OKC Thunder Full Media Availability | Post Game at Boston Celtics | April 3, 2024

OKC Thunder Full Media Availability | Post Game at Boston Celtics | April 3, 2024

Josh the the final score didn’t seem to really reflect the way that this game was played throughout most of the night um how did you feel like you guys were able to hang in and just hope hope that the game would sort of turn in your

Direction by hanging in there as long as you could against a team it’s obviously really high caliber yeah I mean I I thought we did that I thought you know we there was multiple times where they could have blown the game open to 20 points in that first half uh third

Quarter I thought we did a good job of kind of keeping it within Striking Distance you know 10 points at three quarter time and we gave ourselves a chance to get back in the game but um they got off to a 80 10 start to start

The fourth and from then on we were playing from behind and we’re too far back at that point but um I thought we we stuck with it for three quarters but the start of the fourth just kind of they they blew the game open seemed like

When you were out there you were able to generate some good advantages and kind of get that blender going Mark was saying like the offense and you have both taken nice steps forward over the course of time and um that defense is obviously a very difficult one to to go

Up against where do you think that that that Evolution has continued to go to to allow you guys to be able to crack a defense like that way that you were able to at some points tonight yeah I think it’s just seen different looks from different teams and um you know that’s a

Good defense they could switch one through five got a lot of you know point of attack Defenders and um they do a good job keeping the ball in front they’re really good and weak side help you know Pingas protects a rim for them so uh they’re good defensively um but I

Mean we just I thought early on we we help the ball too long um guys were trying to play i ball against a loaded defense which is hard to do against a team like that and um it just wasn’t going to work it wasn’t sustainable for

For the game and uh once we got out of us started moving the ball we looked good but um we just we just didn’t get to that enough tonight and it you can’t win against a team like that trying to play you know one-onone obviously upill battle offensively without best scorers

Created I just wonder during the stretch without D the say like what’s it out to you about the half for offense might translate when they come back or what might you know toss out the window as soon as they come back um I mean obviously they leave two you know pretty

Big holes both sides of the ball um but I think you know just it gives opportunity for other guys to step in and um I mean we don’t try to change the way we play I mean um just because two guys are out obviously they’re very

Important to what we’re doing but uh our offenses defensive um structure and rules are the same we try to stick to them as best as we can and um other guys have got to step up and um you know try to fill the shoes as much as we can

Because they are to important pieces and um you know but I don’t think we we need to change the way we play essentially uh if we continue to move the ball and get good looks I think we’ve got a talented enough team to compete with anybody in

The league so I guess what I’m really asking how much of you know the struggles and just chalk up to them being go and what might last during the stretch that you know Mark mentioned that he likes some of the wrinkles guys like what might

Last um I mean I like I don’t know I mean it’s not an excuse that they’re not here that we you know it’s we lost a game oh we didn’t have Shan and dub like we’ll move on to the next like we’ve got enough telling in this team uh you know

Even missing a few guys to compete with anybody and um we’ve got full confidence in everyone on the roster and um you know we obviously played two really good teams without those guys um and I thought Philly we gave ourselves every chance to win that game and we came up

You know one two-point short and um tonight obviously was a different story but um yeah I mean they’ve only been out two games so it’s hard to really get a feel for what’s going to change or what’s not going to change but um there’re obviously two you know big

Pieces to what we do and then just the the way Chris AB you know cross matches just everything he does everything you know they do to kind of design the way he gets going like what what’s so tring about that is what from him yeah he he’s

A tough matchup I mean he’s big he can shoot the ball um they really good at you know picking on matchups and getting guys on him that he wants and uh once he gets the ball in that mid range he’s very tough to go out one1 he’s 73 shoots

Over the top you he’s really good at you know rip through fouls so um he he he’s a tough cover and um I thought tonight he kind of got to his spots and we made it uh we tried to make it tough but um against a guy like that it’s it’s it’s

Got to be you know a lot better what do you like about your game right now with the season one game what’s working for you I mean just playing with more confidence I think um trying to make plays do the right thing I think not coming into a game with you know a

Preconceived notion of what I’m going to do just let in the game tell me how to play and um I thought early on I didn’t do that but um I’ve tried to you know since the allar break I guess um try to kind of make that an emphasis coming

Into each game take it as it comes and um let the game dictate what what happens do you try to do more knowing that Shay J are out I mean not really I mean the ball’s going to be in my hands a little bit more maybe but but I don’t

Try and be Shay or try and be dub I just on me I try to play the way I play and um you know make guys around me better as a guy who’s a really good passer I wanted to get your perspective on K’s night he had a really good pass inside

To L for I think it was in the first half and then he finished with five assists that’s a career high for him so what have you seen in terms of his growth as a as a playmaker out there he’s been great I mean he’s been consistent all year um offensively

Defensively he you know especially defensively I think he’s been awesome um but offensively obviously as I said with couple guys out um he’s going to have the ball in his hands a little bit more than he did tonight and he made plays he he you know scored he he got other guys

Look so um he’s going to continue to grow and the more he you know gets a feel for the game and um that’s a very good defense that did that against tonight so speaks to his talent he’s a hard worker and he’s going to continue to you know get better in the lead

