Coach Taylor Jenkins Press Conference | Bulls vs. Grizzlies

Coach Taylor Jenkins Press Conference | Bulls vs. Grizzlies

Uh Taylor I think uh Gigi Jackson today off the bench youngest player um to score um you know to reach that total uh he surpassed Kobe Bryant um in that regard just what does you think of his performance today um and just what he’s kind of bringing to the team lately with

The additional minutes yeah uh just real quick um I know it’s official and all that but I just want to um publicly say thank you to drod obviously we made a move uh today and uh as I said earlier especially with X and with d their difficult decisions both those guys made

Tremendous impacts obviously D Rod in just one plus year um another guy that really early on his career established a lot of great Pro habits you know ultra competitive I told him that today I said we’re going to miss that keep keep staying true to that keep staying true

To the the work ethic that you’ve already established in just your second year um you know he made a great Mark here obviously he’s going an opportunity somewhere else uh it’s a tough part of this business but definitely wish him well um Gigi was phenomenal I mean obviously you know embracing his role

Coming off the bench um offensively you know it’s Diversified scoring attacks downhill obviously when he gets his feet set knocks down threes he you know still learning you know some of the rushed possessions and on offense that you know he he’s taking a heart you know he

Understands where he can get better uh that’s really impressive you know getting downhill uh drawing fouls um you continue to grow his playmaking ability you know seeing the floor and stuff is something we’re going to pour into but he comes in with a confidence and aggressiveness um he’s obviously had a

Couple tough games you know recently so to see him bounce back here and have a night like that and then there’s some things defensively did well and some defensive things he’s got to get better at especially fourth quarter last two games Nick’s game and and tonight against the Bulls that it’s only going

To make him better because I know he watches the film and um he’s he he’s learning on the Fly and and wants to help us win defensively I know for for 41 of the 47 minutes I know they play well how impressed are you with them especially

These guys haven’t been together as a unit for a long time yeah I mean the effort’s there um sometimes the execution you know we miss a beat on a couple of possessions that are critical um you know give the Bulls credit they made some plays down the stretch you

Know uh tip in or you know a post up or whether was some of the pick and rolls obviously they they’ve got a lot of Talent on that Squad and you know they pick your poison on who you’re going to try to stop at different points

Throughout the game you know a lot of different guys stepped up from them but I think our guys are competing um we gave ourselves a chance obviously a lot of free throws at the end so you know really impressed with kind of the defensive metrics you know we got to try

To find a way to keep a team from shooting over 50% uh from the field um you know the free throws late in the game obviously was what it was but um overall you know the efforts there clean up a few execution things especially critically in that fourth quarter that

We got to come up with some of those winning plays uh but you know I I told the team be pissed that you know we took another loss but be hungry and excited excited to learn from this stuff and that’s the body language I’m seeing out

There these guys want it so bad they work so hard for it and that’s exactly what we’re going to do tomorrow coach Scotty Pippen Jr he’s already shown a lot of growth he had 15 tonight six assists 60% from a field from the field he had a LeBron James like block off the

Backboard what have you seen from him and what do you think his potential is yeah he’s uh he’s got a quiet demeanor out there but um he he uh he’s got also this just kind of like veracity I don’t I don’t know how to describe it I’m

Still learning him um but I love the fact that you know he’s getting us organized on the offensive side he’s figuring out the chemistry in our pick and roles which we’ve definitely got to clean up um you know with him and all of our screeners because I think he’s got

You know potential as a playmaker fact that he can get to the paint spray out you know obviously shot the ball well from the three-point line I want to continue to encourage him to do that and grow that part of his game and then obviously we’re sticking him on some

Tough assignments defensively point of attack defense you know uh game plan execution white was a big focal point obviously had a good night but um you know trying to limit his threes I thought he did a good job making him have to play downhill and playing those

Two-man actions but I just love the the confidence he plays with the the kind of even kill demeanor and then as you said he can have a highlight block he can hit a big time shot but he’s not phased he’s just focused on just doing his job out

There Taylor jiren coming back and having the start that he had uh in that first half how big was that and you guys creating the lead that you had for most of the game yeah it was great I mean obviously um you know out the last two

