Kevin Huerter, Trey Lyles & Coach Brown | Practice Interviews 2.8.24

Kevin Huerter, Trey Lyles & Coach Brown | Practice Interviews 2.8.24

After something like like that is it something you just try to wipe out the memory really quickly uh it stings it definitely stings um it’s a game we we should have won obviously at home uh how their season has gone you know they had a lot of young guys who played hard and

Fought and they shot the piss out of it and our own building but uh again a situation where we had a lot of controllables that we could have played better and definitely still thingss a little bit today have you ever been cost from a game before that was my first

Text you that my career I’m not sure honestly I think on the year I might have one or two outside of last night so I’m not sure first first tag oh was first tag of the Year okay surprised how quick it came the first an second definitely

Definitely Mike said post game was he was kind of frustrated a lot of the defensive issues are same things you guys have talked about before what are some of those things and what do you think you need to do better M the stuff we work on every day stuff we do in

Drills and stuff we watch a lot on film obviously uh really kind of all over the place so we just got to be a little bit more consistent with how we’re doing things and uh just be better moving forward he’s talking about the discipline of like who’s labeled hot and

Not and those close outs um obviously it’s easy for us to look and think you know that somebody should close out on how difficult is that to recognize and act upon like mid game uh I mean it’s you know it goes further than that it’s you know even you

Know knowing Personnel uh knowing our rotations knowing what coverages we’re in and uh you know our roles that we have within our defense and kind of across the board and uh again just being more consistent with with each of those areas you had uh you know when you were

In Detroit obviously they jumped you guys pretty good you were able to kind of Rally from that were there any similarities in the way they were able to contend against you guys last night versus that game went a little bit different you know we got up early they

Made a run and then uh third quarter we were you know felt like after d l is three in the quarter felt like we’re going to figure it out and ride a little bit of that momentum and and we’ve been good in the fourth quarter uh it’s not

How it worked out and U like I said we’re all definitely frustrated how how it out you have a game like last night then obviously the trading deadline it can be kind of a distraction for some people how do you feel like that came and went with your crew coming back on practice

And just kind of getting uh you know we put practice till after the deadline so once we sat down and watched film today everyone who was sitting down was on the team and we had everybody in the building we had yesterday so uh not much

Has changed for us you know I I didn’t feel any different yesterday playing last night I don’t think anybody else really did and uh today we came in got to work in and you we’ll go play Denver tomorrow is it a big stress Rel Le getting past this the trade deadline day

Not really at least not not for me I don’t know if other guys are feeling it uh I think it’s always to be honest it’s an exciting time for the NBA you wake up this morning and we’re on the west coast and there’s already a handful of moves

Made and becomes a little bit like a like a 2K game and get every team just making trades and so uh I’ve never been traded on on deadline day so maybe have a different feeling towards it but for me it’s kind of it’s you know the league takes over the internet and everybody’s

Dial in seeing what every team is going to do uh the rest of the year obviously teams look different it’s the home stretch and see how everything else plays out Kevin uh back to the game last night uh the kings were out rebounded 42 to 33

Um you guys usually you know one top rebounding Le uh teams in the league what what went on with that last year I mean last night where guys couldn’t clear the boards yeah uh I think with everything else a focus and effort thing you know just across board wasn’t

Consistent enough I think Parts in the game we showed and we were locked in and then other parts we weren’t and that was uh against a young team like that you know guys aren’t used to playing the big minutes they’re used to playing and they’re going to play super hard and uh

Yeah there’s certain we can definitely finish possessions better what’s I guess maybe the biggest motiv the biggest positive come out is is a big motivating factor when you drop a game like that you’ve got obviously the Nuggets right around the corner and just I guess the

The mindset of moving on yeah I think it’s just something you take each game game by game you know we’ve 82 of these things uh it’s a game we would obviously like to have but you know the next game’s just just as important as the last and we’s some really good

Opportunities to play against teams that are ahead of us in the standings are right with us in the standings to you control our own destiny over the next four games going an Allstar break and and even you know the the five or five

To 10 coming out of it so uh still in a fine spot you know we can control we can control I think our team we know that best we can play with anybody and uh just going to continue to improve it trade deadlines kind of come and gone

How big this release is that the your grou uh honestly I I can only speak for myself um wasn’t really trying to pay too much attention to it just trying to focus on these games honestly so um I’m sure a lot of guys are relieved and and feel

