Mark Daigneault | Phoenix Suns | Apr. 03, 2022
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00:00Nick Gallo, KC Thunder dot com. Mark, I know they were shorthanded a couple
00:03guys, but your defense really took it to him, particularly in the second
00:07half. Would you like best just about the effort and the performance? Uh,
00:11just competitiveness. I thought our guys really, really competed on a
00:14possession by possession basis. Um, which, you know, for much of the year,
00:18that's what we've done. Um, but, you know, I thought just guys dug in at a
00:23really high level and one through nine. However many guys went in the game
00:27today, everyone competed and contributed to the win.
00:31Poku did not have a good start to the game. Seemed like, you know, just a
00:35little slow, struggled to get out the gate. Was that rebound by him? You
00:40know, just mentally even or just as impressive, I guess, is as the triple
00:45double he put up in the way that he works straight in. Yeah, I think, um,
00:48you know, he had flu like symptoms and Wiggins just went through this too. I
00:52think when you're coming back from that, that's like that's not like your
00:55normal. You know what I mean? So I thought he was shaking some of that off
00:58probably. Um, and they pressured him. We were playing at the point. So some
01:02of that was just the way we're using them and they're climbing underneath
01:05them. And I didn't think he was quite ready for the level of pressure that
01:07they were going to bring to the table. But, um, once he kind of calibrated
01:11that, he was obviously really good and had a really good second half and did
01:15it all today. He was really, really good, especially even defensively.
01:17You know, he's playing point guard on offense, but he's also guarding
01:20perimeter players that are going to be playing deep into the playoffs this
01:23year if we had to project. So, um, you know, obviously really good showing for
01:27him. Pierce Lawson. Okay. Center dot com. Going back to the competitiveness.
01:32You guys had 12 offensive rebounds. It seemed like the loose balls, the hustle
01:36plays. You guys were all over him. How much did that aspect of the game kind
01:39of sticks with you throughout the night? Yeah, I thought we just competed
01:42everywhere. You know, we competed on D. We competed in that part of the game.
01:45As you mentioned the hustle plays and we competed in terms of cutting and
01:49moving. You know, it's a really good sound execution defense that if you're
01:53stagnant against them, you'll, um, you'll play against their their help
01:57all night. And I thought our guys did a really good job of just kind of, you
02:00know, taking what was available. If you were denied back, cutting to loosen up
02:04their defense and to get the next guy open. And I thought, you know, again,
02:07for 48 minutes, our guys were really, really high level of competitiveness
02:11and connection. And then I wanted to ask you about Olivier five threes from him.
02:16He's been shooting those throughout the year, but seeing him knock those down
02:19tonight. Was that more of a result of the way you guys are moving the ball
02:23tonight or just kind of like the confidence that you're seeing from him?
02:25Yeah, I mean, he's, you know, dating back to the blue, you know, he's shot
02:29that, um, and shot it with confidence. And we've encouraged him to do that
02:32from the jump. And he's obviously taking a fair amount. Obviously, you
02:35got more today, I think, uh, with McGee and beyond bow out there. Those guys
02:39are used to being paint protectors and rightfully so. They're very good at it.
02:42Um, and he got some pops in the game and spaced himself in a couple different
02:46situations that gave him some clean looks against them and then knocked
02:49them down.
02:50Tony Sellers from the Associated Press. Um, Poku first half, you had some
02:56errant passes. I think you have five turnovers. Suddenly, you know, you had
03:00him at the point. Would you say something to him at halftime about
03:02settling down his game? Uh, no, I, you know, at this point, he knows how to do
03:06that. You know, he's, um, this is something he's learning. You know, he
03:10kind of, I think it's important that these guys as they develop their skills,
03:14they're also developing a style of play. And part of the things that we've
03:17talked to him about continuously since he's been here is having a very steady,
03:21reliable, predictable offensive game in terms of his decision making. And so
03:26when he goes out there and he's kind of kicking it around the way he did, um,
03:29we trust at this point that he kind of knows how to course correct. And he
03:32obviously did, but it was nothing. We said it was him.
03:39Joe Masato, the Oklahoman Mark when, you know, teams across the league are
03:43missing so many guys at this point in the season, like the sons have already
03:45locked up their seed. Um, you've talked a lot about the guys who are out
03:49there for, for you all are fighting for their NBA careers. Basically, like how
03:53much does that mean this late in the season when you've just got the team
03:57that maybe it's competing harder on any given night? Um, repeat the last part
04:01of the question. Just like money. Williams said postgame that he didn't
04:05sense joy from his team tonight. Maybe I don't want to put words in his mouth,
04:09but they've already locked up their spot. Maybe you don't have a ton of to
04:11play for, but the guys you have out there do have to play for how
04:15important is that this late in the season? Well, they I mean, that team in
04:19particular, um, I thought they had an uncharacteristic night tonight.
04:22Obviously, you know, they're much better than that. Um, even with the
04:25guys they had out. Um, and, you know, I think at the end of the day, there's 82
04:30games. Uh, everybody's gonna have, you know, bad nights. Everybody's gonna
04:34have great nights. Um, and they've done a nice job just watching them from afar
04:39of staying focused. You know, I think they're on a mission, and I don't think
04:42tonight changes that at all. Um, but as I've said before, we've got guys that
04:46are playing for their careers. Um, and you can't underestimate that. You know,
04:50this is their life. They've put a lot into this. A lot of these guys haven't
04:54gotten this opportunity up until this point in the season. And so now that
04:57they have it, they understand that it's not gonna last forever. And they're
05:01they're taking advantage. I'm not putting words in their mouth, but this
05:03is what I'm seeing day in and day out. They're taking advantage of these
05:06opportunities and rightfully so. And so, um, I'm just, you know, excited that
05:10we've continued to, uh, regardless of who's put the uniform on, compete
05:14together at a high level, um, and up to our standard, you know, regardless of
05:19who's on the floor who we're playing against.