Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis and Coach Brown | Practice Pressers 1.21.24

Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis and Coach Brown | Practice Pressers 1.21.24

Good good not bad um I know when you guys lose games and they’re disappointed you want to play right away when you have these three days what kind of happens for you during these times uh reset uh within our team within everyone in the organization so um could be a

Blessing in disguise um for all of us to just refresh our minds and get away for a little bit and what do you feel like you guys have taken away most from it in terms of the biggest positive foot forward I guess uh just learning uh

Learning from not only our last game but um all the games before on the road trip what we did well um what we let get away from us and things like that so just learning from our mistakes and knowing um how good we’ve been early on this

Year and how good we can be I just been talking about the focus you guys got to stay locked in h how do you get there how do you guys as a team kind of stay focused so you can close these games out yeah I mean we I think Mike said um at

This point last year we had the same record this year that we did last year year so um just knowing that we’re still in a good position um in the Western Conference um and knowing that we still have a chance to be able to make the

Playoffs and things like that so um just staying focused um each and every day in practice and just taking a game by game you mentioned the same record um why do you feel like it feels a little different uh I mean yeah I mean obviously second season same roster um I

Think there’s there’s more expectations this year than last year so um and where we like nine games above 500 um so we were in a good spot we let a couple slips so um it’s a little different feeling but at the end of the day um our

Coaches and everyone says we’re ston in position are you trying to be more aggressive offensively lately like is that like a point of emphasis for you uh yeah just trying to be the aggress on offense um trying to find easy baskets transition um things like that um and I

Found success in that I feel like especially on the road trip um so just trying to be aggressive when other guys aren’t hitting shots or things like that just try to be that guy that’s always consistent yeah is that like a tough balance like looking for

Yours a little more uh I mean yeah but I feel like a lot of it’s been coming in the flow of the offense and in transition so um I feel like I’m just getting more comfortable in what we’re doing um and that’s leading to me finding more success have you ever had

That many dunks in a game you did last year how many I have I feel like yeah uh no definitely not not even close you right now I know after Lo game the other day were talking about keeping together and really looking forward to turning things around on Monday well

We’ve had uh two great practices you know um we’re really prepared for tomorrow you know and there’s only one goal is uh just find our group back and uh play play basketball the way we play uh for tomorrow against the Hawks and when you talk about you know guys when

You go through a stretch like this you guys want to play right away these three days is there a lot of sing during that time uh it’s good you know it it give guys to uh work work work on their Craft on on their games you know we’ve been on

The road all month so you don’t really get that on the road so um to be home in our own facility feels good what can you identify as just maybe the thing that has to change the um I would say just not losing focus you know on on our goal you know the

Goal is to win and uh keep keep adding those uh all those wins uh for for the end of the season and um our my main issue is not playing a whole 48 minutes you know we might have really really good minutes first second third quarter or whatever it may be you

Know and then we kind of break down but we break down um quick and fast you know which um isn’t good and how do you avoid that you know you talking about Focus like you guys on the court trying to make sure everyone’s locked in like what

What is it um yeah like we’ve gone through film we’ve uh definitely seen the patterns and stuff that happens um when we start losing a lead you know so like all it takes is one of us to go out there and uh identify it you know in a

Timeout bring it up and be like okay you know we we’ve been here before let’s not do this again you know let’s really focus you know maybe run the clock on a on a possession to get a good shot instead of just playing basketball straight away you know all these little

Things that we can control at the end of the day you know um to slow other teams momentum and with free throw shooting of course you guys are putting the work you’re shooting them but again it’s what happens during the game for you personally do you have to like change

Your mental approach up there is there anything you can do or like what what are you doing uh no I have a routine you know that that I’ve been following you know um all my career you know and um sticking with it you know um some days

Are better some days are worse you know um but obviously if all of us um improve starting with me you know um it will definitely put us in better position kind of go up and down a little bit but obviously you know he was he had it rolling past few games last night

Indiana uh for him to go up against a former team like that when things might be rolling good do you feel like he’s kind of looking forward to the moment oh of course you know um you know I always try to have Kev back you know try and

Help him out the court trying and get him some easy shots to go in you know like you said he’s been up and down all season you know but he works hard he puts in the effort you know so our goal is uh to keep him up for as long as

Possible or forever you’re and you’re kind of like a connect and you’re always high and guys you always try to keep spirits up but when you say something you you’ll say something yeah um with him though you’re pretty close I mean do you walk a fine line there everyone’s

Different you try to keep him up more the times than not um yeah you know every everyone’s different you know everyone has different personalities you know different different friendships you know so you have to learn how to talk to one differently you know but um with Kev

I just try to keep him up you know he works hard he’s confident you know he’s really a talented player with a lot of gifts you know and U he just has to go out there and use him confidently what’s the do to your offense when he’s able to

Get it going like he has been I mean it’s great you know we got Fox on the perimeter you got him doing what he does obviously Keegan does what he does he got HP you know when Malik comes in you know it just makes it harder you know

There’s no there’s nowhere where the defense can rest you know and when he’s doing that he he might be the test Point how uh I mean usually when you guys lose games you want to play the next day how’s this kind of stretch here for you

