Kevin Huerter, De’Aaron Fox & Coach Brown | Postgame Pressers 2.22.24

Kevin Huerter, De’Aaron Fox & Coach Brown | Postgame Pressers 2.22.24

Kevin just how good did it feel to have a couple go down early and sort of get your Rhythm and find your way early in this game yeah that was big I mean coming out of a break uh sometimes you don’t really know how it’s how everything’s going to feel might feel a

Little wacky uh we got a good couple days in practice in was able to lock in and they’ll get to see him Go Down Kevin last season as well you guys came out of the All-Star break pretty hot is it as simple as getting rest and kind of

Getting your legs back underneath you and and just kind of recharging and refreshing or does it go a little bit deeper with that or with this team yeah I think I think everyone needs it across the league I mean this is It’s a Grind of in 82 games everyone everyone knows

That so I think everyone looks forward to the all-star break but uh it’s really the home stretch you know this is this is year six going through it uh the rest of the season from here on out we will’ll fly by and we need every game

You know we’re we’re in a dog fight here in the west and uh we we can feel the urgency of every game and so I think everybody got a little mental refresh and we’re back ready to go Kevin would you make just some of those plays down the stretch outside of the

Dunks that were on Collins even you know Deen Fox coming up defensively with that steel on vessel that I mean that was that was one of the freakest defensive plays I think I’ve ever seen that up close like for him to be beat like that

Back door recover to it jump in the air and then find and be able to P the ball like that as he’s going out like that was that was a ridiculous defensive play and uh handful of Guys across the league that can make that and uh Vel was Vel

Was tough on night um but Fox made a made a huge play when we needed it and um you know on both sides of the ball he made plays for us but that was that was a crazy defensive play Kevin domas was sick all day long yesterday and then

Today for him to come out and put up 20 2211 and 11 just how impressive is what he’s doing just every single night yeah sick but he probably needs a rest more than more than any of us uh that guy’s guy’s a gladiator he’s in he’s in every

Night plays heavy minutes he gets beat up uh wasn’t sure if he was going to go again we didn’t we haven’t seen him the last couple days and uh he sh up here ready to play and you know wouldn’t really expect anything different and I think got his lungs back underneath him

In that first half and U was huge for us again a typical night for him Kev you talked about the sense of urgency coming out of the break like you just kind of elaborate on that and just just how important like all these games are and

How big it is to Come Away with a win tonight yeah I mean over the course of the season it’s hard not to look you know look ahead of that All-Star break I think uh you get to a certain point once you get through Christmas and through December and January feels super long

And that that Allstar break is it’s not a halfway point but for a playoff team it sort of is and so we got no more breaks like I said everything from here and out we we feel like it’s it’s downhill uh it’s going to fly by you

Know we got 27 games left but these are going to fly by especially playing a lot of these at home and so um talked about it you you look at the West we can’t afford to to have any nights off and every team we play is going to be tough

Kind of building off of that some people think the the regular season is is meaning less and less and less of course you guys want to get back to the playoffs and and build off of last season but how important is this stretch in the W Western Conference race to you

Think building and developing this team into the contender that you want to become yeah we we got to use every practice every game to do that uh we’re consistent across the board and we’ve beaten the best teams this year and we’ve we’ve lost to some of the some

Teams that are struggling this season so uh I just think continuing to find that consistency night in and night out the urgency to show up uh especially doing the little things at home in front of our own crowd is is huge for us and uh

Like I said we’ll take it one game at a time but everyone is Big Kev you guys have talked a lot about perimeter defense over the last couple days and I saw Mike obviously burn that early timeout how do you feel you guys were from that moment on tonight we were

Pretty good uh we went our best I think to be honest I think personally I think I was pretty horrible defensively tonight uh luckily I made shots but um I think it’s just coming out the right mindset again that you that was an effort play he thought we didn’t make

Early uh just trying to set the tone the right way and they made tough shots wemi is obviously tough um certain shots he takes he really can’t do much about but uh you know foxy at the point of attack I think ball pressure I think Davon

Coming in ball pressure and the rest of us trying to fly around the best we can it wasn’t our best defensive effort but we made enough plays to win at the end of the game thanks everyone Darren I guess two things one um if you could just talk about kind of the importance

