Aleksej Pokusevski | Denver Nuggets | Mar. 02, 2022
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00:00 [inaudible]
00:03 You got going early.
00:04 You had, like, two steals, a block,
00:06 and two points to assist in just the first three minutes of action.
00:09 What was your mentality stepping into the game tonight?
00:12 Just using my minutes from the beginning.
00:15 I got a chance to play with a starting five,
00:18 so I was happy about that.
00:20 I think we did a great job playing 48 mid-game.
00:23 We just got to keep it up with that.
00:25 Yeah, you kind of sparked the defense.
00:27 You just kind of got things going there.
00:29 What was the mentality on that
00:31 in the first three guys into the collection?
00:33 Being physical and knowing what is their A plan.
00:37 You know, we got to be there from the jump,
00:41 and if someone is not there from the jump,
00:45 we're just going to lift each other.
00:47 We're going to help each other, you know, play 48 minutes.
00:50 Defensively, you won't get that aspect of your identity
00:55 into the game right away.
00:58 What helped control some of their plan A
01:01 as you were talking about?
01:03 Obviously, Jakić. He's a great player.
01:06 We got our eyes on him,
01:09 making him uncomfortable playing in the crowd.
01:12 I think we did a great job of that.
01:15 We just got to, you know, stick to the plan every game.
01:18 We've seen you pop a lot in kick and roll
01:21 for the year that's through here.
01:22 I've seen you roll a little bit more recently.
01:25 Just tell me about that aspect of your game
01:27 and trying to add that in.
01:29 Yeah, I mean, I think that's a great thing to do
01:32 when you play with the Shakers.
01:33 They're doubling him, you know, in the pick and roll,
01:37 so then you have advantage when you get into painting.
01:40 I can play make a lot,
01:42 so I think that's a good thing to do.
01:44 You, like, twisted your body halfway around
01:46 and make that pass to Isaiah.
01:48 Yeah, that was, like, a play, two on one,
01:50 so it was pretty easy.
01:53 You talked to Jakić at half court for the game.
01:56 Any advice?
01:57 I mean, it wasn't our first time,
01:59 but the first time when we met last year,
02:01 he was just, you know, take your time.
02:04 I know it's going to be easy, but take your time.
02:07 Work every day, and everything's going to be good.
02:10 In the start, did that push you to play harder
02:12 and not go?
02:13 I mean, yeah, for sure,
02:15 but whatever happened during the game,
02:17 I will be there 100% every time.
02:19 I think we had a great start,
02:21 and they had some good runs,
02:23 and then, you know, we asked for it as a team.
02:26 You got contributions from everybody
02:28 that's on the court.
02:29 You only have nine healthy players tonight,
02:31 but guys like Lindy, Olivier, Tao,
02:33 just what did you see from them
02:34 and what they brought to the game tonight?
02:36 They're pretty good.
02:37 I mean, they're using their minutes pretty good
02:39 while they're on the court.
02:41 You know, their games,
02:42 when they are making a big difference for us,
02:45 and tonight, that was, you know, they played good.
02:48 They played good, and I'm happy for those guys.
02:50 Isaiah, even though he came into the league
02:52 longer before you,
02:53 I think he'd only played three games,
02:55 so you've kind of been along Isaiah
02:57 for this whole development.
02:59 What have you thought about the games
03:01 that he's been able to make
03:02 and that he has an amazing performance?
03:04 He's the guy that is working every time
03:06 after practice, he's shooting around.
03:09 He's working on his shot pretty much.
03:12 You know, he's the guy that is,
03:13 whatever happens, if he gets music,
03:15 you're done, you know.
03:16 He's going to be there every day with the team.
03:19 Play hard.
03:21 So last year was the first time you had met Jokic.
03:24 Have you guys, like, did you continue to talk
03:27 before and after games or whatever?
03:29 Have you gotten to know him a little bit more?
03:30 Yeah, I mean, we're not in a--
03:32 we don't talk, like, out of the court,
03:34 but I asked him for a jersey date,
03:36 which I'm going to get next time
03:38 when we get here at the end of the month.
03:41 You know, he's a great guy.
03:42 He's, like, in my eyes,
03:44 he's someone that I can look to.
03:47 What does he mean to you for basketball
03:50 and for being a young guy like yourself?
03:53 He means a lot.
03:54 I mean, he's a great guy, first of all.
03:56 You know, when you look at him,
03:57 he's on the ground.
03:59 He's not going to, like, be an all-star guy.
04:03 And he's always there to talk to you,
04:05 so I'm, like, happy to have him
04:08 like a Serbian guy.
04:12 And the last one, Icaruso Soltis.
04:15 Hey, Poku, great game, first of all.
04:16 Great win.
04:18 For you personally, to be so effective,
04:20 to be so impactful on the floor,
04:22 on both ends,
04:23 what does it mean at this stage of the season?
04:27 And how you would like to maintain that effort?
04:31 What would you like to do to maintain
04:32 your effort on both ends?
04:34 Yeah, I'm just trying to keep it simple,
04:36 like, keep it simple and aggressive.
04:38 That's something that I worked on with the staff.
04:42 You know, on offense,
04:43 taking what defense is giving you,
04:45 not thinking a lot,
04:48 and on defense, just being aggressive
04:50 and, you know, playing my role in the team
04:52 and trying to find my way to help the team.
04:56 Thank you, Poku.
04:57 Thank you, guys.
04:58 That's going to be a wrap for Denver.
05:01 Oh, my gosh.
05:03 - John.
05:03 You got to do a backflip. Oh my god.