OKC Thunder Full Media Availability | Post Game vs Memphis Grizzlies | March 10, 2024

OKC Thunder Full Media Availability | Post Game vs Memphis Grizzlies | March 10, 2024

Uh Josh what did you you make of the start that you guys had tonight on both ends of the floor just uh from the defense and then the ball movement to kind of put them away early yeah um I mean it’s important to not take a team

Lightly like that uh you know underman they got guys that are um you know fighting for contracts fighting for minutes and and that’s a dangerous team to play um and I thought we did a good job of um playing the game not the opponent and uh came out the right way

Uh got off to a good lead and then you know kind of maintain that for the rest of the night but um I thought we did a good job um executing both ends of the floor our game plan was uh well well executed and um I thought we took that Spirit you

Know pretty early in the game uh defensively and and um you know we kind of ran with it for the next you know 36 minutes and you personally seem to kind of personify that you were very physical very aggressive early do you feel like um when you when you’re kind of shot out

Of a cannon like that it it makes a big impact on the group yeah I mean um you know just trying to pick my spots and um when I feel it’s you know time to be aggressive be aggressive um you know if it’s not there not forcing it um just

Making the right read and I think same for all that guys um we got a smart you know unselfish group that um you know puts the team first in in every situation so um you know I I just found found that you know I got going early

Tonight and um other guys did as well and um I thought one through you know 15 how many guys checked in everyone contributed it and that’s what you need in a night like tonight Josh you just mentioned picking your spots and you know La we talked about just you

Adjusting to this new role um in that you know you’re you’re kind of doing some things that maybe you you weren’t used to your first two years being floated around the cutting everything but but picking your spot specifically like how hard has that been choosing when to to go to something you like

While trying to be this different type of player and just what went into tonight you know finding those spots and and when you you found them yeah I think it’s just taking you know what the game gives you um if you go in you know with

A plan of doing this or that um it can be easily disrupted by what the defense does so you can’t you can’t plan for what the defense is going to do to you and same as tonight you know I just took what what I had and what they gave me

And um early on it was at the rim and I was Finding cuts and layups um but you know it’s not always going to be like that um defenses will play you in different ways and um and you know to your point I think just continuing to be

Active you know off the ball uh cutting you know kind of floating around that dunk area um has been good lately but um also being a screener you know if a team puts a five on me um and if they’re not a traditionally great defender um just

Just being able to be a screener for guys like Shay and dub and um setting them free and they can you know attack downhill and you know maybe sitting in the pocket a little bit so um just finding different ways to make an impact but um as you said it has been a

Different role I guess but um we it’s a credit to our team and how teams are defending us uh we’ve got so many weapons you know all throughout roster so um I think we’re all adjusting and um hopefully it’s at its peak you know in

In a month or two months from now inter with the athletic Mark talked about you finding your pace early in this game what’s that process been like for you this season it’s probably easier to find your pace with the ball in your hands but what’s it been like for you to kind

Of find your pace with playing more off ball this yeah I mean obviously I’ve played on the ball my whole life so that’s comes more naturally I guess but um you know playing off the ball um it’s something you know every good team has to make sacrifices and I think with the

Group that we have um you know it’s um kind of what I’ve had to do and um you know we’re first in the west so we’re doing something right and um you know as I said just trying to do what I can to make an impact and whether that’s

Handling whether that’s playing off the ball um you know which I one of is on that night um you know I’m happy to do and uh we’ve got a deep team a lot of guys that can handle and make plays and um it’s a luxury to have so um as I said

It has taken time to adjust to to kind of being more off the ball but um yeah it’s getting easier and we’re starting to find ways to attack and and attack different ways teams are you know throwing different looks at us and K had a big night tonight what what have you

Seen from him just as a teammate and his work behind the scenes yeah um you know great guy uh works hard um and I think’s he’s been um a very solid you know piece of this rotation from day one um defensively he he usually gets that assignment in the second lineup uh with

Their main guys and offensively very efficient plays a pretty simple game but um gets it done and I think for a rookie um his impact on a on a you know pretty successful team up to this point has been um very big so um credit to him

Works hard uh great guy and uh you know deserves nights like tonight you standings watch you kind of mention you first in the west do you watch obviously your games but what other teams are doing those top four teams I I don’t actually uh I kind of see it you know on

Twitter and social media like things that are happening with the stand-ins and how it changes all the times but um I haven’t really pay close attention to it it’s it’s so it fluctuates so much and there’s 20 games left in the season so um no I haven’t really been paying

