Coach Brown, Harrison Barnes and Sasha Vezenkov speak post-practice Mar 28, 2024.

Coach Brown, Harrison Barnes and Sasha Vezenkov speak post-practice Mar 28, 2024.

Are there things that you see that you guys can make changes that will actually you know sort of stem the tide on what happened on on Tuesday yeah I think you look at the tape um you know we’ve had some loss this year we didn’t have the right mental approach right turnovers

Things like that I thought last game we just did a lot of things just in terms of uh a lack of ball movement a lack of terms of shots and things that we wanted that kind of allowed them to to feel their their breaks few their U their

Offense um not get the shots that we wanted so just a few technical things to clean up but nothing too crazy Harrison what would you say the what would you say the emphasis has been at practice over the last few days as you prepare for Dallas this uh this

Round I mean I think just taking it Taking It One game at a time I think when you get to this point in the season um just about doing the things that we need to do focusing on us and knowing that um you know trying to get ready for

The postseason H what surprised you most about that game and way just the result way you guys came out made didn’t kind of stick out oh you know I thought that we could have done a a few different things defensively uh we talked about that today in terms of just um letting

Guys get easy looks um especially when you have talented players like they have um when you let them you know see one or two or three go in kind of opens things up for them so I think us just you know being a little bit more connected on the

Defensive end uh and just trying to make them work knowing that they’re going to score and when things start rolling the way they do they go on a run like that how do you feel like you’ll you guys be better prepared to kind of respond to something just staying poised I think

The biggest thing is even uh if they go on to run even if if they’re getting shots making sure that our quality of shots are are still what we want and taking care of the basketball you know we can’t get it back on one play so

Don’t need to make any home run plays or or anything like that and I feel like we had some turnovers where guys you know we had good intentions but the execution just wasn’t there you with 10 games left being on a championship team what do you

Want to see in the last 10 games to to catapult you guys the right mindset I mean at this point in time you know we’ve we’ve had 72 games you know we’ve had you know a training camp you know we had all of these things that have put us in

Position and we’ve shown that um there’s moments where we can do it and there’s moments where we haven’t so I think for us it’s just coming in with the right mentality every single day for our practice for our shoot rounds and saying look let’s not have one of those moments

Where we say okay you know we had a bad shoot around today you know it feeds into the game or oh we had a bad uh second half even though we won you know what I mean you know how can we just continue to just everything that we’re

Doing as a group and collectively making sure it’s solid consist am not just be consistent routine no it’s about being consistent but like I said also just just the mindset I think it’s coming in with with a fresh mindset you don’t want to come in lethargic you don’t want to

Come in thinking about having preconceived notions about this game or that game it’s like look every single time we step on the floor you know for shoo around tomorrow for practice for meeting whatever you know we’re locked in it’s obviously not a game seven but

Do you want to have a must win mentality for this first I mean I think it’s it’s just next game mentality I think anytime you know we we’ve lost this season we usually bounce back and I think that’s that’s our mentality right now sing how the Tar Heels

Looking we’re looking solid I right told Keon it’s quiet for them so yeah we feel good feel good watch out and the friendly bets at all between you and Keon with that come on man come on and light of what’s going on in the NBA absolutely not absolutely not

Absolutely we see Sasha we see Trey out here how much you guys need those reinforcements right now yeah no I think they’re um they’re doing a great job I mean uh tre’s been you know working hard to get back Kevin’s working hard to get back so I think just to get them you

Know hopefully you know before the end of the season get some get some games you know underneath their belt and have those guys ready would be great Kevin specifically how have you felt you know it’s tough I think anytime um you know you you you work all summer

All Season to to hopefully you know get to the postseason and something like that happens um it’s tough and you know obviously you know we we feel for him as a group obviously you know love to have his presence around and um it’s an opportunity for for Keon and some of

These other guys to you know step up and and try to fill that F that void on that Dallas match up how valuable do you think it is to make L work on defense and how do you feel like you guys did that first I think in in general um you

You want to you want to make their their team work you know obviously you know you could try to say oh you want to make this guy work or that guy work but collectively you know we we gave them a lot of possessions where they didn’t

Have to move much they didn’t have to exert much energy so I think for us like I said just being tied in Collective um moving the ball coming to this next match up will be big for us as somebody who’s from USA Basketball do you have an opinion on Jimmer going to the

Olympics um I think it’s great I mean anytime you have the opportunity to represent your country you know it’s unbelievable unbelievable feeling um you know being on that stage uh it’s it’s some of the best basketball you can play so I think it’s you know it’s honor um

And whatever you’re doing to be able to compete for your country especially you know ho feeling better you know getting to the right direction I’m trying every day hard fortunately the second injury the same leg like like 15 days so I’m trying first time in my career I’m so

Out so long so you know it’s stressful I want to help the team but you know I’m trying to be 100% so to be ready to help the team how far out do you think you are you have any idea I don’t know yet you know every practice is different

