Media Availability: Brian Keefe, Deni Avdija, Tyus Jones, and Corey Kispert | 02/10/24

Media Availability: Brian Keefe, Deni Avdija, Tyus Jones, and Corey Kispert | 02/10/24

What allowed them to hold on there in the fourth quarter uh you know we didn’t start with the defensive disposition to start the game and that kind of carried over at the end what was good though is we did I think we got down biggest lead was 15

But we did cut it to two there with under five minutes to go so we showed some good resilience but we didn’t we didn’t guard the ball as well as we should have to you mentioned the defensive disposition was that the issue in the paint what led to the advantage

They had there yeah I mean collectively we just didn’t have uh you know we didn’t come over help and protect the rim as well as we should we allowed too much dribble penetration then our help wasn’t there and they were getting points at the basket what did you see on your

Defensive board tonight defensive board they they heard us late um I thought it was okay for the most part but late in the game they got some they got some key ones that uh kind of changed the flow at the end as you continue to determine

Lineups Etc will you be more likely to play a traditional big uh if the defensive rebounding struggles late in games yeah I thought tonight we just were we were trying to find combinations of rhythms that got back in the game obviously went a little bit smaller with

Uh Kyle and Denny at the 4 five but they played you know they were the ones that kind of got us back in the game so we’re we’re going to play everybody tonight was just one of those games where we were trying to find the Rhythm and those

Two were really made a good push for us hello Brian even in the loss um Denny was able to have another solid performance with 21 points and 13 rebound can you just talk about his overall performance even through adversity I think Danny’s shown some tendous growth here in the last even you

Know six to eight games uh you know big game on the boards tonight like we have him guarding multiple guys he’s playmaking attacking uh he’s showing growth I’m I’m trusting him to make decisions with the ball and attack the rim but what I like is his rebounding

Has been high the last few games and that’s that’s what we need from him and also um Marvin Bagley obviously returned to the lineup tonight and wasn’t able to play as much minut as he was like but his defensive um ability was felt as soon as he returned to the lineup do you

Have any um thoughts on how he can help the lineup for from Marvin’s been great you know we’ve really enjoyed having here his defensive presence his rebounding his offensive rebounding like I said we just went you know a little bit smaller to try to Speed the game up

Get some get some quickness out there this one of those matchup things tonight when um when tus is on from a scoring standpoint as he was tonight how does that change the complexion of what you’re able to do as an offense I always tell tus to be super

Aggressive um he’s always the one trying to set up his teammates but I like when he’s pushing the pace looking to score for himself because it’s going to create openings for his teammates and he’s such a good passer so I’ve always encouraged tus to be aggressive on theend because

It’s really going to help our offense really get going and uh what did Tyrese Maxi do tonight to kind of give you guys some trouble yeah I mean you guys saw it he was in the paint too much uh driving in the paint um our health protection wasn’t there just attacking us coach

Keef praised your rebounding lately um what do you attribute the success you’ve had on the glass to um I feel like first of all part of the rebounding is uh me able me being able to get as many rebounds as like defensive stops as a team and I feel

Like uh I struggle in this part a little bit in the beginning of the season our defense wasn’t there uh now we were making more stops and contesting and protecting the rim a little better and I feel like I have more more chances to come and crush the boards and help my

Teammates uh to secure the rebounds something that we struggled in the beginning of the year a little bit too with the rebounding and what do you think of the addition of ran Holmes I think it’s great I think uh you know Gaff got traded um we need we need

Bigs uh to come and help us and um I just remember him playing uh from my rookie year a little bit uh I remember his game he can protect the rim he got a really really nice floater I remember that too um I haven’t really seen him

Like on the court like that um since then but um obviously we’re glad he’s here um hopefully he’s going to help us uh really protect the rim and um be a better team you had a play in the fourth quarter um there was a smaller defender