Of of coming away with a win uh here tonight and then like secondly that defensive play at the end it was you know Kev said it was ridiculous and and I can you walk us through that kind of what happened there oh I mean at this point in the season obviously you you

You want wins you rather wins you don’t care how how they come um I think there were stretches where we were just turning the ball over too much and they were getting out in transition getting easy baskets uh but we were able to we were able to execute down the

Stretch and that was big for us obviously uh Devon hit some tough shots and I mean he he was great all night long uh from from the beginning of the game to the end of the game and uh for me I mean I was trying to deny and he’s

A good cutter so he got back door and uh it’s just not giving up on the play um it was either you do that or you try to foul him don’t let don’t let him get his arms up but I just went for the ball

And was able to get the ball were you surprised that you were able to get it oh I mean I wasn’t surprised uh but but I feel pretty good recovery speed and um I knew that he was going for the dunk so like there wasn’t much movement that was

Probably going to happen so uh like I said I just swung and I was able to get it and then you know domas obviously being a little bit of a a game time decision for you guys tonight and he looked obviously pretty incredible just um that matchup especially for him to go

Up against a guy like Wy and kind of use a lot of his experience against a guy like that how challenging do you think he had it tonight who uh oh I mean nothing can prepare you for that type of length like doesn’t matter who you play against if

It’s not wiy nothing prepares you for that so um obviously he’s older he’s stronger than most in this league and just um obviously you go up against someone like that you try to go into their chest uh you try to make it a physical game at the end of the day

Obviously he’s going to block shots regardless of how the game’s going he’s going to get two or three blocks no matter what happens but um that that that can really weigh on you you know you get hit over and over again um it’s it’s a physical game and and that’s the

Way domas plays and obviously uh this is wom’s first year in the league and that’s kind of what I feel like everybody was like oh can he can he handle the physicality I think he can um I think you kind of have to get used to

It and then learn how to dish it out without fouling but um domas did what he does yeah you talked about him domas doing what he does does is it surprising and how much do you guys need to make sure that it isn’t lost on your team

That he’s going out there almost every night and putting up a triple double and a double double I mean I we’ve talked about it before you try not to you you don’t want to become numb to what he’s doing like that’s not that’s not normal um it’s only been done

You know a few times in this game and um the fact that he’s available every night is big for us because he plays so hard he plays so physical um you could easily be one of those guys that you know take a few nights off but um like I said he

Came in today and you know there was you couldn’t get him to not play today he was he was a game time decision but he wasn’t he wasn’t not going to play so um that’s I mean that’s leading by example you know if something’s hurt

He’s he’s like no I’m fine I’m going to go out there and play give him my all and then um you live with the results and uh that’s what you want out of somebody who’s one of the best players in this league who should be an MVP

Candidate you know he’s I don’t know how many of those guys haven’t missed the game yet but he’s definitely up there Fox the importance of these games down the stretch speak for themselves but I’m curious obviously the goal is to get back to the playoffs to build off of

Last year’s playoff series but in your mind and maybe if Mike’s talked about it how important is this stretch in the Western Conference race and how significant all these games are to you think building to where you guys want to get to that contendership status I mean

It’s it’s huge you obviously you know there are there are different spots where you can come after All-Star break and you could be fighting for a playoff spot or you can come after Allstar break and you can be counting the days down until the game until the season’s over

Um and with the way that the West is right now um every obviously at the beginning year every game matters but right now you can win one game or lose one game and you can move up or down three or four spots like that’s that’s

How close it is right now and we know that every game is important that’s why I said um sometimes that you I mean you’d always rather a win than a loss no matter how they come but especially right now you’d rather that uh but you

Try to build as much momentum as you can going into that first round of the playoffs and then there there’s there’s no stopping right now it’s you know you’re you’re you’re in a Full Throttle right now do um now that you played against wmy um is there anything about him that surprised you

Uh I don’t know if I would say I mean I I don’t know if people know he shoots like almost 50% on step back thre so it’s crazy uh but I mean I think as he nothing surprises me obviously uh but I think as he gets older and he gets you

Know more efficient and he makes the game look a lot easier I think it’s going to be ridiculous but nah I mean all the film that you’ve seen on him before coming into the league is what he does so n nothing surprises you about him down the stretch it seemed like you

