Mark Daigneault | Denver Nuggets | Mar. 02, 2022
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00:00 Here is coach.
00:02 We'll go to questions in the room,
00:04 and then we'll pick a team.
00:06 Questions in the room first, everyone?
00:08 Mark, you had nine healthy guys tonight
00:10 going up against the hottest team in the league coming in.
00:14 What does this say about your group
00:15 and the way that they were prepared tonight?
00:19 Yeah, I mean, obviously a great group effort by our guys.
00:23 Obviously, we got a lot of guys out,
00:24 but I thought we played to the type of team
00:28 we want to be on both ends of the floor and relied on that.
00:32 I give the guys a lot of credit for their poise.
00:34 Obviously, Denver made a couple runs there,
00:36 both in the first half and the second,
00:38 and we just kind of hung in there,
00:39 and our identity was kind of our north star tonight
00:43 on both ends of the floor, like I said,
00:44 and especially defensively.
00:47 We struggled a little defensively since coming back
00:49 from the break. Our offense has been fine,
00:51 but I thought we got that back on track tonight
00:54 and steered them away from what makes them really good,
00:57 their oxygen.
00:58 Speaking of which, you forced 10 turnovers in the first half.
01:02 Just as you mentioned the defense,
01:07 how were you able to actually execute that
01:09 and then turn the defense into offense?
01:10 Yeah, I thought our help defense was really good.
01:14 I thought Poku had those two early steals,
01:16 and then this is a team that because they burn you
01:19 for your mistakes, you need to have all five guys engaged,
01:23 and I thought we did that tonight.
01:24 I thought for the most part,
01:25 we forced them to plan B,
01:28 which is something that we talk about quite a bit.
01:30 I thought they missed some good looks that they had,
01:32 so there was a shot-making element to it,
01:34 but they also didn't get some of the easy stuff
01:37 that they get night after night,
01:39 and that's a credit to our players.
01:41 Isaiah Ruby was a new career guy tonight.
01:42 Just offensively on that end of the floor,
01:44 he's going chest to chest with guys
01:46 who have a lot of size on them.
01:47 What do you think of his fearlessness,
01:49 his attack post tonight? He was really good.
01:50 Yeah, really good. He shot the ball really well.
01:52 He shot it well pretty much all year,
01:55 you know, and was aggressive.
01:56 I give our guys credit.
01:57 They just - they were ready to throw punches tonight,
02:00 you know, one through nine,
02:02 and Isaiah was definitely embodying that from the jump.
02:05 I thought our aggression and our willingness
02:08 to lean into the fight tonight against,
02:09 obviously, a really good, hot team to Nick's point
02:12 was impressive.
02:13 You guys shot 55 percent in three,
02:16 14 and 24 above the break threes.
02:19 What is it like when you guys -
02:22 seeing the guys shoot the ball that well
02:24 and you guys haven't shot it that well?
02:26 Yeah, I mean, we obviously haven't,
02:28 but, you know, when you play in a rhythm
02:30 and you play, you know, in a rhythmic style,
02:34 you uptick the potential for shot making.
02:38 And so I thought we did a good job
02:40 of creating rhythm on offense.
02:42 I thought we did a good job of disrupting some of their rhythm,
02:45 and I think shot making can have a little bit to do with that.
02:48 And then, you know, our guys drilled some shots tonight.
02:50 We got big shots out of Isaiah, obviously.
02:51 Shane made a couple big ones.
02:53 Beat had those two big ones in the third.
02:55 Tao had a big end of clock one.
02:56 So, you know, that's always an element of the game.
02:59 But I did like the way we played stylistically
03:02 and the rhythm that we were able to create.
03:04 I thought we just took what they gave us all night,
03:06 played as a team. That's who we want to be.
03:09 What did you think of Shane's nine other big scoring moments?
03:12 Yeah, he was outstanding, again.
03:14 I actually thought in the first half
03:17 he was anticipating their pressure,
03:19 and I thought he was almost a little -
03:21 he wasn't passive, but he was, like,
03:23 anticipating the types of plays he thought he'd have to make.
03:26 And then got a little more aggressive as the game went on
03:28 and, you know, got his cracks again.
03:31 You know, obviously teams are coming out here every night
03:34 and trying to game plan and scheme for him.
03:36 Tonight was no different.
03:37 He understands the nature of a 48-minute game,
03:39 and I thought he was outstanding,
03:41 especially down the stretch he closed that game for us.
03:43 What kind of confidence boosts can this give you
03:46 in a team like the rest of the world?
03:48 Well, for the guys that haven't played, you know,
03:50 I think it gives them great confidence
03:52 to come in here on the road and have to hang in there.
03:54 And we got contributions from everybody.
03:56 You know, we needed everybody's contributions
03:58 to win the game tonight.
