground running uh I thought Jackson uh jiren Jackson was really good tonight I think you know plugging GG Jackson into what they’re doing uh looked encouraging for them you know obviously he’s had a lot of opportunity but I body plugged in well tonight um and diversified his attacks uh they’re a

Good team you know and played with great energy tonight and um you know really tested us you know we had to really go earn that win especially in the second half anybody else goe sorry um they were doubling Shay a little high uh today how did you feel

Like you guys did with the reaction times and re or not times but reactions to to him being double that high yeah one of the times in the first half they kind of sprung it and caught us off guard and and we coughed it up on that

Play um and then the rest of them we got pretty organized you know you need to really space the floor behind it uh and he’s got to either you know beat it with the dribble or he’s got to get it out of there and then we have to attack and and

Make teams pay that’s our philosophy in that you know we don’t want to be passive when the ball comes out of those double teams cuz then there’s no reason not to double us and so I thought that was pretty good and and the play Nick mentioned where Chad found case in late

You know those types of plays are deflating when you double team and we get a dunk out of it so um you know pretty good attacks it’s been something that we’ve had to work on a lot basic you know because of the way we get played and um we’ve improved at it over

Time and then even though he was one for six from three tonight Josh didn’t have any hesitation in the shot how much does that open up things for you guys that he just doesn’t even think about taking the shot yeah I thought you know they had

Jiren Jackson on him for the majority of the game uh and we’re trying to use Jackson as kind of a RoR and so you know Josh I thought he took the appropriate threes tonight you know I thought um you know when we penetrate the ball sprays

Out to him uh he shot the right ones he also had some good extras out of it and had a good balance there so um you I had no problem with any of the threes he took we have noticed K’s defense pretty much from game one this year he finished

With three steals but none bigger than that swipe he had from behind with the game on the line with about a minute to go yeah he just he’s got a great knack for you know he’s got a he’s kind of a he’s a ball Hawk and he gets his hands

On on deflections that you’re are kind of unexpected you know he’ll get stuff from behind a guy or uh blocks you know that you don’t think he’s going to get to deflections he’s just a disruptive Defender that’s got great instincts that are only going to improve as he

Continues to learn the pictures but yeah I thought the way he competed tonight you know was huge you know he was a part of both of those runs that we had he was part of the one at the end of the third and then he was a part uh of us

Extending the lead back out in the fourth and um a lot of that had to do with how he was competing on the defensive end anybody else

Hear from Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and Head Coach Mark Daigneault following the Thunder’s 118 – 112 win over the Grizzlies.

0:00 Jalen Williams
5:15 Chet Holmgren
8:29 Coach Daigneault

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