Every day is different so you know with this kind of stuff you have to be like more uh like uh to get more important on like getting it better and like then to be 100% to help the team because you know it’s almost playoff time I didn’t

Play for a long time so I need to feel good what been the hardest part sit out you know and especially the first weeks you can do anything and just like treatments and you know I love the game I miss playing the game so that’s the hardest part like I’m happy the I’m

Happy that the team is doing good and you know but always we want to play and help have you had moments where you know you’re out and you’re thinking man tomorrow might be the day and then it’s a you’re not you’re not able to go uh

You know as you go closer to the deadline and closer to what like doctor said you know you always have the hope that maybe you can do it earlier but you know with these things as I said it’s reinjury so you have to be more careful

What are you limited being able to do you know I feel it weird I feel it like sometimes you feel more pain than the like I said every day is different so uh you know change of directions running everything uh you have to start from the beginning and I’m getting there though

Do you feel confident you you’ll be back to the playoffs and be able to help contribute at all you know like as I said I didn’t play for a long time I tried to keep like my shape and like uh when I when I when I will come to play

Like uh to be able to help the team looking at or te how difficult is it when you guys play five games in seven nights and there is no practice and it’s hard to get that’s most difficult part because like especially when you’re injured because you need practices you

Need you know you’re on the road a lot uh the guys are playing so you know it’s uh but that’s the procedure you have to find time by yourself and it’s more mentally and then physically looking at where you guys are at right now with 10 games left fighting

For a playoff spot um how critical or would you say challenging it is to sit on the side and you know what are you doing to I guess get back out there so you can help out these guys yeah every game he’s every game he’s like a final

Now you know 10 games all the teams are close we we’re facing like three teams that are uh same more more or less same record with us you know it’s critical every game is a final so you know sitting out there and like study the game watch the game is totally different

From played so you know I know it will get some time you know I know like as I said I didn’t play almost two months but I’ll be I’ll be able like mentally to be 100% And then physically so whenever coach called my name like to be ready I

Know it’s not a game seven but is it kind of a Muslim mentality for for Friday night for you guys yeah you know I was kind of I was asked this before and I I yeah it’s a must-win but um let’s say we beat Dallas Friday and then

We lose the next nine so so that they’re they’re all very very important for us and I I I don’t think there’s one game that’s more important this one maybe be a smidge because it’s you always want to try to have the tiebreaker uh I think we

Might play Phoenix too and you know you always want to try to have a tiebreaker but man where we are right now there all extremely important and you can categorize them all as quote unquote must wins you know especially with the way some teams are playing right now

Some teams are playing really really uh good basketball how about the lessons just after going through film and experiencing yourself just lessons from this past game yeah no they there’re there’re a lot of them um you know we feel like we could play better that you got to give Dallas Credit though they

They played really well uh Luca was unbelievable in the first half Kyrie was really really good in the second half and they created some problems for us to where we had to double team and and when we did double team uh all of their guys shot the ball extremely well and you

Know sometimes it’s a thing where you got to pick your Poise and you’re going to keep letting LCA do what he does uh or you going to have somebody else beat you same with Kyrie you going to let him do what he does you’re going to have

Somebody else beat you and and other guys stepped up and and had a hand in in winning that game and you know on the flip side like I said I I felt uh we could do things better uh a handful of areas um you know especially our sprays

You know we we had four sprays in the second half and two of them came in the last two minutes so we really one for two uh in sprays in the second half and and we’re trying to get to 20 and that if we do get around that number you know

We can’t we’re not a team that uh can go out and shoot 25 threes and think we’re going to win we might be able to but we want to shoot you know 35 4 trees in a game if we can and a lot of that uh hopefully will come from our spray game

Coach Brown what did you learn sorry Coach Brown what did you learn about uh you know Daniel Gafford and well he was in F trouble and um PJ Washington you know the Dynamics that they add to the dial not you know not being uniform seem like they changed up a little bit on

Defense well they they’re big guys and they’re athletic guys and anytime you have uh length athleticism and they’re both thick so they they’re strong while they can move their feet gives you an opportunity to do a lot of things you can cover ground easier you can protect

The paint easier you not only protect the paint you rebound better um you can get out to Shooters because you have length and you have athleticism so uh they added a lot to their team on both ends of the floor because they’re long they’re athletic and their their

Strength behind them as well as they got a really good feel for the game you know Gafford is another vertical threat uh but he’s different than Lively you know PJ is a a power forward threat but he he’s different than Williams so uh they

Both bring a lot to the to T to the table of of a team that was already good and that has basically two Hall of Famers that are are uh are playing at a a very very high level for him in Kyrie and Luca like you play five games in

