Darius Bazley | Brooklyn Nets | Jan. 13, 2021
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00:00 - Curious, the offense was just going at high pitch
00:05 all night long.
00:06 Just what was working so well on that end of the floor
00:08 for you guys tonight?
00:09 - I think we just had to click it.
00:12 Shea got off to a crazy start.
00:14 Lou had it going.
00:17 I mean, we was really firing from all cylinders.
00:20 I don't know.
00:23 I mean, we was getting good looks.
00:24 We was generating good shots
00:25 and we were making a lot of them,
00:27 getting to the free throw line,
00:29 playing from inside out,
00:30 getting to the paint,
00:31 get some sprays,
00:32 have some good cuts,
00:34 and then also transition.
00:37 But we did a pretty decent job of getting on and running.
00:42 - Two assists for you guys at the season high.
00:45 Washington, you guys had,
00:47 forget 23 assists maybe,
00:49 but do you feel a lot of carry over from that game
00:51 in terms of the offensive execution and tonight?
00:53 - Not only from that game,
00:55 but just, I feel like just in general,
00:59 each month our offense has gotten better,
01:01 and it's just us putting in the work,
01:06 watching the film,
01:07 and then trusting the changes that we're making
01:11 and implementing them to the game.
01:15 - Marcus talked about just you all
01:18 like delivering a first punch,
01:21 delivering some punches.
01:22 Did it feel that way tonight out there for you all
01:24 that you guys were able to kind of land some haymakers?
01:27 - A little bit.
01:29 It would have been a haymaker
01:30 if we would have rebounded better,
01:32 but we was jabbing tonight,
01:36 and that created some space for us.
01:39 But I definitely said we started stronger tonight
01:44 than we have in the past.
01:45 We just looked to keep building off of that.
01:48 - You responded too.
01:49 When they cut it to eight,
01:51 what did you notice just about the response
01:53 in that fourth quarter to push that lead back up?
01:56 - Just guys being poised,
01:58 people stepping up, making plays, making the right pass.
02:03 When you get in those situations,
02:05 it can kind of be easy to kind of like fall into the trap
02:08 of just getting flustered and everything.
02:11 So just being simple, making a simple play,
02:15 staying under control, being strong with the ball,
02:18 and then just keep taking good looks and whatnot.
02:21 They definitely made some adjustments coming out the half
02:24 and kind of threw us off our pivot a little bit,
02:28 but we was able to get it back under control.
02:31 - There is, not just specific to tonight,
02:33 but I just wanted to ask you about the games you played
02:36 as a shot blocker this season.
02:38 You already have a career high in blocks for a single season.
02:41 Is that a timing thing?
02:43 Is it just more experience?
02:45 Like, how have you grown in that area?
02:47 - In the beginning, at first, like, I don't know.
02:52 I don't know what game it was.
02:55 I had blocks.
02:56 Then it just kept happening,
02:58 and then I kind of became a little bit more aware of it.
03:01 And I'm like, okay,
03:03 I'm gonna start trying to go get these now.
03:04 You know, jump shots, they can be a little bit tricky,
03:08 but I think that's just like another element to add,
03:13 like, defensively, being able to, like, contest shots
03:16 and maybe alter them or block it, you know,
03:20 so they're not able to get it off.
03:22 But I'm more aware of it now,
03:25 and it's something that, like, I try to do.
03:29 - Really loud ones, like the other night
03:31 against Corey Kispert.
03:33 Like, how much do those energize you?
03:35 - It kind of gets me going.
03:37 When I get in the game, I try to, you know,
03:40 get out and run, transition, get stops, rebound.
03:45 But getting a block definitely does get me going.
03:51 - Is there a key to, like, being accurate
03:53 with those contests?
03:54 You contest the most shots on the team.
03:58 You foul the least out of anybody playing 25 or more minutes
04:01 in the entire league.
04:03 For you to contest that many shots,
04:04 block that many shots without fouling,
04:05 like, are there keys for you to not,
04:07 to being really accurate on those?
04:10 - Not really.
04:14 I mean, for me, sometimes I, like,
04:16 try to see where a player, like, releases
04:21 and just put my hand in there.
04:22 So it kind of makes it easier.
04:26 I'm not trying to make it seem like
04:29 there's, like, a super fine art for blocking shots.
04:32 I mean, I got long arms and I'm, you know,
04:34 pre-athletic, so that helps.
04:37 But just trying to time it up, you know,
04:41 and sometimes also just, like,
04:43 sometimes you get into the habit of, like, trying to swat,
04:49 and that can, like, that split second of you winding back
04:53 can be the difference between
04:54 you getting a hand on it or not.
04:55 So it just depends.
04:57 - Yeah.
04:58 - Any more questions in the room?
05:06 We'll go to Daniel Bell on Zoom.
05:08 - Yeah, Bays, it's nine games now of you
05:12 in that six-man row.
05:13 How much more comfortable are you now
05:16 as opposed to when you first started
05:18 coming off the bench being a six-man?
05:20 - I'd say I'm a lot more comfortable.
05:24 At first, it definitely, obviously, changed the scenery.
05:28 But now I'm adjusting more to it,
05:34 embracing it a little bit more.
05:35 You know, the goal is still the same when I go on the court,
05:39 just try to impact the game, make winning plays,
05:41 offensively, you know, make the right plays.
05:45 But I would say I'm more comfortable in it now.
05:50 - You said the goal is the same,
05:53 but has your mentality changed a little bit?
05:56 - No, I wouldn't say my mentality changed.
06:04 It's just more, like, consistent.
06:07 Like, I'm just more, like, leveled.
06:11 You don't get too high, you don't get too low.
06:13 It's just like, next play.
06:15 - Chris, if you want to ask your question.
06:26 - Okay, you hear me, Baze?
06:28 - Yeah.
06:30 - Great game, great win, first of all.
06:32 How needed was that 48-minute effort for you guys?
06:36 How needed was that win and that performance
06:38 for you personally?
06:42 - It's definitely a 48-minute game.
06:44 Coach says it all the time.
06:45 You know, we had a really strong first half.
06:51 I think I seen that, like, that was the most
06:52 we've ever scored in the first half.
06:54 This might've been the highest-point game all season.
06:57 But, you know, they came out and they made some adjustments.
07:02 I kind of explained it earlier, but, like, you know,
07:05 when they made those adjustments,
07:07 it was important that we, you know,
07:10 kind of weathered the storm, and we did that
07:13 to be able to win the game.
07:15 Guys made big shots down the stretch
07:18 to kind of keep that lead and give us
07:20 a little bit more of a cushion.
07:23 No, tonight, performance for myself,
07:25 I don't really think anything of it.
07:27 It's just what I'm trying to do every night,
07:30 you know, just focus on running, rebounding, and defending,
07:32 and the rest will kind of take care of itself.
07:35 - Thank you, Baze.
07:38 - Thank you.