On you I don’t remember who it was but you backed him down turn Baseline and then had a reverse layup um how buddy he yeah buddy heeld yep how is your back to the basket game coming how do you feel with the postup game in that aspect of

Your offense I think I keep it simple uh I feel like the mismatch is on me then I I back it down backing down is usually they bring help and then I can and uh spray the ball and uh share the ball and make uh give my teammates an open threes

Uh and in Europe it was a big part of my game so in Europe I used to play a lot of post-ups and since then I didn’t really came and like actually played post-ups in the NBA but when I do I try to keep it simple and

Efficient got a couple open ones early um guys Finding Me U especially in transition uh so see a couple go down early just Shout was feeling good um tried to find that and um stick with it but yeah guys were finding me we were touching the paint kicking out something

We’ve been talking about and um just had a couple early looks um just shoot him with confidence I know he didn’t play tonight but what do you think R Holmes BR to this team uh energy energy um you know athletic big who’s going to be able to

You know he plays in the pocket well has a nice floater um so looking forward to uh you know working a a Twan picking World game with him um but energy yeah he’s going to bring us um uh some life uh yeah spark spark for us so um looking

Forward to getting him out there Brian mentioned that he often encourages you to be as aggressive as you can shots that sort of thing how do you st the balance personally when you step on the floor between trying to find your teammates trying to create open for

Everyone else yeah and then also trying to get yourself involved yeah it’s uh it’s a it’s a balance it’s it’s a tough um you know it’s a tough thing to to do to try to you know figure out when to uh look for your own you know but when also

You know trying to manage the game get my teammates going is you know honestly what I love doing so um just trying to manage the game but but Brian giving me that you know ultimate freedom to call the game um pushing me to be more aggressive more and more aggressive um

Not only playmaking but scoring wise um um is good for me so you know the team you know trusting in me believing in me to orchestrate and run the show um it’s just was just what I’m trying to do um man yeah just just trying to continue to

Improve on that in each and every game you mentioned coming in how important is it to have multiple you know veteran presences on young team just to have another guy like that yeah it’s important it’s important um you know guy who’s played you know played for multiple teams so you’ve seen you know

Different things um had some different experiences um it’s good for us it’s good for you know some of our young guys um you know kind of a new voice um to to share some of you know their experiences um and we’re going to continue to build

Um so yeah yeah well with the exception of tonight um we guard the ball much better um I think we’re simplifying things U we’re putting more focus on guarding the ball and it kind of makes the four guys job much easier on defensive end um and then we’re

Rebounding a lot better too um we’re in position to rebound and our guards are helping our bigs out for sure which um takes a lot of pressure off of them what do you thought about the way that Denny’s played lately he been playing great um he’s an absolute or

He’s like a runaway freight train um and he’s he’s really really picking up the or getting the hang of uh when to drive it and when to kick it and um when to take it on his own and um the balance is delicate thing and and he’s he’s

Learning he’s learning really well and um you know game like tonight he kept us in it especially in the fourth quarter and what do you think about the ran holes addition oh we’re excited man uh we’re really excited he’s got a lot left in the tank and he’s a hungry Guy

And um I think this place is going to be really really good for him I mean you saw bags kind of come in and and make an impact right away and and rich is going to do the same so um we’re excited to to work him into the fold and and uh you

Know see how he can impact our team over the next 30 games when tus is scoring as he did tonight how does that change the complexion of your off um I mean tus is tus is smart enough to have own that responsibility um I mean whether he’s passing or whether he’s scoring we’re

Going to give him the ball the ball’s going to be in his hands and whether he decides to shoot it or he decides to pass it is on him and he’s he’s played in the league for a long time and he’s a really good point guard so you know that

Kind of responsibility is something that we trust him fully with and U it made me happy to see those uh those is going early for Him special was really cool

Interim Head Coach Brian Keefe, Deni Avdija, Tyus Jones, and Corey Kispert spoke to the media following Saturday night’s matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers at Capital One Arena.

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