Media Availability: Brian Keefe and Kyle Kuzma | 03/14/24

Media Availability: Brian Keefe and Kyle Kuzma | 03/14/24

I thought we started well um I thought we showed a good competi Us in the first quarter it got away from us a little bit in the second quarter we never really got our defense in the game the ball was getting in the paint way too easily um

And then we got put down pretty big at the half but I liked our competitive response at the in the second half um we made a good push we had a shot that would have cut it to eight in the fourth quarter um so good fight back but

Again the defense wasn’t where it should in this game to make it even closer with regard to the perimeter defense and their ability to get into the pain how much of that is technique how much want to I think it’s a little bit you get to do it as a group and we

Got beat on two parts we got beat off the dribble and then we didn’t have protection once we get beat so those was two things that we struggled with tonight our individual defense wasn’t as good as it should have been and our help defense wasn’t there um we didn’t make

Them kick the ball out enough too many points in the paint Brian um Denny had a good game and obviously limped back to the locker room there after kind of pulling up in the fourth do you know what’s going on with him I don’t have an update yet no what

Did you like about his play tonight again you know when Denny rebounds nine rebounds and he plays downhill and attacks it’s really good for our team um he was in there when we made that good run but you know it always starts with Denny and his rebounding how much of

Those um M especially on the individual defense just result of that small ball lineup and guys not being where they’re used to playing as much no we’ve been able to defend with when we’re small we just didn’t get it done tonight do you feel like your team is taking a step

Back and if so how does it regain some of its defensive fo look I don’t think our team is taking a step back I think this is we’re in a learning process and Discovery process by our team I liked our fight tonight again we’ve shown good

Examples of the last five games that we can play High level defense three of our last five games I think were top half of the league in defense uh tonight we didn’t initiate physically to stop the ball and bring over the help something we’ll address and look at but each game

We got to grow from we we show some fight in the second half um didn’t didn’t show that much uh in the in the first first half our care Factor just wasn’t um high in that first um like it was in the second and um second quarter got away from

Us and we came out the half um little bit of a spark got the game back um it just wasn’t enough what happened in guys was it something on defense that changed um no I mean we just let guys drive to the rim um you know no help at at The

Rim um we we just we didn’t do our best tonight um at rotations and um you know they got transition they got in the paint um and uh we suffered from it so and you attribute that just effort not like communication or anything like that both communication effort yeah um it’s

Been the story all year I think um you know when we take a step forward you know we take three steps back and uh it just all all factors down to our care Factor um on a night and out Bess you know are we going to be

Competitors um you know do we care about that and um know that’s just been must to a tea all year so

Interim head coach Brian Keefe and Kyle Kuzma spoke to the media following Thursday night’s matchup against the Houston Rockets.

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