Jaylen Hoard | Utah Jazz | Apr. 06
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00:00What were your thoughts on the first half, in particular, in the way that you all were
00:09able to execute with them and hang into the game, especially kind of compared to the second
00:15half where they seem to be able to take some things out?
00:18Starting the game, I felt pretty good.
00:22So like we're executing well, we're going to come out, you know, it's a really good
00:28team.
00:29They have a lot of size, really good players.
00:31So just being able to match up well with them for that first half, I think it worked.
00:37And then you got your three-point shot going.
00:40You only hit one with the blue this season.
00:43You hadn't hit any at the NBA level before this recent stint.
00:46How have you felt about that shot and what gave you the confidence to line it up so many
00:52times?
00:53I just felt like, I mean, I had seen KC play the Jazz during the season, and I was watching
01:00pretty much every game.
01:01And the way they attacked the bigs was to hop a lot, shoot three, space the floor.
01:06So I felt like, you know, I had to do the same thing today.
01:09You know, attacking the thing wasn't going to be easy, but we were getting there, Hassan,
01:14that was a great shot blocker.
01:15So spacing the floor was a good shot, helped me out, helped the team.
01:21And I've just been working on my shot throughout the season, but I feel like just me not hitting
01:28a lot of threes with the blue is kind of like, I was playing the fly, I was rolling a lot
01:31of stuff like that.
01:32But I feel like, you know, I'm going to just keep taking them, keep trusting my shot, and
01:36you know, hopefully I'm going to keep making them.
01:39What do you remember about Melvin's game-winning three in this building earlier this year?
01:44Oh yeah, that was great.
01:45That was with the blue, a road game, you know, a game that went down to the wire, and Melvin
01:51hit a point of three in the American game, so yeah.
01:56You guarded a lot of different positions tonight, obviously you had a chance to go up against
01:59Kofair, but you were also out on the perimeter against another side of the bench.
02:02What was that like for you in that experience tonight?
02:06It was challenging, you know, high-level players, but I feel like it's a good learning experience
02:11for me.
02:12I feel like at times I matched up pretty well, and then sometimes it was some things I can
02:17get better at, work on, but overall I was happy, I was looking forward to the match-up.
02:22You know, playing top teams is always a good test to see where you are.
02:26And then, just what as a group can you guys kind of take from this opportunity, obviously
02:30like you mentioned, high-level team, a lot of lessons for you personally, but just as
02:33a group moving forward, two more games, what are some of the biggest takeaways from a night
02:37like tonight?
02:38Just, you know, no matter if you win or lose, you can always like get better from it.
02:43You know, don't just lose the game and not, you know, not learn anything, try to take
02:47away as much as you can and apply it for, you know, the next game.
02:51You got two games left, so, you know, try to continue to just apply what you learn each
02:57and every game.
02:58Did you, did your role change sort of within the team tonight?
03:03I mean, last, you know, most of the time you've been a Thunder, you've been one of the younger
03:07guys.
03:08You're one of the more experienced guys out on the floor today, did you take over a different
03:12role, you think, in helping some of the newcomers along?
03:16Not really.
03:17I just feel like, just coming late into the season, I just feel like I wanted to fit in
03:23with the team because, you know, as you saw this year, even though, you know, no matter
03:28how many losses, wins, whatever, the group played really well together and I just wanted
03:33to fit in as much as I could and I knew that, you know, space on the floor, if I'm playing
03:37the floor or even if I was going to be big for this team and, you know, at the NBA level
03:42period.
03:43The last two games you played in L.A., a pretty big stage there and the old staples
03:49of the arena.
03:50Does that mean a little bit more to you to finish up in L.A. playing in front of those
03:53crowds and those teams?
03:54Not a lot.
03:55I'm really excited.
03:56I played the Lakers before, but it was in a bubble, so no fans, nothing.
04:02So just going to Staples Center or CryptoCon now, yeah, it'll be a good experience.
04:09I have some family out there, my little brother's going to come to the game, so it'll be pretty cool.
04:14Thanks, Jalen.
04:15Thanks, Jalen.