04:00 But I also think that games like this,
04:02 when you're down as many guys as we are,
04:03 builds confidence in what we're doing as well.
04:05 You know, it builds confidence in our identity and in our style,
04:09 you know, knowing that if we lean back on that,
04:11 it can be effective regardless of who we have on the court.
04:14 And so, you know, it's a huge confidence gain.
04:17 What do you think you did against Joe Bich
04:19 with this energy game?
04:22 Pretty good. You know, he made some jump shots,
04:25 which you got to kind of live with.
04:26 There were some plays where I felt like
04:28 he just kind of overpowered us,
04:29 which you kind of got to chalk up to,
04:32 you know, a strength factor.
04:34 But generally, I thought, you know,
04:36 when he's got the ball at the top of the key,
04:38 you don't want to let him carve you up on back cuts.
04:40 I thought we did a good job there.
04:42 And then we doubled him in the post,
04:43 which we've done all year and will continue to do.
04:46 And you just got to pressure the quarterback
04:48 and take away his best outlets.
04:49 And I thought, you know, we bled out on a couple of those.
04:51 But for the most part, we forced him to skip the ball
04:54 to the weak side of the floor and trusted our rotations.
04:56 And so I was happy with the way we executed that,
05:00 especially for a lot of guys that hadn't played
05:02 in these games yet against Denver.
05:04 How did you look a lot more impressed
05:06 on the last ten games or so?
05:08 What stuck out to you over this recent stretch?
05:10 Well, I mean, the recent stretch,
05:12 he's really competing on both ends of the floor.
05:15 He's playing sharper on offense.
05:16 He's less, like, loosey-goosey with the ball.
05:19 You know, he's making sharp decisions.
05:21 He's not shooting bad shots.
05:23 He's not -- you know, he's just making simple plays on that end.
05:26 And then he's competing on defense.
05:27 He had another loose ball play where he's on the floor
05:29 tonight, you know,
05:30 so he didn't have the tuxedo on tonight.
05:32 And, you know, he competed hard and,
05:34 you know, endured 30 minutes
05:37 after a stretch of pretty long minutes in a start.
05:39 You know, he's continued to impress
05:40 in this last stretch of games.
05:42 You used him as the ball handler in pick and roll
05:45 and the role man in pick and roll,
05:47 and you picked out the right paths on that one.
05:50 You know, we talk so much about his physical development,
05:51 but how much pride do you take in seeing the various ways
05:55 that you're able to utilize him as a skill standpoint?
05:58 Yeah, I mean, that's the benefit of having a 7-foot guy
06:00 that can pass like he can and that can handle like he can.
06:04 And so he's a good handler and creator.
06:08 I also -- a lot of those pick and rolls you're referring to
06:10 are kind of secondary actions.
06:11 So you run an action, you don't really have anything.
06:13 The ball comes to him, and he turns it to the next guy
06:16 and sets one.
06:17 Oftentimes it's for Shea.
06:19 And, you know, that's really valuable for the offense
06:21 because it gives you new life,
06:23 you know, halfway through the shot clock.
06:24 And so him, Baisley, Kermit Williams, Wiggins,
06:27 those guys have done a good job of that for us.
06:29 We've seen him pop a lot.
06:30 How encouraging is it to be able to utilize him as a roller?
06:34 Yeah, I mean, he can do it all.
06:35 You know, he needs to -- he's capable of doing it all,
06:38 and he needs to get stronger
06:40 and he needs to continue to get sharper.
06:43 And what I challenged him on before this game
06:44 was just carrying over kind of the way
06:47 he was playing to a starting role.
06:49 I was really intrigued to see how he responded to that.
06:51 He got off to a great start, played a great game.
06:53 Brec, you had a big home win over them earlier in the year.
06:57 I know personnel's different.
06:58 You guys are missing a lot of guys.
07:00 Shot's went in tonight, but is there any commonality there,
07:03 anything about this matchup that maybe worked for you all?
07:06 I don't know. I think, you know,
07:09 we have a game plan against, you know,
07:10 especially these, like, distinct teams.
07:12 You know, they're a different style,
07:14 that we try to, like, trial and error
07:17 until we find the right plan.
07:19 And if we think we found something,
07:20 then we try to really hone it
07:22 and just really hone the fundamentals
07:23 that we do every night but that are especially important.
07:26 You know, something as simple as blocking out,
07:28 it's important every night, but against this team,
07:30 it's life or death.
07:31 And so, you know, we're trying to do that with every team.
07:34 You know, I don't really know if there's anything
07:35 specific to them.
07:38 Anyone else in the room?
07:40 Nothing on the Zoom, Coach.
07:41 Okay. See you guys.
07:43 Players next, everyone. Players next.