Aaron Wiggins | Cleveland Cavaliers | Jan. 22, 2022
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00:00Hearing a lot of, obviously,
00:01kind of rules and circumstances heading into this one,
00:04but you guys kept the energy,
00:05kind of weathered those punches that they threw at you.
00:07What did it take to do that tonight?
00:10Yeah, I mean, just kind of staying together.
00:13I think we went down by a large margin in the first half,
00:15but, you know, we just kind of competed,
00:16stayed together, trusted the process,
00:18and understood that, you know,
00:19we stuck with our game plan and continued to play it.
00:21The way that we play offensively and guard,
00:24the way we do it defensively, you know,
00:25we give ourselves a chance,
00:27and I thought we did a really good job of that.
00:28You know, it just came up a little short,
00:29but overall, you know, pretty good game for us.
00:32You had a couple of steals.
00:33As a group, you guys had a season-high in steals
00:36and turnovers forced on the defensive end.
00:38Just what was the focus or the emphasis that was working?
00:40Yeah, I mean, just kind of making sure
00:42that we're all in the right spots playing together,
00:44you know, having each other's backs.
00:46You know, they've got a lot of wins with their size and stuff.
00:49They're able to kind of use their, you know,
00:52athleticism in the league to, you know,
00:54play defensively on one end,
00:57so we just tried to make sure that, you know,
00:59we caused chaos on the defensive end from our end
01:02and, you know, just tried to get stops
01:04and be in the right spots, and, I mean,
01:05we did a good job of it, led to a couple of steals,
01:07like a transition for points and stuff,
01:09so did a pretty good job of that.
01:12Aaron, how tough was it coming out here tonight
01:14knowing the travel issues you guys went through
01:16and also playing on the second night
01:18of a back-to-back at the end for a road trip?
01:20I mean, you could say it was tough, but, you know,
01:21there are a lot of things that you're going to see
01:23that you can't control, and we're a team who,
01:25you know, just kind of has that mentality
01:27of, like, what else could go wrong,
01:28what else could happen, and you got to be ready
01:30to, you know, just play the game.
01:32That's what we all love to do,
01:33so regardless of anything that we had thrown at us,
01:37you know, we were ready to step out here tonight and beat, so.
01:40Kimmerich, is that scrappy go-getter?
01:41What did you learn from him this year?
01:42I love Kimmerich, man.
01:44I mean, I was in the first half.
01:45He did something one time.
01:47He subbed into the game, and he got a big rebound,
01:50got a steal, forced another steal, like,
01:52and then turned around, got an offensive rebound,
01:54and hit a three, and I'm like, like,
01:55he's just a game-changer.
01:57He's one of those guys that, you know,
01:58you have to go to when you need, you know,
02:00any type of momentum or anything, honestly.
02:03I mean, he'll do whatever it takes
02:04to put a team in a position to win,
02:05so, I mean, that one stretch he had,
02:09I'm looking at a shirt man on the bench,
02:10and I'm like, he's a game-changer.
02:12Like, you got to love him, so he's a great player.
02:15You've been gone for so long.
02:16Do you remember what stuff to play on?
02:19Oh, yeah. I mean, you can't forget about Oklahoma, man.
02:22I mean, the atmosphere is amazing,
02:23so I'm excited to get back and play in front of those fans.
02:26Going back to Kenridge, we hear about the stats
02:29that he puts up, but we also hear about the leadership
02:32that he brings in the locker room.
02:33Just overall, as a guy,
02:35just what is Kenridge like for you guys?
02:37Yeah, I mean, he's just a big energy guy.
02:39I mean, just naturally, he has just this kind of aura
02:42about himself where he just puts off,
02:44you know, positive energy
02:45and makes other guys kind of buy into,
02:48you know, what it is that we want to do as a team,
02:50and, I mean, he's just a guy that,
02:52you know, naturally, both on the court, off the court,
02:54you know, he always has a smile on his face,
02:56and he's always kind of just encouraging guys
02:58to, you know, make sure that they're doing the right thing.
03:00He's being a lot of fun, and, you know,
03:02he definitely is a huge champion.
03:05All right. Anyone else in the room?
03:07We have one question on the Zoom.
03:08Christos Saltas, go ahead with your question, Christos.
03:11Hey, Aaron. Hope you're doing well.
03:13For you guys, what type of foundation
03:15would you like to build from the defensive end
03:17because your defense tonight was really, really good?
03:21Yeah, I mean, just knowing that they have,
03:23you know, threats, especially with their size,
03:25both inside in the paint and, you know,
03:27around the perimeter with their ability to shoot.
03:29And, you know, we just made a, you know, a big point,
03:32you know, that we have to close out the shooters,
03:34not allow them open, you know, and just free shots.
03:38And then at the same time, defensively,
03:39we had to be inside the paint, make sure we're boxing out,
03:41rebounding, and rotating defensively
03:43when they were able to get, you know,
03:45any type of advantage on their end.
03:47So I thought we did a good job
03:48of just kind of having each other's back
03:50and trusting each other.
03:51All right. Thanks, Riggs.
03:53Thank you.