Attention to it that’s something you’ll do later I mean when you get closer whatever yeah I mean I’m sure it it will naturally happen you know as you know there’s few games left in the season you kind of look at you know who you’re going to play Down the Line so um I

Haven’t yet there’s still you know whatever 18 19 games left so um that time will come Nick Gallow KC Thunder uh Lou you guys have been in these types of games before where the other teams uh banged up what did you think of the way that you guys

Had laser focus through that didn’t get distracted by personnel and uh and got the job done from the very outset uh like we’ve been saying all year it’s a zero zero mentality it don’t matter who we going against we just got to go out there compete and play hard and trying

To win the game and that was our approach tonight and I wanted to ask you about Gordon last two games has 10 assists um seems to really be kind of finding a nice Groove as a playmaker for for everybody else uh first of all what what’s it been like having a guy like

That come in and and be uh you know a setup guy for other guys and and why do you think he’s gotten so comfortable no it’s been good I mean he he been in the league for a long time he he played a lot of games so uh you know it wasn’t

Too hard for him to to adjust so um you know he played a lot of basketball and especially us I don’t think we we too hard to play with so um you know I’m happy we have him here and then he’s going to keep doing great things for us

Um Lou you were in a similar position your rookie year to sort of where Cas is now as a rookie who’s like fighting to be in a rotation on a playoff team what exactly stands out to you the most about what you’ve seen from Cas this year uh

He’s tough plays hard every time you we always know what we going to get out of case and um um I mean honestly I think he he’s been doing good um I don’t think he’s fighting for minute honestly but uh um he’s been doing his job and then and he’s only getting

Better what uh you got a game like this do you trying that you you you overmatch those them are you trying to get your work in early so you can take a rest the fourth quarter cuz you’re so deep into the season or you just playing

Like any other game no just playing like any other game um yeah that was our approach you know whatever happens happens and if it gets to the third quarter where we up so much and Coach take make this decision it’s on Coach but we always ready to go what

About when you get somebody on it was a point in the third quarter into the fourth it was kind of like a I guess late in the third feeding FR you guys were like trapping the ball getting some steals going the other way does that

Kind of feed off each other when you get one you get another one you another one I mean that’s it’s like your defense was feeding your offense and that’s just how we play and then the intensity we got um like I said we wasn’t really playing the

Scoreboard we was just working on our stuff and and playing the way we play so honest definitely it touches everybody to to be aggressive like that defensively and which is good and with the athletic Mark talked about how you left last season going into the summer wanting to increase your

Efficiency what what was that process like and you know you’re over 40% from three so far this season top 50 and made threes in the NBA this season what what was that process like and then you know how how happy have you been with your results so far uh it was honestly it

Wasn’t too hard it was just watching a lot of film and eliminating the bad shots and some of the crazy shot I was taking last uh last season and um and just adjusting and and but the biggest thing was watching a lot of film just knowing where my shots comes from and um

Not forcing anything just letting it again come to me and um it’s been good you watch film like by yourself you’re watching with somebody else name is Fez um he’s with me much of the time in the summertime and we go out it every day thanks ni Gallow casy Thunder uh K in

That kind of second half as you guys have this big lead uh what did you think about just the way that you guys were able to kind of keep the pedal down and even as guys were coming in in different roles and positions you had more time

Kind of on the ball that that you guys were able to maintain that style of play uh just turn the knife um that’s something that we always talk about later on in games um Don’t Give A Team Hope and you know we got to finish the game the way we

Started you guys have seen a little bit more of Gordon and I wanted to ask you he has 10 assists over the last two games what you thought about the way veteran former all stars come in and and really tried to seem like maybe find his

Rhythm by setting guys up uh he attacks the paint well and when he attacks he he finds the open guy and I feel like that’s been big for us Kon I think back to that I think it was the end of the third quarter you and and Lou kind of

Pressed up on the ball and and got that steal um I just wonder because you guys are kind of in similar modes the way you guys play the ball um just what has it been like all year you know kind of playing defensively off a guy like Lou

Uh it’s great just knowing that you know sometimes I got to match his energy and he’ll match mine as well so he was just telling me yo let’s get up for one possession and see what happens so um we got up and and we got good results and

With Mark we’ve just talked about your your Evolution as a player um obviously to start the year you were one of the best three-point Shooters in the league that that efficiency is kind of still remained but he he in talking about the next step he’s kind of mentioned you as

Maybe a second side guy just what the next step might be for you offensively and in the fourth quarter you you had some chances to had a ball in your hands create you know break guys down off the dribble just in a game like this just what’s that like you know having that

