Davion Mitchell, Malik Monk, Mike Brown | Postgame Pressers 12.29.23

Davion Mitchell, Malik Monk, Mike Brown | Postgame Pressers 12.29.23

Davon one thing that has been really apparent about Mike is whether you have kind of fallen out of the rotation or you’re in it there’s always opportunity he’s going to give it to you talk about kind of having the opportunity tonight to kind of get out there and and make an

Impact on theame yeah um I think from the beginning I think that um we got to a slow start of course and we could we need to stops defensively and um I mean Mike trusts me especially on that side and he know that people on the Ben usually change the game with their

Energy excited to play um and that’s what I try to do um I try to just stay ready in those moments um cuz I know every game like our starter’s not going to come out blazing um there going to be times where we come out slow so I just

Try to go in there and change the game defensively um try to get stops and get easy buckets it’s very apparent watching kind of during timeouts and we keep an eye on that and you’re always very engaged talking to Keon poting things out how important is that for you to

Still impact even by yeah I mean I think that even if I’m not in rotation I mean still trying to help um still trying to help my team win and and Keon’s a a really good a really good player in our league and I’m just trying

To teach him the little things of the thing things I experienced already my rookie year my sophomore year so just things I experienced and try to give him that knowledge so he can be better um and I mean he’s been he’s been a really good player for us um defensively

Offensively just playing his role and yeah it’s been good for him you guys spill down big early and then cut the lead to five in the second quarter and then they went on a run just before time how sort of demoralizing was that sequence and what was the mood of the team

That I think we uh we all kind of been in this lead long enough that know that teams are going to go on runs um and we went on our run they went on their run I mean this game is all about runs and we got really good players on our lead um

That can make shots make tough shots and and we came back and we didn’t really I mean we know we got punched in mouth but we didn’t fold um that’s what I love about this team we played hard throughout the whole game and we came out with the win today descri defensive effort

Yeah um we just try to make it tough for him um and that’s a really good offensive team I mean especially with Trey young at the the point of attack when he gets downhill making plays and they kind of get easy looks but we try to try to blit him throughout the whole

Game get the ball out of his hands make other players make plays and um and that’s what we did that’s how we got stops yeah I mean we know Darren’s one of our best players on our league we knew he wasn’t just going to have 10

Points at the end of the game I mean he’s too good for that he gets he can get his points in three levels mid-range layup free throws and and three-pointers and today he was he was filling on three-pointer and he helped us tremendously on this win are you guys

Aware this is just your second wi of the year after trailing after three quarters just I don’t know has there been frustration about not being able to come back like I mean we know I think I think the only thing we’re aware of is our back toback um just being better in our

Back toback games um I think we come out slow and we don’t really have the legs to to get those stops or hit shots um like we did today because we didn’t play it back to back but I think that’s the only thing we’re aware of honestly we

Just got to keep keep pushing um keep playing hard and keep playing for one another anything else thanks everyone youed I think it’s safe to say that the game in Portland was kind of one of the most ineffective games in terms of what the bench was able to provide nor you

Guys are able to to be a big punch what was the turnaround how what was the mentality for you those guys coming in today uh it was my mentality uh cuz I usually come in and and just bring a spark um in the Portland G I was kind of

Um little laidback um I think um and that’s what um had us going um downhill there but me and Trey always talk uh we can talk to each other however U he can tell me whatever I can tell him whatever but we always know we got to bring the

Energy every time we come in and that’s all we tried to do what do you make of the way be taken out of the rotation and what you make what contrib defensively oh yeah um I’ve been through the same thing he going through so I talk to him a lot um

And just to keep him ready um so he’s he’s handling it great um not complaining coming to work every day working harder um and I think that’s why he played tonight and um got his chance and they going to play decent every time he get out there especially on the

Defensive end and um he helped us win tonight was was uh Mike’s message defensively after the game holding him to 39 points I think they only had over the last seven how impressed was Mike with your defensive yeah that’s the that’s that’s the first thing he said

When he came in there um that that that we picked it up um on on that end and that’s why we got to win um that that was basically it though um he he just said it was a great job particularly after the forland game what was the

Range of emotions like starting the game down 23 making it Five Points again in the second quarter then double dig again at half time what was the mood of the team during Portland OR Atlanta coming off Portland like today um play harder that’s it play harder man

Cuz um every time we go down like that we just being lazy um going through the motions um letting them do whatever they want to and um we came in at halftime we was talking um said we got to hit them in the mouth first um and they going to

Let us back in it and that’s what happened when you talk about that as far as halftime is that more of the players getting together or was it coach like ring the tro both both both um we we talked way more um today than than normal so um I think that helped us

Too yeah one more question Chris came in had a a big role in this game defensively and another guy that kind of has been in and out of the rotation can you speak to Mike’s mentality of where regardless of if you’re getting a ton of playing time or not you know to stay

Engaged because he will call on you you need to be able to produce a no telling with Mike man he crazy but no yeah he always he’s always preaching that though um stay ready you never know what’s going to happen um Kev went out with an injury um early and I

Stepped in Chris had to step in Davon had to step in so you never know when your number is going to get called you just got to be ready and um I think Mike does a great job then and with letting those guys know um he going to call on

You man I I tell you what that was uh heck of a job by our team uh I mean we got down big and there was no Panic um in any of us uh the guys just kept saying the right things hey long basketball game we got to get stops you

Know keep trying to push the pace uh it was just great to hear the chatter on the bench centered around that um I mean we got a lot of great individual performances um I mean talk about the guys coming off the bench Davon who hadn’t seen the court and I don’t know

