“It’s Pleasant To Be Here & Enjoy This…” | Chris Finch NBA All-Star Practice Sound | 02.17.24

“It’s Pleasant To Be Here & Enjoy This…” | Chris Finch NBA All-Star Practice Sound | 02.17.24

Coach hey how you doing when you look back at kind of uh your career path both overseas then G league and that path to get you here what what’s kind of your perspective on what’s alleg you to this moment being coach of the I mean just incredibly fortunate um right place the

Right time a lot of a lot of the places along my journey you know I’d be lying to you if I ever thought that I was going to be here um even in the NBA you know I just wanted to coach basketball and some points I thought maybe a small

College would be where I was going to be but was fortunate enough to get to work in some great organizations and opportunities that led to bigger and better things and um so yeah so it’s been crazy when I think about it you know it’s only been probably like 12 15

Years since I’ve been in Europe but it feels like a lifetime ago really the strides or improvements have you seen Carl kind of take since she took over uh yeah I mean it’s it’s crazy when I think about all the uh the continual like adjusting of his game um

Due to different roster moves that have been made um the emergence of Anthony uh and how that’s he’s just seamlessly keeps changing you know so much skill uh super smart very willing teammate he was the first guy to kind of welcome the Rudy concept and make it work before he got

Hurt you know they had a really good early chemistry um and then I just had to like kind of get comfortable playing in a slightly different Rhythm More you know more uh more off kind of off the ball rather than always playing through him um and now he’s kind of seamlessly found

That balance uh and then at the other end of the floor defensively just continues to get better and better and it’s really been been the key to a lot of things that we’re trying to do defensively because U every different night every night it’s a different kind

Of puzzle we have to solve with it the yeah I know uh you know everyone always says we expect to be successful every year but did you guys anticipate going from was it eth to first this year well I think no I mean to be to be honest we

Didn’t kind of quantify it that way um when you do look at the conference standings in the West on any given year this year is the same as last last year you know there not a there’s not a huge gap between the top and the playin tournament um we felt that we could

Easily be a top six team coming into this season we felt we would be better um just if we stayed healthy given what we had learned last year about the r the Rudy um acquisition and all that we learned with having him on board uh ant’s emergence Jaden NZ we felt these

Guys would continue to take a step back uh forward getting cat back was huge so so yeah we we but we couldn’t have predicted this but um but yeah so um it’s going to be still a tight race though when you think about it and it’s always been that way since since I’ve

Been in the league so I what are you most excited for ahead of tonight most excited head of tonight start of tonight uh honestly I think the most excited for me for the whole weekend is is was practice just being in that locker room and watching these guys come

In one by one and you know some of them I know and some of them I’ve been lucky enough to coach and some of them I I’ve never really officially met you know with a handshake and an introduction um told told the guys how honored it was I

Was to be here what was a privilege and there’s not many times like at this point in your life you feel like a kid again but standing in a room with uh all that star power um is pretty pretty uh inspiring and we can say that the

Defense of your team tomorrow is not going to be as good as the team World this season how difficult is it you know for your defensive goost suddenly you know yeah I mean I would expect you know the competitive nature of these guys to get to grow throughout the game um I

Like the fact that they’ve gone back to an East West format and that’s uh should drive a little bit competition and yeah this is a a game where they’re going to show off their incredible skill and have fun doing it you mentioned Carl’s defense what’s the plas be you know guarding some w

What like yeah I think it starts with just you know um being comfortable playing uh outside of pick and roll like most of his defense has been at the five heavy heavy pick and roll um so now he’s got to play off the ball containing the ball

Um you know at any given night in the league the four position is probably the most uh has the most variety of types of players you play guys who can really drive it guys who can really really shoot it still some rugged guys there so um and then just rotations and playing

In actions and fighting through screens and all that kind of stuff um you know and in the beginning of the Season there was still a little bit of a lag time when these things were happening but now he anticipates that stuff even better so um you know continued credit to him for this

Question was biting and attention to detail kind of in I think it’s uh it’s I think it’s certainly um buy into to what we knew our strengths were going to be as a team like when we when we talked on day one what we could be really good at we knew

We had the makings to be a really really good defensive team not just with Rudy but also at the point of attack we have ant we have Jaden we we really saw what nille could do last year coming down the stretch particularly in the playin game