Within five points kind of Midway through that third quarter what was working for you guys kind of to get it to that point and then what did you feel like switched after that sorry um you know it started on the defensive end was getting stops and uh rebounds and then playing out transition

Getting some easy looks going where we could find find a rhythm um and we just weren’t able to sustain that for the rest of the game and uh case I wanted to ask you you had five assists tonight it’s a career high for you just what

Were you seeing out there what were you what was kind of your mindset coming into this game when you’re going to be in starting lineup tonight um just being aggressive you know I touch the paint a lot more than I have in the uh previous game so just touching the paint and

Finding sprays finding open guys on the win sorry CH obviously a two game sample so not a lot to go on but just without the without sh you’re getting maybe more you know one-onone opportunity maybe at the end of the clock or just Advent as you guys need to create because they’re not

There just how hard has that been in these two games just without them have you been navigated um I mean I’d say the biggest thing is just um kind of the situation of you know back-to-back Road games um not having any practice time to kind of uh you know

Plan for obviously um having Shay and dub uh Missing um you know we had a pretty consistent season of uh what we were going to what we’re uh what looks we’re going to have every night and uh you know now that’s different so now we’re kind of figuring out a new thing

And um you know we have you know guys in the locker room that um are going to work extremely hard including myself to you know figure that out as soon as possible um and you know that’s kind of what we’re looking at you guys have been one of the more healthy teams throughout

The day I recent weeks de with some stuff sh the thing just how much you I think maybe on the kind of injury luck I guess you guys had to start the season just how navate now just this stretch I mean you guys don’t have the injury bug necessarily it’s

Different than what it was uh yeah I mean I wouldn’t say it’s luck uh you know we got guys who really take care of their bodies and do everything necessary to give themselves the best chance of um being healthy as long as possible and you know credit to our medical staff as

Well for helping with that but uh you know sometimes you can’t control injuries contact inj getting e in the quad stepping on somebody’s foot here there um and you know we just got to adjust and and play through them and that’s what we plan to

Do just want to ask you about like the first three quarters really being able to not let them blow the lid off of things what’s that like against a team that’s obviously of that caliber that experience level of being able to just kind of keep it in check against them give the

Talent you got um uh you know it’s a league with a lot of talent and uh you know that includes their team uh you know they got a lot of experience playing together too um and you know at the end of the day you just

Want to give yourself a chance uh to win basketball games and we try to give our chance ourselves a chance for as long as possible and uh you know credit to them they uh you know put together the plays that they needed at the end to um you

Know kind of blow the lead open and that’s what they did and uh you know we just got to come back and do better for next year then I saw this earlier I just thought it was kind of fascinating you guys have 2,000 points combined between the two of

You uh as rookies this season Celtics they have nine points from rookies all season when you go against a team with so much experience how do you maintain the perspective that you guys have had all year which is to not really U be phased by who’s necessarily across the board from

Um to me at the end of the day we all on the court for a reason we’re all good basketball players so um I feel like we we bring a lot to the table to the team you know and it doesn’t matter who we’re going against we’re going to compete at

A high level so it’s all about to compete the game within five points Midway through the the third quarter what did you feel like was working for you guys up to get to that point and then what did you feel like changed after yeah we were down I think 14 at

Halftime and uh did a really good job coming out of the half of stabilizing the game giving ourselves a chance uh and kept it there pretty much throughout the third uh and then obviously they opened it up in the fourth but I liked our response out of the half we were

Able to make a couple adjustments to how we were playing uh to make ourselves more effective and harder to play against uh and had a really good third uh after you know hanging in there a little bit in the first half obviously wasn’t enough tonight but you know I

Like the fight at halftime K had a really good just kind of two- wi performance with his five assists but also four steals what did you see tonight yeah good activity on the defensive end I mean he isn’t the tallest guy but he offsets it with great athleticism great hands great instincts

I thought you know that he showed that tonight and then offensively just continues to grow in confidence you know it’s one of the benefits of the circumstance we’re in is it allows guys to stretch a little bit see what they’re capable of uh and I thought he showed

Some of that tonight you I think touched on this before the game but just the chances that you’re getting right now to see this team have to generate offense without two Playmakers what have you made of 30 assists last night and you get multiple guys five six guys in

Double figures again tonight yeah I mean it’s you know obviously we’d rather be at full strength always but um every There’s an opportunity in every game and the opportunity right now is to you know stretch the minutes of some guys and get them you know significant run uh and

Also see guys in different roles and stretch their roles a little bit like I said before the game there’s going to be circumstances is you know down the stretch of the Season into the playoffs um and moving forward where teams really try to take out um you know our our guys

That are our main creators our highest usage players and it’s going to force you know other guys to be aggressive and to be confident in these types of games help them to kind of build that muscle and then you know you guys were able to kind hold them in check for good

Portions of this game but it just seems like they have this explosive button and you know Brown didn’t have anything going and suddenly yeah first what is it like trying to just keep the lid on things for as long as poss as you possibly can I thought you know given