And Keegan were kind of switching back and forth on Devon what does it mean for you to have someone who you know you can rely on so you’re not constantly having to guard the opposing teams I mean it’s big I think Keegan took a a really big

Jump in that uh Department this year and I think um obviously I think everyone here has seen it uh but that’s a challenge being able to do that night in and night out um he’s done it well for us this year rather if his guarding isos getting through picks getting through

Pin Downs um whatever it is he’s he’s been amazing at that and there’s just at times you just want to throw something different you know I’m we’re different Defenders you know he’s longer um you know more of a shot blocker uh he can give you a little more space because

He’s bigger and then I’m more getting to the ball um just trying to pressure get guys to turn their back uh so it’s definitely it’s it’s it’s just throwing different Personnel at you different coverages at you and like I said I mean Deon was was great tonight you know

Nothing really bothered him but uh we were able to squeeze out the win thanks everyone found a way tonight uh it wasn’t pretty uh at all and you know you give a lot of credit to uh San Antonio they played a heck of a game I thought

Mel was was really really good he was a handful for us tonight uh he hadit tough shot after tough shot after tough shot and uh and um you know I thought some of them that he hit were man they were contested I meant the three that he hit

Across from their bench with about two minutes too I think in the game that that was just that was big time shot um but uh you know again I I give our guys a lot of credit uh even after that three we could have folded

Or um th threw in the towel but our guys just stayed with it and found a way uh even so much so you know foxy gets beat back door and and the way he recovered um was amazing and sometimes that has to happen and that’s what I mean by finding

A way because we always say hey if you’re going to get beat back door make sure your guy runs through your chest and we got beat backo on multiple occasions tonight and for him to come up with uh with that block uh at that point

In the game was was huge um he was great for us offensively as well with the 28 points and nine assists and five rebounds um I thought Kevin was really good he shot the ball especially early when the ball wasn’t going in he shot the ball and kept us in the game helped

Us get the lead uh Malik was a monster Off the Bench you know uh Keegan was really solid um and you know the reality of it is domas domas had a huge game for us uh this is his 19th triple double in the year he leads the league with that

Um again he doesn’t get enough credit for it uh since his 38th double double in a row um the crazy part about it it’s it’s not just the the fourth longest on the season it’s like I think fourth longest since the ABA and NBA emerged you know or came together if I’m saying

That right so um to have 38 double doubles in a row um it is phenomenal we need it every single uh rebound and point that he put uh that that he got for us tonight so just a just a great great way to to find a way to get a win

Versus a team a young team that plays extremely hard and and uh gave us fits tonight Mike you mentioned domas just how close was it for him not playing was it was it a tough sell on him uh looked like he came out and was incredible like

You mentioned no he he he was he he was really really good um you know we went through all the protocol there was a there was a chance that he wasn’t going to play but everything just kept checking out as we were going down the

The list of what we need to check on and uh obviously for him to get a triple double and impact the game the way he did was phenomenal Mike dear with the block steel whatever it was at the end you talk about that all the time this second

To third effort is is that just part of what you have to have in this second half of the Season guys giving it all 100% you know I I took the quick time out when they hit that three in the corner in front of our bench because we

Made a mistake defensively but then we stopped playing and we we can’t have that cuz you’re trust me you’re going to make mistakes nobody’s going to play a perfect game of basketball on both sides of the floor it’s what do you do when you make

The mistake and um we didn’t do what we needed to on that play I took the time out and for for foxy uh to come up with that play defensively especially at that point in the game was huge um because he didn’t quit Mike you talk about Buy in and and

Belief and and those things um like as a coach I wonder when you hear Fox um and I assume you hear him and and the level of buyin that he expresses to us all the time with regard to defense like how much does that help your belief in a as

A coach that that you guys can get to where you want to go it’s huge Jay Cuz cuz at the end of the day I’ve never been part of a team that was great in this league where it didn’t come from the players and so it it has to come from

The players it has to start there and it has to end there um sooner or later they going they going to hate hearing my voice you know and they got to police one another and hold each other accountable and when you get to that point and they really believe in it and

It’s really happening you can have some special things uh happen for your team seeing wemi in person the fans seeing him for the first time in Sacramento did it live up to the hype yeah he’s I mean he’s he’s a generational Talent you know at that size I’m I still

Don’t I still don’t know how he how he moves I I I you know I watch him and I’m just I I I don’t think it’s real but obviously it is you know cuz he’s putting up the numbers and he’s doing it right in front of my face but uh