Um versus Oklahoma City uh anding in the playoffs you know way he battled with Jamal Murray and we just felt we had a multitude of guys who could be really good on the ball and on the perimeter and then with Rudy uh on the back line

So there was no reason we shouldn’t be a great defensive teams and the guys picked up on that right away Chris does it mean more to you that you have two players chosen to the All-Star Game by the coaches compared to the fan boote uh great question um I think it should mean

More to them for sure you know I’m not sure what it means to our organization is we we’re extremely proud of you know their efforts and what it represents for our team success um but yeah I think it’s a great honor when the when the coaches are actually tabbing these guys

Because they recognize what they’re doing uh taking nothing away from the fan vote uh cuz all those guys are certainly worthy um but it is I think a special recognition when the coaches are picking thank Chris how you doing we are from Argentina close friend from Pablo p

Nice so I would like a few words about what what’s good for you to have Pablo roster well I mean as energy such a as a such infectious positivity um that’s one two extremely smart and experienced as a player it’s always great to have people

Who have played in the NBA on um your staff because they can relate to the players and and I love the way he messages with our players like it’s very very direct but very non-threatening and our guys really respond to him yeah and you have as a player too right

Pardon you Sher with him as a player too yeah I S I was I was able to coach coach him as a player um in Houston and we had a a good run together there so thank you so much thank you coach the offensive explosion in the NBA over the last few

Years just been Skyrocket and wondering just in general do you feel it’s gone too far and if so is there any sort of rule change you’d have to maybe combat that um I don’t think it’s gone too far I think it’s a result of the incredible

Amount of skill that we have in the game right now um so I wouldn’t say it’s gone too far what I would say is that I think and I know the league is considering these things I don’t think there’s a needs to be a rule change I do think we

Can put some more emphasis on you know how we allow teams to defend that are within the rule structure right now so I wouldn’t want the league to do anything radical but I do like an interpretation yeah like just maybe give give some leeway back to the defense a little bit

Of Freedom back to the defense EV um you know these guys are so skilled and they create so much separation with that skill and that speed um we have to find ways to kind of maybe close that Gap you know coach hey how you doing how’s it

Going good um kind of building on that 10-point leads and 20 point leads just are not what they used to tell me about it uh what do you think goes into just how I mean even Tony high point I think just really safe the game what what’s

What’s changed in the last you know 10 15 years yeah I think well certainly the three-point shot in the pace I mean that’s what it comes down to um more possessions um and then the volatility of three-point shooting and the volume is up you know

And I think it’s also you see a lot of kind of unpredictable results regardless of the point differential and the margin the score like you be like wow how that team beat that team you know and then you look at the column and they put in 22 threes you know they’ve made 22

Threes like there was a time where you weren’t taking 20 threes in a game so it’s allot down to that um momentum you know these guys are most of these guys have you know got to the league through being an offensive player offensive minded player and when those guys get

Hot in the league it’s it’s it’s you know a sight and it’s really hard to stop so momentum is really hard to um you know to to kind of to curve the tide so but mostly it’s pace and and um three-point shots you talk about possessions and Pace pardon you talk

About possessions and pace and evolution of offense I was wondering especially with the defensive background that you have what are you seeing from skills or schemes that you feel like can comat that you make it more F defensively yeah defensively I mean you have to be right

Now you have to be elite at the point of attack you have to have Defenders that can contain the ball you know it’s uh it’s it’s almost impossible with the skill and and the and the way the game is played the spacing that that people can create with Five Guys on the

Perimeter now you have to be elite at the point of attack um or you have to have great length and that’s one thing that we’re benefiting from We’re extremely Long Tall team um so allows us to cover a lot of ground and contest shots um and that’s the other thing is I

Think defense comes down to your ability to contest shots like no matter how you decide to play Pick and rooll or any sche you might choose at some point they’re going to get a shot and you got to bother it as much as you possibly can

Coach when you look at the roster the list of names that you’re coaching I mean how fun is that to as a coach to be coaching such a such a stat group yeah it’s pretty incredible man look all first ballot Hall of Famers no doubt um and uh

When I would look at the rosters and the in the last few days I didn’t really try look too much cuz before we were we were able to get you know clinch coaching here um I just was like wow that that guy then oh wow that guy too oh wow you

Know it just goes on and on and you see these guys every night and you compete against them and they they give you such headaches you know it’s actually a it’s Pleasant to be here and enjoy this experience with them so

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