Opportunity and I guess how do you view that that next step of your game uh it was great just being able to see what what I’m doing well and what I need to work on this summer you know um right now I just got to finish the finish the

Year strong in my role and be the best in my role this year they keep the game the it and was one time coach called timeout somebody didn’t get back and cover up a three-point shot you guys were up so big but it didn’t really get

As ragged as it could have been gotten uh instead of playing the scoreboard we play the minutes on the clock um we got to we got to um be an uncommon team and that’s what comes with it playing with a big lead you got to learn how to sustain

It k your Technique it’s like very obvious that you’re a student of the game whenever it comes to defense who are the guys you sort of like modeled your game after or watch a lot of film of growing up uh growing up I was watching like Kyrie and Westbrook so not

So much defense but just just uh having the energy and and knowing that everybody wants to score nowadays and you know who’s going to be that one to stop them I feel like I feel like that was more of a challenge than trying to score on everybody and then a small

Followup uh have you always been like a defense first guy and then Marcus compared you to like defensive backs like Ed Reed do you have a big football background or as well I did play football uh I was pretty good but um I feel like that does help you know with

The physicality and you know knowing how to make plays on the ball offensively you’ve had a smaller role this season but you’ve maintained your efficiency you make it look easy but you know how what has that process been like for you this uh just taking what the defense gives me um my

Teammates been finding me with open shots so um just knocking down the open shots and when I have the ball learn how to create for my teammates and myself and then just being coached by Mark you know so far this season what’s that been like for you it’s good I feel like he’s

Been putting me in good uh positions and good situations at the right times um not to expose what you know I’m not so good at but to show everybody what I am good at pregame you and Wiggins were going back and forth about dunking and

Then today he got a poster in game did you know he could get up like that what do you think whenever you saw that yeah I told him I was like you got to start dunking the ball in free uh pregame workout so I’m I’m I’m going be on them about that anybody

Else K talk a little bit about your shooting performance tonight 9 of4 uh season High 22 just talk about how you were feeling out there tonight uh it started um early in the game I knocked down a few shots and you know once you get confidence I feel like you know the

Basket opens up a little bit so just knowing that and I play you know more minutes so all that put together led to the performance I had tonight Nick Gallow KY Thunder uh Mark before the game Cas uh used the phrase that you guys needed to be the first

Team ready have that mindset um given kind of the state of where Memphis was what did you think about the way that your team was able to actually have that um in a in a meeting with the team that was really banged up yeah I mean you see

Games every night in the NBA where A team’s banged up or a team with a a lesser record knocks off team with a better record um and so I never take for granted when we give that kind of energy output uh and it was from the jump the

First group did a great job of establishing a tone in the game uh on the defensive end of the floor first of all and with our Pace offensively I thought those guys were really on the gas uh and everybody that went in the game especially in the first half uh

Stayed to that there where you guys will make threes that are tough ones but did it feel like especially early all the ones that you got were really in Rhythm sustainable looks um yeah I thought our attacks were for the most part pretty good I thought you know when we moved it

And played inside out tonight we got great shots you know at The Rim Some Cuts some transition and obviously a lot of Threes but a lot of quality threes was Josh an example that looked like he came out really scoring rebound assisting he’s really aggressive yeah I

Thought his Pace to start the game you know that whole group was energetic but he especially was on the gas to start that game and it really amplifies his playmaking when he plays with that kind of force you know cuz now all of a sudden um he’s collapsing the defense

And his his vision and his instincts can take over uh I thought he was competing to start the game defensively so I thought um the whole group did a great job of setting a tone but he was definitely a catalyst in that group well

You got a big lead like that do you have to kind of make sure guys don’t wander cuz you you had the game control pretty much the entire way just to make sure they kept kept them doing the things you wanted him to do I guess yeah I mean we

Want to be an uncommon team you know and that that you know is is how you play if you’re an uncommon team you know you got to play the next possession in front of you independent of what the score is and um we’ve made a pretty good habit of

That uh throughout the season in the past few years but it’s hard to do it you have to um overcome human nature and I thought most of the night we did that tonight Mark I know you’ve been getting asked about Josh all week he had a

Relatively good week um but I think back to that first quarter um obviously it’s one thing to have him you know getting adjusted to floating around cutting the stuff you’ve been trying to get him to do but the the couple drives where he kind of moved guys out the way with his

Shoulder and just finish at the room just how reminiscent did that feel maybe the the the player that people got used to in his first couple years yeah I mean I thought all week and and at different times this season it hasn’t just been this week um he definitely was downhill