Good to know that they’re secure for the for the rest of the season so we just got to you know come in with a with a positive excited mindset for the rest of the year how was that just the tenor of the team the mood of the team coming in

Today I think it was all right you know um we I think everybody realized that we let one go because of our energy and our effort yesterday and competitiveness and uh we talked about it talked about it as a group um and I think everybody can you know is going to hold thems

Accountable from here on out um especially in games like that where we have to kind of pick ourselves up for it and uh you know respect our opponents more than what we did yesterday yeah it’s like it’s easy seems like there’s so many personalities on a team they

They kind of digest a loss different than others and Mike kind of talked about last night how you wanted that to sting do you kind of agree with that wanting to kind of carry that over yeah I mean I think a game like like last

Night has to hurt in the aspect of it was self-inflicted you know um if we were able to go out there and do what we’re capable of it should have been a win for us but we weren’t able to do that so uh we just got to you know like

I said hold each other accountable um hold ourselves accountable and make sure it doesn’t happen like that again when it comes to that lack of energy and competitiveness like where do you notice that on the defensive end uh you could just tell the coverages um switching when we’re not supposed to switch not

Having low man people not engaged on rollers and stuff like that so it’s easy for you know people on the team to to notice kind of quickly that it’s a it’s a problem so Trey uh the second unit has picked it up the last four games I know

There was a couple games uh the total bench production was 16 18 points but seem like you and uh Malik been having no discussions again you know hey you guys got to get together and uh bring that energy is that correct yeah you know uh me and Malik talk a lot we’re

We’re two of the main first guys off the bench Davon is as well now and that you know we have to come in and give the team a lift um we can’t just rely on um dear domas Keegan HB and Kev to hold us over the entire game so they need help

And and that’s our job is to come in and be spark plugs um offensively and defensively and that’s something that we know and we talk about quite often so it’s nice to see uh uh guys making some shots and impacting the game and uh we just got to continue to do that

Self-inflicted how do you guys shake that it seems like we’ve heard that from you guys quite a bit lately um like I said we just got to hold each other accountable you know we got to be okay with uh getting on each other’s cases and and if a guy’s not locked in

Offensively or defensively be okay with pulling them to the side or saying it in front of the group and and everybody knows and then that individual knows and then you know we won’t have any you know self inflicted wounds like that without at least competing at a very high level

Which we didn’t do when it comes to Davon obviously we know what he does defensively but when do you feel like he’s at his best offensively uh when he’s attacking you know when he can get downhill he can get by people and make plays for everybody and and run the

Offense and then you know he’s a good enough shooter that um you know when he’s open we we trust him and we want him to make those take and make those shots and he believes in himself he puts the work in so we expect that from him

As well day later is it easier no still stinks still sucks but you know what hopefully we got a little bit better from it how how was the mood obviously come in and guys did did do you feel like they wore the message well you wanted it to sting sound like you kind

Of gave them some words last night I I hope so you know I I I I do I believe in this group I believe this group is competitive I believe they want to win I I’ve seen it you know I felt it and uh you know and I understand like I told

Said last night I understand there’s some games you going to kind of trick off or however you want to call it you know cuz everybody’s in the NBA and they’re talented and anything can happen on any given night but I don’t believe any of us starting with me could say we

We’d be able to look ourselves in the mirror say we left it out on the floor last night and and again that’s that’s not anything to the Pistons and the job they did and and and Ivy and and Monty uh it’s just how we feel as a team and

Who we think we’re who we think we are like uh NBA tra trade deadline comes and goes the same exact group that you’re going to walk in the second half with is there a little bit of like pressure off you guys because of that like where you

Know this is your group and who’s going to be here uh maybe it might be with some guys CU you know no sometimes guys want to betrayed some kind they don’t and but it it’s a it’s a pain for it to happen you know I mean uprooting your family and

Your life and all that other stuff and and it might be you know a relief to to some guys you would have to ask them all together I know as a as a head coach uh you know you know that okay hey from this point forward kind of sort of like

You said we don’t that’s one less quote unquote distraction that you have to deal with uh but that’s part of our business and that’s a part that that is unfortunate but we have to be able to deal with it on a yearly basis is for

You as a coach does it kind of like this is who I’ve got like whatever it is we’re going forward I’ve got to figure out how to get this done with this group I Jan I I really feel like that that’s my mentality anyway yeah yeah that that

Um and I and I like this group man and I believe in this group I I I really think this group can be special uh but it’s going to take all of us starting with me uh more than what we brought to the table so far in order for that to happen