Guys to kind of reflect and get better no it it’s been great from the standpoint I our guys are they’re terrific they they want to win um they’re connected with each other with us um and they know that uh we’re going to keep trying to give them answers to

Any problems that we have and uh or that we we’ve gone through and so for us to be able to try to correct some of the things that uh uh we didn’t do a good job of um on both sides of the allall during this time while uh healing up and you

Know bumping heads together uh it was a nice stretch for us what is The Challenge on your end because like you mentioned you know records are the same um as you was last year and things felt maybe a little bit different it’s a four game slide but you have a lot of moments

Where you’re playing really really well what’s the biggest challenge for you during this stretch uh to to to make sure our guys know that I’mma tell them the truth and I’m going keep it real uh while coaching him hard but uh continue to believe because we’re a good

Team our guys know it and having that belief or confidence is more than half the battle in this league because there are a lot of good teams out there and if you accentuate the positive what would the biggest positive out of this be uh I mean there were there were a lot

Of them in my opinion in my opinion offensively uh we’ve been playing in my my opinion again very very well now uh We’ve turned the ball over uh a little too much or more than what we should or what can help us win games um and uh our process at the free throw

Line hadn’t always been been great but uh offensively you know the percentage that we’re shooting the assists that we’re getting the way the ball’s moving the way the floor is SPAC and all that it’s been at a at a pretty high level and then you know I I I defensively

First 40 minutes of that Phoenix game I don’t know if I’ve seen us defend better in my time here so like I said they’re they’re there’s some things that really pop out offensively for long long stretch defensively here and there um we just have to figure out a way to sustain

It for ASO for a little closer to 48 minutes as possible than what we have been doing I had even I had even thought about that desperation time of Indiana when you have to force turnovers and make stops I was like God piss off my BR

To see that actually happen when when he just flip a switch and it’s like here’s that defense yeah yes but the the and I said this before the neat part about it is you know guys could have easily just thrown it in but we had guys scram and

It’s not guys are in the NBA and when you’re putting two on the ball all the way uh in the back court like we did like that uh it’s easy to find uh the holes pick you apart get open shot after layup or dunk after open shot lay up a

Dunk and uh for our guys to scramble and do it with high hands especially being tired and give ourselves a chance that was that was great to see I don’t like to see it but it was great to see the the the fight yeah I just got two more

For you the um uh looking at Kevin I mean every team he’s gonna get a lot of attention to up against his former team but it kind of coincides in a good time for him where it seems like he’s found that rhythm again I don’t know if it’s

Small sample size but how much do you believe in that a player like that when that type of moment in a in a season where maybe the struggle is there no you know obviously when it when it happened and I even told him I said hey you know

Right now I just need to shake some things up and sometimes not just for the team but sometimes for the individual too it can help him refocus or take some pressure off of him or what you may call it and I mean he’s a career 38 39 whatever it is three-point shooter and

So you know that that’s not going to go away and uh and I’ve told him I told it to everybody defensively he’s uh a lot better this year than when he was last year and that those are things you like to see and um and so we knew it he was

Going to eventually be back uh didn’t know win you know and and you know the blowout losss to New Orleans you can always find a silver lining in it but maybe maybe if he starts he doesn’t play down the stretch like he did you know uh

And he doesn’t you know and if he does play maybe he’s not as aggressive because there was some desperation in him to get himself back on track too and he knew he just had to let it fly and keep trying to play free and be who he

Was with some confidence and uh and he was able to do that down the stretch and and my opinion now he’s back he’s playing at a really high level for us which I like to see and lastly just bet you had a lot of fun last night I mean

Just heart L did you stay dry uh I there was a I wish I had my phone because I’d give her a shout out but that was a sweet sweet gal I I thought I was prepared okay when I left here to go down there but but I left my hat here I

Left my gloves here uh uh ro ro my partner she brought umbrellas for us but she can’t have umbrellas in the stands and so uh we a lot of great people down there we were talking to somebody going up the elevator to our seats and so then

When I got to our seats it started raining and I was like I don’t have no Poncho I don’t have nothing I can’t open my brother so I’m starting to get soaked and then the guy that he had one of those Macho Libre uh mask on so I I

Don’t even know he looks like but he he was walking by me and I I go hey do they sell those ponchos here and he goes no but I I’ll take mine off and you can have it I said no no no and so there was

A sweet lady sitting behind us she goes hey I got two in my backpack and she gave me two and I I took down I got her name in my phone and I’m I’m going give her tickets but uh she said sa my behind because literally I had a I had a hoodie

And then a 49ers t-shirt over it and it was just starting I can feel my back getting wet and cold it was just starting to soak through but once I put that thing on Sean I was good to go baby I was good to go what a great win oh my

Gosh it was a good win

Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis and Coach Brown speak to the media after practice in the Golden 1 Center Practice Facility in Sacramento, CA on January 21, 2024.

0:00 – 2:35 Keegan Murray
2:35 – 5:55 Domantas Sabonis
5:55 12:17 Coach Brown

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