Aaron Wiggins | Utah Jazz | Mar. 06, 2022
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00:00Nick Gallo, KC Thunder.com.
00:02Aaron, first of all, welcome back.
00:04What did you think about the second half in this one
00:07and how you all were able to kind of stick with it
00:10throughout the game despite their shooting?
00:12Yeah, I thought we did a really good job
00:14of kind of sticking to our game plan.
00:16You know, they shot the ball really well
00:18and got out to an early lead,
00:20but we did a really good job of just kind of continuing
00:22to trust what we had going into the game
00:25and cutting the lead and giving ourselves a chance.
00:28They continued to make shots down the stretch,
00:30and regardless of what we were able to do,
00:32you know, it just wasn't good enough,
00:33but I thought we did a really good job
00:35just kind of competing and continuing to play our game
00:37and give ourselves a chance.
00:39Looked like Darius's chin was almost at the rim
00:43on that alley-oop lob dunk.
00:45What did you think of that?
00:46I thought I threw it way too high.
00:47I thought, like, I didn't think he was going to get it,
00:49but I know, you know, Bazley
00:51is one of the most athletic guys in the league,
00:53so I knew if I just put it up there,
00:55he'd make a play, so I don't know.
00:58When I left my hand, I was hoping that it wasn't too high,
01:01and once he caught it, I was glad it was executed.
01:04Paris Lawson, OKCThunder.com.
01:06One other play I wanted to ask you about specifically
01:08was the one Poku threw the ball from out of bounds,
01:10and you completely outran your defender.
01:12How much communication or just kind of maybe non-communication?
01:16It's not really like communication, honestly.
01:17Like, it's really no communication.
01:19It's just kind of like a feel for, you know,
01:21I mean, he was quick to take it out,
01:24and he just kind of looked at me,
01:25and the minute he looked at me, I was like,
01:27you know, he must see something,
01:28and then I saw him, like, in the motion
01:30to throw a full court pass, so I'm chasing it down.
01:32But, I mean, it's just kind of like chemistry
01:34and just being able to know your players
01:37and, you know, the eye contact makes a big difference.
01:40So I guess that's the communication there.
01:41Yeah, those fast break points you guys were able to take advantage of,
01:44but also scoring in the paint as well.
01:46You guys completely plus 26 on points in the paint tonight.
01:49Just how are you guys able to take advantage of that?
01:52Obviously, they have a big presence down there in Rudy Gobert.
01:54Yeah, I mean, just kind of trying to get them
01:56a little bit, like, out of sync defensively,
01:59you know, trying to call switches
02:01and get their bigs outside of the paint
02:03so that we can get open looks
02:05and kind of create more, you know, out of that situation.
02:09I thought we did a really good job of that,
02:10kind of getting Gobert and Whiteside outside of the paint
02:12so they couldn't be, like, big shot blockers
02:14and have this big of a presence in the paint.
02:17But, you know, we obviously outplayed them in the paint,
02:22but, I mean, around the three, they were great tonight.
02:25So...
02:26Joe, on the side of the Oklahoman,
02:28Aaron, how are you just feeling physically?
02:30You sprained that right ankle about twice this season.
02:33What was it like coming back from it that second time?
02:35Yeah, I mean, initially, when I first injured it the second time,
02:39like, on impact, it felt worse than it ever did before.
02:42But that next day, you know, kind of getting that treatment
02:45and coming in the next day,
02:46I realized that, you know, the second one,
02:48like, it might be a faster recovery than the first.
02:52But I feel really good right now.
02:53I'm just glad to be back and, you know,
02:55help my team and try and compete.
02:56You know, I love the game, so super excited to be back.
02:59So in the moment when you felt that pain,
03:00were you sort of worried that it could be a longer-term deal
03:03than what it ended up being?
03:04I didn't know what it was.
03:05When I first did it, like, it was really painful.
03:07And, I mean, I just remember being, you know, getting my X-ray
03:10and just kind of trying to calm myself
03:13because it was just, you know, I was in a lot of pain.
03:15But glad that it wasn't near as bad as, you know, what I thought.
03:18So...
03:21Andrew's like to be athletic.
03:22Have you spent time guarding Shay in practice?
03:24Yeah.
03:25So I'm just curious, like, how unique you think his game is
03:29because you've been, like, a point-of-attack defender...
03:31Yeah.
03:32...against a lot of really good guys this season.
03:35I'm just curious, like, how unique you think his game is,
03:37like, from the vantage point of a defender.
03:39He's almost impossible to guard.
03:41My first time guarding him really was in training camp.
03:44It was, like, in the first week.
03:45And I went up against him, and I was playing great defense.
03:48I thought it was great defense.
03:49And he finished two left-hand layups on me, and I'm there.
03:52Like, it was nothing else I could do.
03:54And I don't think anybody else could have guarded it any better.
03:56And, I mean, he made both of those, and I was like,
03:58like, what am I supposed to do?
04:00So, I mean, his just kind of ability to, you know, use his length
04:05and kind of use angles and his change of direction, I don't know.
04:09He's got a lot.
04:10It's kind of hard to explain.
04:11I don't even know.
04:12Is defending him pretty unique compared to other, like, lead guys?
04:17It's very unique because, I mean, not too long ago I was talking to
04:21somebody about just his quickness, like how fast of a player he is.
04:24And I was like, you know, he's not the fastest player.
04:27He's not super quick, and he's not trying to, like, I don't know.
04:31Like, his change of direction is at his pace.
04:33And he just plays, you know, he doesn't play sped up.
04:35He doesn't get sped up.
04:36And, I mean, he's just able to kind of get to the basket at ease, you know,
04:40regardless of how you try and guard him.
04:41So, he's definitely one of the tougher guards, you know,
04:44in the league for sure.