Seven nights did you notice maybe the team a little fatigued after after Dallas and did you see then you sp today with the day off yesterday uh you that’s that’s not why we lost but uh yeah I mean it it it’s it’s tough you know it’s tough to go Sacramento Toronto Orlando

Back and you know and that’s your fifth game in seven days you know but uh everybody I’m sure experien it experiences it through the course of the year you just hope that we wouldn’t experience it at this point in time with a team that we need to beat you know we

We were step slow on both ends of the floor and and hopefully uh it’ll be a little bit better um tomorrow mik this is about a longterm build for you guys want to make the playoffs very extended VAR how important is a stretch like this where you’re not just playing 10 games

Playing 10 games so much important almost like a playoff game every single James it extremely important you know we we want to be in games that uh matter or or make a difference especially when you win or lose and for us at this stage uh

In our growth um you know whether we win or we lose uh there’s a lot of valuable learning that can come from it and most times when we lost you know knock on wood hopefully it’ll continue but most times when we’ve lost uh games that we felt like we could have played different

Or a little bit better we’ve responded you know after the fact and and and hopefully we can respond uh tomorrow off off be impacted by not having Kevin out there how what how you seen your offense be impacted by not having Kevin out there yeah you know

I’ve said this before kev’s a guy that obviously can shoot the ball not only can he shoot the ball he moves extremely well without the basketball and uh his velocity um in terms of moving uh creates open looks opportunities for others uh he’s got a great feeli on

Offense into the floor uh really good cutter and uh and a good passer so you know anytime you’re missing a guy of that caliber it can it can impact you uh but you know I don’t want anybody to misunderstand just because Trey wasn’t in just because Kevin wasn’t in and

Sasha wasn’t in that’s not the reason why we lost the game but but Kevin does add a lot to us uh especially on the offense end of the floor think the Mak Dallas Stars defensively but also maintaining your offensive I we we can I I think you can

Ask any of our guys we can do it while still flying offensively the the the the way our action are um if if you have a good understanding of it or a good feel of it you can get anybody involved every single time down the floor just and it can be like this

If you’re in tune to what’s going on and and we have to do a better job of that you know but um uh our guys again it’s part of the learning SLG Growing Experience that uh we’re going through right now and our guys are are getting a

Little better every time they step out on the floor among the many Curiosities have throughout the season with your team this stretch kind of maybe a defining one for you guys as kind of see how you handle season games before postseason yeah I you know but not just

This stretch but e even because we’ve been in this situation now seems like since allar break you know uh you could feel a little bit of uh different type of pressure you know which is which is great and so for for us and me in particular just watching it yeah it’s

It’s great great to see how we respond during this time you know and like you know like I said I I didn’t feel like we played well in Washington and uh to see our guys bounce back the way they did uh in Orlando versus a very good team uh

Was a lot of fun and you know it was a step in the right direction and hopefully we can keep you know taking steps like this but sometimes you may take a step take a step and then take a step down and and you hope it doesn’t

Happen right now uh but uh if it does hopefully it gives us an opportunity to grow some more cuz I I truly believe you grow the most when you hit adversity and so hopefully it gives us a chance to grow some more while still being able to

Accomplish what we want to accomplish at the end of the day back for you guys how does it feel of when took job last uh I mean you know you you want to win definitely uh you know I don’t really look at it that way like I I was a little shocked when

Somebody said that since they moved here they’ve only this is the 10th time we they’ve had a better than 500 record uh cuz I don’t and I’m not I hope you guys don’t think I’m I don’t know the only word I think cocky or arrogant

Maybe cuz I’m not trying to be that but I’m not like I didn’t come come here to play 500 basketball or so that that wasn’t even in my mind you know what I’m saying um I I’m I’m thinking hey let’s get a taste of the playoffs let’s get a

Deep I’m thinking listen how can we win a championship and that that’s the only thing on my mind is how can we put a team together that can help us compete for a championship and what things can we do as a staff to help them and so I I

Guess it’s good you know the 500 but I I’m shocked about it but I don’t really think of it so I hope I anwers your question speaks some dark times yeah but hey no speaks to the greatness of the fans in the city yeah I don’t think you being arrogant either I

Mean you want to win just like the fans so fair enough thank how close are coming back uh I I I I don’t know I mean I I’m seeing Trey out there right now so your guess is as good as mine where’s sh I Michael what

Yeah and I try not to follow it too much because I don’t want to sit here and think okay man maybe two days he’ll be back no no next man up play with who’s in front of who we have they can play and when they’re cleared to play then my

Mind is like okay let’s add them to the mix thank you

Stay connected with the #SacramentoKings:
Coach Brown, Harrison Barnes and Sasha Vezenkov speak post-practice Mar 28, 2024 at Golden 1 Center | Beyond the Buzzer presented by Mattress Firm

Harrison Barnes 0:00 – 4:49
Sasha Vezenkov 4:50 – 7:49
Coach Brown 7:50 – 17:47

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