Do you uh do you feel like on your end uh hindsight being 2020 you would have done anything different last night especially in that fourth quarter yeah there’s a couple things I I wish I would have done different you know and I’m not going to say right but but yeah there

Are a couple of things that I’m like okay if I had that back I should have done this you know or done that I wonder just kind of that mentality going forward for you guys is is it tough to have a game like that where you don’t go

All right maybe it’s not wholesale changes but you you look at things that you will do differently going forward yeah and I mean and that that’s part of it you know we were struggling to close out games you know and not that we’ve mastered that but we’re a lot better now

Than what we were when we went through it you know initially uh we struggled against uh teams that played small and switched one through five and we’re a whole lot better now than what we were when it first started happening to us and and when I say we’re we’re I’m

Talking even myself me being able to help the guys so uh there are strides that we’ve made in situations where we’ve hit some adversity or had some tough losses and hopefully uh that will continue Coach Brown up yeah in the case of uh Keegan in the case of Keegan he

Had a struggled a little bit I think it had to do something with those f fou you think those getting into foul trouble like that kind of um you know mess with his psyche a little bit yeah you know he he he’s a he’s a young guy and and it’s

Tough when you get in foul trouble like that because you know it for us we’re like okay well I don’t know if I quite trust him yet cuz he’s young and he hasn’t been through it and and shown that he can not foul um if he has four or something like that or

Two in the first quarter so we try to leave him out there or some so it doesn’t mess with his rhythm but the reality of it is uh you know when he picks up those early fouls and he’s in foul trouble it turns into a choppy game

For him and it messes with his rhythm and usually when you’re a player and I mean you all played on the playground if if your rhythm’s not there it can mess with your psyche a little bit you know uh but that’s something that he’s got to

Continue to uh figure out and we have to continue trying to give him give him opportunities to show we can trust him when it does happen by leaving him on the floor a little bit longer so his so his rhythm is not as is is quite off

When he when he goes back how do you feel like that foul trouble affected you guys defensively in the fourth quarter with Ivy doing what he did uh I mean it it did impact us you know a little bit uh because you know if keeg wasn’t in

Foul trouble maybe he might be in the flow of the game a little bit better and then at the end of the day he’s if he’s not our top perimeter Defender he’s definitely one of two um so there’s a good chance he could have been on the

Floor to help in that situation but uh it is what it is you know we we rolled with it and and you give credit to Ivy he he had a heck of a game including the fourth quarter and on the other end of the floor for key like it seems like HB

Has been getting more involved recently and obviously there’s only only so many shots in can go around so how do you kind of balance getting Keegan more reps to continue getting developed and also just maintaining the flow and everybody else getting their touch us well so we

Play fast and I don’t I don’t call a lot of plays and like you said so the play calls are limited and we got a lot of guys that we can go to in a lot of different situations and so uh similar to what AG did uh at times uh Keegan’s

Going to have to just be aggressive in the flow of our offense and that doesn’t mean run to the ball all the time but the the way our guys playing the way they share the ball if you move um and you’re in the right positions or spots

And your spacing is at a high level uh the Synergy of the ball seems to find you and uh that’s what’s basically what basically started happening with h and he took advantage of it so uh Keegan’s going to have to do that may run the

Floor a little bit harder you know or a little bit faster uh come fly off that dho adlas a little bit harder and look to turn the corner if there’s nobody there try to get to the rim to finish if they go under shoot it you know but guys

Can find different ways to get involved without their number called because I think they all know that the way we like to play it’s free flowing it’s conceptually and uh there’s not going to be a lot of me trying to slow it down hey hey no no no go to this unless it’s

At the end of uh end of a end of a game Andor sometimes after dead ball situations or free throw situations which is not a ton one last one uh what’s going to be like on Sunday uh able to watch the football game and watch your son what’s

That like I’m I’m excited I’m I’m watching it I’m going have I’m carrying my 49er shirt with me I will have it on uh and I will be into it for sure 100% go ners go freaking ners can I say freaking freaking fre fre

You talk to him is he okay is he doing you guys know what that is yeah yeah let’s go

Kevin Huerter, Trey Lyles & Coach Brown speak to the media following practice at the Golden 1 Center Practice Facility on February 8, 2024.

0:00 – 4:33 Kevin Huerter
4:33 – 8:03 Trey Lyles
8:03 – 16:01 Coach Brown

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