Darius Bazley | Charlotte Hornets | Mar. 14, 2022
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00:00Nick L. O. K. C. Thunder dot com.
00:01You had 31 assists tonight.
00:03It's four straight games with at least 25.
00:05How do you kind of balance the way the offense is going right now
00:09with, you know, the way that their offense was able to hum
00:11in terms of how you view this game tonight?
00:15Um...
00:19I think...
00:21I mean, that's the way we want to play.
00:24Just getting the ball moving from side to side,
00:27trying to get cracks in transition.
00:29Um...
00:31It helps when your offense rebounds.
00:33Um...
00:35But, um, you know, that's the way we want to try and play.
00:39Regardless of what the other team gets going down on their end,
00:42you know, we want to stick to our style on...
00:46on when it comes down to us playing offense.
00:48But, um...
00:50Like I said, that's the way we want to play.
00:52Just kind of get the ball moving.
00:56Um...
00:59Get some advantages and play off of that.
01:02You got 10 dunks over the last two games.
01:05Um, one of them tonight was the lob from Shea.
01:08There's no way for you to see it, but Shea's jumping up in the air
01:11while you're up in the air on that lob.
01:14Um, just what's the feeling of camaraderie like
01:16around plays like that and knowing that you have
01:19teammates that are in the air with you, so to speak?
01:22Uh...
01:24Yeah, I didn't see it, but, um, it's good, man.
01:26You know?
01:29We all... we all got good relationships, you know,
01:32in the locker room, off the court.
01:34Like, it's such a young group.
01:37And I know, like, not everybody's been here, but...
01:41Luce, K. Rich, like, you know, we still got some musky tie.
01:46We still got some guys that's been here, you know, from last year.
01:48And I think it just carries over.
01:49And then, like I said, we just got a bunch of young guys.
01:52So everybody's so tight with each other.
01:55And everybody's rooting for one another.
01:57Everybody want to see, you know, another person do well.
02:00Um...
02:02Yeah, I didn't see... I re-watched the play.
02:05I seen it on Instagram, but I didn't see Shea.
02:09But, I mean, it's a good feeling, though.
02:14Paris Lawson, OKCThunder.com.
02:15Wanted to ask you about just what you felt out there
02:17in terms of Charlotte.
02:18It's obviously a team that wants to play fast,
02:20but they were getting up and down even after,
02:22you know, made baskets, getting out in transition.
02:24Just what did you feel out there in terms of trying
02:26to have to slow them down on that end of the floor?
02:29Um...
02:31Yeah, I mean, they really pushed the pace.
02:33Um...
02:35I think when Ramiles had got the oop,
02:42I felt like I was back.
02:45And I still wasn't back.
02:47Um...
02:48You know, so, like, that's...
02:50They were playing pretty fast.
02:52Um...
02:54Transition is a big key every night for us.
02:56And then we really got to be on it against a team like this.
03:02You know, that's where they try to get, you know, going.
03:06You know, that's like their oxygen,
03:07getting out of transition.
03:08Um...
03:10And, I mean, it's going to be big going forward,
03:11you know, just limited in teams, transition,
03:15fast break points and stuff like that.
03:17Um...
03:19But, yeah, we just got to start getting back
03:21on the rise of the shot.
03:22And it really takes, like, a team effort
03:25and just everybody communicating and getting matched up.
03:28You know, transition is not always ideal
03:30as far as, like, matchups and stuff.
03:32But, like, communication solves a lot of that.
03:35And I think if we do that early
03:36and we commit to getting back, we'll be all right.
03:40And I wanted to ask, also,
03:41you guys scored 41 points in the first quarter.
03:43Just the start that you guys were able to get out to,
03:45just what was working,
03:47what was clicking kind of out of the jump?
03:49Um...
03:51Back to what I said, you know, just our style of play.
03:54Trying to get in the paint
03:57and then just create advantages for the next person.
04:01We were getting some good looks and they were falling.
04:06I think, yeah, that's what it was.
04:09Darius, your two highest scoring nights of the season
04:11were last night and tonight.
04:13And last night you told us that, you know,
04:16you gained some confidence with how you played offensively.
04:18Did you feel that that carried over into tonight's game?
04:22Um...
04:24Yeah, just trying to keep it simple again.
04:29You know, just make quick decisions.
04:34You know, and whatever decision I make,
04:36just doing it with confidence.
04:41Andrew Schleich with The Athletic.
04:43You've made a lot of progress
04:44since you were drafted by the Thunder.
04:47Mark always talks about attacking the program.
04:50What does that look like for you over the past few years?
04:54Um...
05:02Attacking the program looks like coming in every day,
05:08ready to work, creating an environment,
05:12you know, where you can come in and work,
05:16trusting, you know, the coach's plans
05:19and strength coach, you know, their plans as well.
05:24You know, knowing that everyone has your best interest at heart,
05:27but just coming in, ready to work,
05:29ready to learn, you know, as much as you can.
05:34And even, you know, in the games,
05:36just, like, carrying out, you know,
05:38game plans execution-wise,
05:39like how we want to play offensively or defensively
05:42and, you know, making mistakes is really the whole nine.
05:46Like, it's not just on the court,
05:48like, taking care of your body and eating right,
05:51stuff like that.
05:53But, I mean, I feel like, like you said,
05:57like, I've made a lot of progress,
05:58but I think this organization makes it, like, really easy
06:01for especially, like, young guys like myself
06:04to, you know, kind of just follow that
06:07and just, you know, over time, you know,
06:10you see guys that groom to be, like, you know,
06:13really good professionals.
06:16And I think I'm on my way to that.
06:17But, like I said, I think this organization
06:21kind of makes it, you know, really easy on us players,
06:26you know, to be able to do what we have to do
06:30so that way we can be the best we can be,
06:32you know, night in and night out.
06:34Thank you.