How many weeks uh gave us a huge huge huge lift uh in the 13 minutes he was the defensive player of the game it could have easily gone to another guy that gave us a huge lift and Chris dorte could easily gone to him they were both

Really really big I thought dorte three was huge in the corner too um uh Alex Lynn was huge he had a verticality I mean he he made no mistakes if any I you know maybe one I don’t know but he was just so solid on both ends of the floor his size was

Great his verticality was just showed a toughness of physicality that we need to have around the rim at a guy his size um and then Malik Malik and and Trey they gave us a great Punch coming off the bench I mean they they took great shots they made plays uh throughout the course

Of the game I mean Trey’s 19 Malik’s 15 it was huge for us coming off the bench uh at the end of the day domas and Foxy they did their job that’s what they get paid to do to to to score and make plays for us so both those guys did their job

But our second half defense collectively um starting with uh Davon and uh and dorte you know to hold an NBA team to 39 points uh for us that’s a huge achievement we haven’t done that I don’t think my whole time here and uh and then you know those guys ended up shooting

39% from the field 39.8 just a huge huge defensive win I I will say we did try to share the ball obviously 35 assists on 46 buckets was big but it it started and ended with our defense tonight like not not to make too much of one of 81 but

Did you guys need this particularly given what happened in Port particular started I I I don’t think of it that way we needed it just because I thought it was there for us to take and we’re a pretty good team and we’ve always bounced back from you know tough losses

Or whatever and you know anytime you can get one on the road you try to get it so I I didn’t look at it that way I just I just felt if we play the right way we’re going to get a lot of them and I thought

Tonight we played the right way and and our defense was huge I keep telling our guys we’re going to find a way to score we just got to find a way to consistently get stops and I thought we did so tonight earlier Ben performance in Portland

Saying that you know they just came out to and he took ownership that but they really were the bright spot offensively for you guys in the first half that kind of can you talk performance what they were able to do offensively to sustain you I I would say even so defensively

Because I thought Atlanta was scoring at will and you know we made subs and we brought dorte in we brought Malik in we brought Davon in we brought Alex in and that’s when we started getting stops and getting out and transition and running and those guys were sharing the ball and

First person that was open boom they let it go and so I thought it started with our defense with that group which led to us offensively and that was a lot of fun to watch um especially coming from you know those guys that ended up getting more minutes than what they normally get

You speak asking from your individual players defensively is it something you see them or they want to see they got to like I’m asking because Chris tonight like he admitted he came into the league as a scorer but now to earn the time he has to be you know become an elite

Defender like what are you asking of him or is that something you see in him that potential well first of all I mean he see it in him because he’s he’s strong he’s a strong young man and he’s a little longer than what you think and uh

He’s got some toughness to him mental toughness and physical toughness which bodess well for a guy that has a chance to be a pretty good Defender but I I I’m asking all of our guys to control the controllables you know they got to communicate out there if you don’t

Communicate defensively in this league you’re going to be dead in the water trust me on that they got to play physical without fouling they got to show their hands and lead with their chest and if their man scores or somebody scores because we win vertical

Or whatever I hey so be it but those two things plus this third thing we have one 100% control over and the last one is to give multiple efforts don’t don’t give one effort and quit or die on the play you got to give multiple efforts and

Then again going back to the physicality hit somebody before you can go get that ball so that’s what we’re demanding of everybody night in and night out and uh I thought we got it especially uh when we went to the bench I thought we got it

Tonight in a large dose in that second half what went into the decision to to elevate Davon over Keon what’ you make of Just The Way davon’s handled himself since being out of rotation uh really I mean I I show you my minute sheet it’s

Got Keon oh I left in my room but it’s got Keon’s name on it it literally just was at that time I said you know what we probably need a little change I’m going with Davon and I didn’t tell the coaches everybody thought we were going Keon and

I just hey Davon go and uh I got to give the young man credit he’s kind of he’s hung in there hung in there hung in there and his head was into the game tonight and his performance was huge for us in terms of getting a win Malik said

That the players talk more at halftime you get half time they talk more than they usually do is that something that you encourage that you want to see more as far as the players riding together whether they’re behind or not 100 100% and and and you know that’s what I kind

Of alluded to in the first half with the chatter I mean I I I love hearing it I I don’t think you can ever become a great team in this league until uh the locker room takes ownership in the process and it’s all the guys in the locker room and

It can’t always come from me and it can’t always come from the other coaches it’s got to come from within that Circle of players and if they can get to that point which they’re you know they did a heck of a job of tonight they’re they’re going that direction probably a little

Little slower than I and everybody else wants them to but they’re heading that way and tonight was a big step big learning experience for all of them in that regard talked about defense second yeah Fox the off points after slow first talk about the value of his

Contri you know both he and Dom submit they’re all stars and we know that they can score for us they have to score for us every single time they touch the floor and we knew foxy started out slow but we’re not going to go away from him he’s our guy

Uh we know he’s eventually going to get going and you know the thing that I like about it is is uh you know they were giving him the three ball tonight and um he’s shown like I keep saying time and time again that he can knock that shot

Down and you know to go eight for 16 from behind the Arc was a big night for him I think that’s a career-high and threes made uh for him and when you set a career high in threes made and you did it on 50% shooting

In a in a game that’s as tight as this one was uh that that shows that you you could be a special player in this league

0:00 – Davion Mitchell
3:12 – Malik Monk
6:20 – Coach Brown

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