Billy Donovan Postgame Interview | Washington Wizards vs Chicago Bulls – 3.25.24

Billy Donovan Postgame Interview | Washington Wizards vs Chicago Bulls – 3.25.24

Billy obviously that start put you guys in a big hole and you called that timeout very quickly after tip off what did you say in that timeout and what displeased you the most yeah I mean it was just kind of the way we came out and

Started it and it wasn’t um you know they they made a couple shots you know in transition we did we did have a couple breakdowns that I didn’t like but you know offensively really for the entire game it just was not a good night for us at all offensively you know um

With the way we shot the ball but with that being said to your point the first quarter was a hole we were unable to dig ourselves out of because of how much we struggled to shoot the basketball but after the the first two possessions when they scored whatever it was those two

Threes it it wasn’t that it was the possessions after that that I thought you know at The Rim I don’t know I don’t know the whole sequence but certainly there was four possessions two of them were were not were not great that’s when I when I call the time

Out is this the case of you feel like the guys playing down to the level of competition you know we we I’m going say we talked about that that way but we don’t have a luxury to do that we we don’t have a luxury to

Do that at all so um you know they were really physical with us the last time we played here in Chicago and um you know we shot the ball a lot better and you know tonight they were just as physical and we didn’t shoot the the ball as well

Um and again outside the first quarter you know our defense wasn’t bad but when you know we don’t have that you we can’t not be I don’t want to say perfect but we just can’t give up 31 points in in a quarter and struggle like we did offensively and then expect to win

Against anybody you know um I did not sense that they came in thinking like oh okay we just got to show up and I did not sense that we and certainly we haven’t earned or deserved or even should be thinking that way you know in my opinion we we’ve got you know

Uh and I’ve said this all year long we just don’t have that kind of room for error we just don’t you know and and that’s the reality of the situation we’re all in and we have to understand that we’re going to have not play perfect but we’re going to have to do

More you know in that first quarter than that than than what we did M shot was that more your offense is drying up tonight or you feel like something they did defensively no I didn’t think there was anything you know they’ve been a man a man team they have sprinkled in some

Zone I don’t think we saw really any Zone possessions tonight at all um there wasn’t anything that you know that they that they were trying to do that was totally different necessarily from from the first time you know we played them they they shot the ball certainly lights out in that first uh

Quarter but you know outside the third quarter giving up 29 the the the second and the fourth were okay you know but we we we don’t have like that room to be able to not play you know really really well on both ends of the floor and I’m

Not talking about we have to make shots every game but we got to move the basketball to generate good looks we got to get downhill we’re going to have to play at the basket and we’re going have to live with the result of missing or making shots that’s part of it but you

Know we can’t afford to run bad offense turn the ball over we can’t afford to give up offensive rebounds and F like all those things we can’t afford to do and like I said it you know when you’re playing catchup like that um we were just never able to really kind of get

Over the hump and get any separation and anytime we got tied or up by one to their credit they responded and and I don’t like saying this because I got a lot of respect Brian Keef and I work together in OKC got a lot of respect for

Him he’s got those guys playing really really hard but you run the risk when you let luck come into the game and we let luck come into the game in a lot of situations you know and you don’t want to be into a situation where things are

Being chanced to luck and you you’re hoping they miss a free throw you’re hoping this happens you’re hoping that happens and maybe you get lucky that’s not a way to live how troubling is it to you Billy to have that happened at this stage of the season and again every game

In the NBA is you know winnable by any opponent but you look on paper there a team with 13 wins so how disappointed is it to have an effort like that at home at this stage of the Season yeah it’s really disappointing I mean just calling

Like it is but what I would say to that you know is and this is just my mindset and and I’ve got got a lot of respect for our guys and our guys compete and they they’ve been professional all year long and I did think that they gave an

Effort to get back in the game really gave an effort to get back in the game and it wasn’t good enough in terms of being able to get back over the hump um the you know the part to me is the the the disappointing part is like

We you see this happen all the time in the NBA there’s guys go out and teams come back and win games and it just speaks to none of us as good as we think we are okay because you have to show up and compete and perform because when you’re

Playing against guys that are desperate to keep a job to make earn a living to that doesn’t make a difference how you view town or anything else you still have to line up and compete and like I said I think our guys competed um I think we had breakdowns I thought our

Guys put forth the effort to but we don’t have that room of error to be able to do that and not have the game come down to hoping they miss some free throws hoping we grab an extra rebound maybe we get fouled maybe we get a three-point play Maybe dear’s shot at

Half court goes in and we win and you know we escap like there just when you’re living like that that’s a hard way to live to expect to be good

ARGH