The fact that we didn’t shoot the ball particularly well you know we were able to keep the game you know in a in a decent spot for a long time on a night that where we didn’t shoot a grade you know which is all you can really ask for

It’s like you just want to hang around long enough to let the game turn potentially I thought that’s what happened in New York you know is similar circumstance where they had a big third you know we kept it in a manageable spot and then we get a little flurry in the

Fourth and next thing you know we have the lead you know but if you’re down by 20 you can’t do that so um I thought we did that well tonight and we just never got the flurry you know but um you know we the the end score didn’t reflect uh

Our competitiveness in that one obviously just mentioned just what this stretch does without sh y it feels like so much of what’s worth this season obviously you know two of the three of you know dub shade Chad with with as many games as you had left are you maybe

Worried with without that those to I don’t know timeline are you maybe worried that you might command too much or stretch the guys that are left maybe too th no definitely not you know I think um nobody’s minutes have been crazy you know we’re trying to spread

That out in a in a you know pretty it’s not like we’re playing eight guys because they’re out you know we’re staying with 10 or 11 and you know spreading the minutes out pretty good we’re not going to put anybody in a situation um that they are overworked or

Anything like that and then we’re going to have a week after the season ends you know which is going to help everybody recharge so you know it’s actually a good opportunity for us to get guys minutes that haven’t played these types of minutes I guess Follow by ask you

Feel like the Shir just play style wise what you guys have to do I know y do you feel like you know with the with the lack of creation that that comes with not having Fair do do you feel like you’re asking too much of the guys that

That are there what they can offer um no we’re not asking too much of anybody it’s just we have to work together for advantages on a lot of plays uh and when we do that we can generate them but um you know there’s times where Shay’s got

The ball and they just double them and the advantage is created by the defense you know like that’s not happening right now so we have to work together uh to create them and on a lot of possessions we have you know we’ve done that um certainly last night on a ton of

Possessions to gain control of that game we did it a lot of times tonight um and that’s that’s the way you got to do it yeah you know obviously you talked about du and just kind of the assignment some assignments he’s taking those are are maybe wack or others maybe he’s g a

Seven flter yep with tonight with the way Chris apps played I just wonder how different would they have looked with them on the floor like what like yeah I mean there’s a reason we play those guys 30 35 minutes every night you know they’re obviously very effective um and

So when you take that out you know it’s it’s we’re not going to be as good of a team um in terms of our ceiling but you know I thought you know tonight they did they attacked a ton of switches you know they’re they’re choosing their matchup

They knew we were switching him um so I’m not sure that they would have chosen dub if he was out there you know I mean they would have continued to choose the guys they were choosing and so would have helped to have him but again these are good opportunities for us to learn

Our team it’s good opportunities for our guys to stretch themselves um there are benefits to this circumstance that we can draw specifically it felt like he was trying to go Maybe not maybe he wasn’t trying to disrupt the Floy game but there were times where he had to go one-onone with

Chris actually felt like just during the stretch without those guys like what him in terms of maybe trying to create for himself just that process in this yeah I mean on the plays where he has to it’s usually end o like if he truly has to

It’s end o’clock and it just means we haven’t created an advantage to that point and now someone has to go try to make a play up against the shot clock which is not a position of strength so um you know that’s why we want to play

With Pace that’s why we want to you know play with great Pace inside the actions gain advantages as early in the possession as possible and then maintain those advantages um and I thought you know this is an elite defense is the best defense in the league or one of

Them so uh that’s why they’re good they’re hard to crack um we cracked them on some possessions certainly didn’t crack them on enough um didn’t finish some of the plays uh when we did and you know that’s how you end up losing the game it did seem like you guys cracked

Them more often when Josh was out there and just given the way that he’s able to playmake and being the focal point probably on a lot of possessions St would you make it the way that he was able to deal with probably more attention than being the primary

Playmaker and getting you into good stuff um seemed like he got you into really good stuff when he was out there yeah I mean we want to be a team where there’s not like a primary playmaker where we’re working together for the advantages but I thought he um was on

The gas tonight and played with really good thrust which is the way that you have to play against a defense like that you know it’s just if you’re slow inside the actions or slow with your decisions against their defense you that’s why they’re good you know and so I thought

He was on the gas tonight it gave him a good chance to get downhill he was able to find some plays there um and those were our best possessions tonight when we play with that sort of force just thinking about him in the past there are sometimes even against this team where

He would get kind of stopped up at the elbow or you know slowed down how big of a sign of growth is his trajectory to be able to be on the gas in this way that we’ve seen here yeah not just for him it’s the offense is evolved too you know

Cuz on a lot of those plays you know there’s a screen or a slip or something that’s creating the initial advantage and then he’s gassing it so it’s not only the individual growth but it’s the growth of our system and you know the rest of our players and him you know in

Unison to create more of those advantages

Hear from Josh Giddey, Cason Wallace and Chet Holmgren, and Head Coach Mark Daigneault following the Thunder’s 135 – 100 loss in Boston.

0:00 Josh Giddey
5:34 Cason Wallace and Chet Holmgren
10:15 Coach Daigneault

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