You definitely great for the NBA uh I wish he was in the East sorry Pop um but man it just a treat for everybody to to come see a guy of that size do the things that he can do Mike I think a lot of people naturally think to the

Playoffs and uh as the way that this team can build upon last year and get closer to being a contender like you’ve talked a lot about but can you share specifically how this final stretch of the season with how tight the West is in the race for even a playoff spot how you

Can use that to also build to being a contender every time you know every time we step on the floor cuz we’re in a completely different situation than last year you know like I said last year we were injuryf free uh there were no expectations and so it was just happy

Gol lucky Pat me on my back feel good about what’s going on we’ll take whatever comes our way no pressure this year is a little different you know coming into the season there were expectations and you know we talked until we were bleue in the face to our

Guys that and everybody else at the end of the day we probably put more expectations on ourselves than anybody else but you can still you know everybody’s human and if you haven’t been in this position before especially in especially in the position that you’re in individually uh I.E Malik monk

Never been in this position before uh in terms of how much we need him and how much his impact helps this team but he’s never been in this position before uh being the hunted with the expectations and then dealing with the injuries that we’ve dealt with

Fox hasn’t domas Kevin herder I me you can go down the line the one guy that may HB might have been in this position before but not many of our guys and so every time we step on the floor from especially from this point forward because of where we’re sitting in the

Standings it’s a different feeling that they haven’t gone through and and we have to perform at a high level to get a win just to get into the playoffs so we’re fighting for our lives right now and it’s great because it’s the we you need experience in order to grow and

Sometimes you need adversity in order to grow and that’s the best or the quickest way you’ll be able to learn by going through something falling on your face and getting up and and figuring it out you know because that’s when it stings the most so I I like all this stuff for

Us we we need it uh we’re going to embrace it and at the end of the day I believe this group can get it done Coach Brown I’m sorry over um Kevin hder you just mentioned too uh he started off the game I think he h his first three uh three-pointers he did

Some things you know off uh getting assists and some rebounds look like he’s refreshed you know from the break just want to get your thoughts about how he played tonight CU he looked really comfortable the way he started yeah no you know like I said he he was great for

Us especially early on because we couldn’t buy a basket and uh you know with his ability to create separation without the basketball and um you know our guys uh doing a great job of of of getting him free with with uh with screens and all that uh got him some

Good looks and he knocked him down and like I said you know the ball wasn’t going in for most of us early on so we needed every one of those threes to uh not only try to gain a little bit of Separation but just to gain the

Confidence that we need to stay into the game when they went on run so um big big night for him uh shooting the basketball um you know I thought he was uh decent rebounding the ball but also I thought he did a pretty good job playmaking too

He made the right pass at the right time um and got other guys involved just because of his velocity or speed and when it came to create separation in the way he shot the ball you know coach going back to the Buy in conversation Darren seems to really be

Buying in especially defensively I’m just curious from your point of view when you stepped into this um role at the of last season how have you seen his growth on that side of the ball and what kind of expectations do you have for him moving forward on that side I I think

Foxy can be one of the best two-way guys to play in the NBA and you know I said it many times before um I I coached him at a a camp when he was in high school and I’ll never forget I I I’ve been in

The league a long time even back then i’ been in the league for a while and I was just just amazed that uh his his strength for a smaller guy you know he’s he’s wiry thin but he’s he’s wiry strong too and he’s not as big as uh old school

Reggie Williams from Georgetown University but Reggie Williams from Georgetown University that coached him he was about this big but he had a a wiry strength about himself that uh that I think Fox does too and so when you’re that athletic you’re that quick you’re that long um it you can be a great

Defender but it takes a lot of uh will and want to be able to do it and I you know I I do I think he’s starting to figure out but he’s just scratching the surface because uh it takes a lot to defend at the level that he’s that he’s

Going to be capable of at the end of the day and uh he’s he’s heading that way which is uh impressive upon himself

Kevin Huerter, De’Aaron Fox & Coach Brown speak to the media following a win over the San Antonio Spurs at Golden 1 Center on Feb. 22, 2024.

0:00 – 4:26 Kevin Huerter
4:26 – 10:29 De’Aaron Fox
10:29 – 21:53 Coach Brown

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