Games I thought he came in and set a big time tone um you know knock down shots from the outside didn’t get you a couple of them to fall as the game went on um but but Attack Mode you know that’s what you see you know just constantly seeing

Different coverages uh trying to put them on different spots on the floor you know he started seeing more shifts at the end of that first half and missed his open teammates but then I thought he did a great job in the second half dialing up guys hitting a roller you

Know making that early pass um but when he established himself as an aggressive scorer it’s going to open up the whole floor as a playmaker for him but he set a tone for us we needed that especially in that first quarter and um over you know unfortunately he fouled out but he

Had a big impact on the game especially offensively um Taylor just you know just going forward with starting jiren at the five how do you weigh you know the pros of like the offensive spacing and uh just the flow in General on that side of the floor with the potential to get into

These rebound discrepancies like you were in tonight it’s a great opportunity for him I think we know where he excels uh on both sides of the floor and you know um where we’re at now especially you know the health of the roster and all stuff this is a prime opportunity to

Weigh that balance for sure I think the space the advantages he creates at the five giving him the opportunity to really grow in the area of being a screener obviously had a couple of moving screens tonight you know and that’s part of just chemistry with our

Guards they got to slow down he’s got to slow down um they’ll take a little bit of time um but I think this is for big picture this is huge for him and I think he’s done a phenomenal job tonight you know it’s going to be one of those

Nights that he’s got to battle through I thought Drummond did a great job on the board ducking in on him all things that you know JJ hasn’t really seen all season long so he’s going to learn from this watch the film understand that when he’s at the five he’s got to be prepared

For matchups like this and you know do what he’s got to do on the offensive side but defensively where he may have to switch up some gears given you know certain matchups but I think it’s great for his overall development yeah and speaking more on that development of for jiren when he

Has five fouls you’ve been put in a lot of those situations four five six minutes left in the game where you have to figure out you’re going to play them rest them a couple minutes and whatnot uh what kind of conversations are you starting like to have with him when he’s

Being in those situations and then two do you think like this stretch right here um like as you emphasize development the rest of the season this is a good chance for him to kind of learn how to play uh through five fouls four five minutes left in the game more

Yeah I mean I think there was this situation a couple games ago so for the conversation I think it’s only happened like twice you know that I can remember in in uh the season but especially recently I think probably should have left him in a couple of games ago you

Know that looking back I could have you know done a better job with my decision there and then tonight you know I think it was closer to the six and then you just kind of weigh the matchups where they’re going and you know vich played well drumond played well the physical

Style and all that and you know just felt like it was an opportunity just to buy just another minute or so and then got him back in the game was still close um still had a chance uh but it’s definitely it’s difficult decisions I understand that he’s got to learn to

Play through that and then it’s just kind of you know not missing that opportunity something were to happen you know losing too many minutes at the end of the game so uh tricky situation you know he I’ll talk about if it becomes more of an issue but I love that he’s

You know been pretty good all season long the development Vince whs J nearly had a triple double you know his name’s showing up in scouting report so but he’s still able to do the little thing well consistently how has he ever been do it consistently after being scouted I

Mean he uh he’s staying true to himself um you know obviously worked so hard to get uh you know an NBA contract and he hasn’t you know uh looked back and said oh that’s not who I am I got to be someone different he stays true to who

He is he’s an intangible guy that impacts the game and scoring playmaking to see him get eight assists tonight was awesome and I just kept talking to him about the field when he’s coming off his screens seeing the floor keeping his dribble alive you know he hasn’t gotten

That exposure and that’s something I want to you know press upon Him is I want the ball in your hands more early in possessions running play calls for you and then we know he’s going to defend his tail off he’s going to get rebounds he’s going to make those

Winning plays shoot it with confidence so seeing some of that growth you know on the offensive side’s huge um he’s taking full advantage of this opportunity and the fact that he’s just saying hey whatever they give me I’m going to go out and be that’s my task

Play play to my game um and whatever is my development opportunity take advantage of it and not to try to do too much um it’s awesome to see his development from last year the summer beginning the season even just this recent stretch with more usage great thanks everyone appreciate it

Taylor Jenkins meets with the media following a loss to the Chicago Bulls. #nba

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