Tonight he played with great force um they had smaller guys on him he can use his strength and his size in those situations not only to drive and finish but like I said it amplifies his playmaking because it collapses the defense and that’s where uh he can

Really ignite us and I thought he found a nice balance in the first quarter in his first stand especially of you know playing with great force and then taking what the defense gave him more of a niche question but we I think we talked earlier in the year just about what that

Might what what might be the next step for him um and you kind of disarmed the idea that maybe that would be creation maybe it’s he’ be more of a second side guy um I just wonder how much of a welcome sight that is to to see him you

Know maybe putting the ball on the floor more in that fourth quarter having the room to do that and and you know breaking guys down off the dribble yeah I think you know part of that is uh seeing how he’s developed with the side stuff and with the secondary playmaking

And uh attacking Closeouts he makes really really good reads in those situations um and so if he weren’t making good reads in those situations we wouldn’t be putting the ball in his hands like that but he’s he’s kind of checking that box a little bit and so uh

He’s intriguing with his playmaking the thing that’s most intriguing is you know he’s going to compete and so he’s going to get himself on the court you know so you know that’s a player that’s going to be out there and so it’s worth the investment you know to give him the ball

A little bit it’s going to be a huge part of uh his summer you know in the offseason as he you know finishes his first year he’s going to have to uh be in those situations and and get comfortable in those situations it’ll only help uh his closeout play and his

Secondary playmaking the stuff that he’s already doing now but I was very impressed with him tonight you know in terms of um the gas he played with and the balance he was able to play with despite having the ball in his hands that much inter the athletic we talked

About Lou a couple days ago but I’m just curious your thoughts on just like the percentage of his shots like he’s shooting over 40% I think he’s top 50 and made threes this season um is there anything specific you would attribute that to I mean obviously we’ve talked

About like shot diet but is there anything else specific about this season for him I mean what’s underneath the shot diet is a committed player you know he’s very committed to taking a step forward uh with his efficiency and doing what he needs to do on offense to help

The team be successful he walked into Oklahoma City out of the summer with that mindset and he was driving that car you know that wasn’t us you know with with a sales pitch um and so he did a great job of reflecting on all he had positive career to this point I mean

He’s been a very good player but reflecting on where he can improve uh and then implementing that and executing it and now sticking with it you know and he’s been a huge part of uh why we’ve been as good as we are offensively because he’s played a very very tight

Role he’s made great decisions with his shot Drive reads at The Rim finishing uh and he’s really complimented uh our team out there and still stays aggressive inside of uh his role and so I give him a lot of credit you know he’s done it

All year but um like I said he’s a huge part of why we’ve had the offensive season we have he’s been excellent I just one of your thoughts on on Hayward and just tonight and then just his overall like getting more comfortable with the team yeah I was saying before

The game you know I always try to evaluate what trajectory a player on you know they are they on a positive trajectory or a negative trajectory and um he’s had a he’s on a pos positive trajectory right now you know from uh I think the Laker game you know he had

Some nice pop even in the the late part of that game we were down but those minutes were valuable for him and then he continued that momentum Portland played really really well against Miami especially defensively uh and played well again tonight so he’s on the upswing and um we’re excited to keep

Seeing what he can bring to us following up on K he seemingly hasn’t had very many of those rookie moments or rookie mistakes can you just talk about what the most impressive Parts have been about him this season because he’s really just you guys are on a marathon

And he’s just kind of kept taste with a lot of your guys probably that you know he just has a maturity about him as a competitor um you know he he competes every night you know it’s it’s gone under the radar because of all the other

Things going on with our team but this is a very young player that’s able to play 20 minutes a game almost 18 to 20 minutes a game and a pretty significant role guarding pretty significant opponents um you know despite a lack of experience you know he just has an

Unbelievable competitive maturity to him and um gives us a lot of confidence to stick with him when he’s he’s not I thought in the Miami game he played uh you know uh he was off base in the first half in terms of what he normally brings

Uh but you go back to him in the second half because of the body of work he has as a competitor and how much trust he’s built as a competitor um and like I said with the creation stuff you know he’s going to be on the court you he’s going

To earn his way on the court so now it’s like all right what else can he do out there for us and he’s another guy all season been on a great trajectory he’s done a great job anybody else thank you thanks

Hear from Josh Giddey, Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, and Head Coach Mark Daigneault following the Thunder’s 124 – 93 win over the Grizzlies.

0:00 Josh Giddey
5:02 Lu Dort
8:28 Cason Wallace
13:03 Coach Daigneault

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