was all about the defense. I thought the combination of Draymond and Looney at the rim and wigs on the on harden. That third quarter defense was just suffocating. And that turned the game
individually. You see it tonight? Sorry, you see it tonight against
individually?
Yeah, I mean, obviously those guys are, are unbelievably difficult to handle. But I thought all in all, you know, after that first quarter when they had 34, and we kind of corralled them and forced him into some tough shots, and you know, they're there. This was their first game at home after a long trip, you know, I thought they looked a little bit tired in the third quarter, and our defense picked up at that point and made a bunch of stops and we were able to pull him out you guys
held on there after Stephan Andrew got a little bit of algebra.
Yeah, that was an important stretch of the game, you know, the last five minutes of the of the third quarter. And everybody was in foul trouble. You know, we were just reaching like crazy over and over again. Steph had three and just, you know, Dove Dove into somebody's legs for loose ball. JK, we had three and, you know, great somebody across the wrist. So we've got to get, we've got to get smarter, we've got to get wiser with our, our defense. The defense is fantastic. It's suffocating. But it has to be done without fouling. So as pleased as I am with the results of tonight and the effort of tonight, we've got a ways to go. We got our are the following the turnovers, the lack of offensive execution. It's glaring. But the great thing is we're we're winning because we're playing with great passion and energy and great defense.
Just because I was I was trademarks would you take three months to fix especially okay.
Yeah, I can't do a better job defensively than what Draymond did tonight. Kevin is I've said it before he's most talented basketball player ever. I mean, in terms of you know, that size and skill and ability to get any shot he wants. He showed in the first first quarter you got anywhere he wanted and then I just thought we we stayed with it. And that was the main thing and that third quarter performance Draymond was was with him everywhere he went and you can't can't possibly do a better job. Then when train one do
you coach them? Think of us are you think of any other jewels that remind you of the great offensive players of all time? And guess what a great defensive player like otter perimeter. As someone who's seen a lot this game is that kind of amazing to just watch
them Michael Cooper and Larry Bird when I'm older than you guys. Raymond knows all about.
Another one for the memory bank. Steve, can you remember another quarter where Kevin Durant goes over eight from the field?
I didn't realize he was so free. So no, I cannot remember
a couple of weeks ago, it's too soon to say the world is back when can you start to feel it now with the way that you all are winning? And the way that guys are performing? The crowd?
Yeah, the way they know, the crowd energizes when Steph starts rising up from 30 feet, it's it's everywhere. You know, it happened in Charlotte, the other night happened tonight. So you know, I think the fact that our team is good again and is playing well and has a good record adds to what Steph brings to the table every night in terms of his skill, and the showmanship and so that stuff is you know, when you're winning, and you get the incredible display of skill from stuff it's you know, people are gonna watch and so it's fun to be back in the spotlight again, our team is really enjoying being back here.
Today, one of the best in the league, just after all these years. What makes the system so difficult to defend
Steph Curry I'm not kidding. Steph. There's never been anybody like him. So he's an offense. Just by himself. He's an offense because he he's gonna pull defenders with him 35 feet from the hoop. And then it's a matter of putting smart people around him like Draymond, like Andre. And you know, many others who are going to take that defensive attention that Steph gets and then play make behind the play when Steph gets the ball out of his hands. So the fact that Steph can be dominant on and off the ball is what makes him unique. There's nobody in the league now or as far as I'm concerned ever who had that that combination of on ball skill and pick and roll dominance. But, you know, the, the off ball game of, you know, Reggie Miller, rip Hamilton or, you know, somebody flying off screens, that combination that has never been seen
you use Box One lately. So triangle two tonight, why are you finding that affected?
It's changed.
I just think that it's something that we we thought about a lot in the summer, and, and when worked on in training camp, and I think, you know, if we can, at least, you know, throw some different looks at teams, it's helpful. It's not always going to work. But you just want to be able to, to, to change up coverages and make people think a little bit the NBA is such a rhythm league now, you know, everybody kind of runs the same stuff, there's a million picking roles. You, it's hard to, it's hard to defend all the three point shooting. So you have to at least be able to mix it up defensively. And that's all we're trying to do.
mentioned the 1000 area, but what do you think of the way that you may have played a rookie on this kind of stage? It's his overall
game. Yeah, he's got a lot of poise. He does a really good job defensively of using his size and athleticism and generally does not fall me picked up some tonight, but I thought a couple of them were unwarranted. He'll get more respect as he as he goes in his career, but he's got a he's got a really good feel for defending multiple positions. And that's, that's a hard thing to find. So we're excited about you.
You mentioned it, you get somewhat surprised about how proper that gets on the road. Especially.
No, you know, because this is the he's gonna come here once a year, you know. Charlot the other night, that's his one trip and stuff is so recognizable. Now. He's superstar isn't, you know, he's in people's living rooms every night, you know, whether he's playing or not. And I think everybody connects to him, you know, kids and adults alike. And he's one of the most popular athletes in the world. So this is, this is what you get
the chance to follow up with you that before you do it, everything, of course without play, whatever the reports been, that you've gotten back in the last few days and was able to get through.
Yeah, he played five on five yesterday. And then I think he's gonna play five on five tomorrow, James did not play. He hasn't been cleared yet for five on five, but McClay did, and, you know, I got good reports. And, you know, he's, he's got to keep going to a two year absence requires a lot of work, not just the rehab, but you know, the endurance, the strength, so it's, it's great that he's playing five on five, but that doesn't mean he's going to be ready to, you know, step on an NBA floor, you know, next week or something. So, but he's progressing really well. Yeah, I hope so. It's, you know, the injury that he suffered. There's everything is clear with thee. So there's there's no structural issues or anything, it's just it's an injury that requires a lot of sort of give and take and, you know, daily maintenance and kind of, you know, checking in on on, you know, how he's doing you remember last year Jaren Jackson had the same injury and you know, it's it's a long process and but he's doing really well and his attitude is great, and, you know, we obviously can't wait till he's, you know, back and able to play but it just got to be patient.
With that in mind. semantically, it's safe to say clicks cleared for context.
