Darius Bazley | Sacramento Kings Post-Game | Feb. 05, 2022
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00:00 [inaudible]
00:03 It's just the fight you all had tonight.
00:06 What stood out to you the most about hanging in there
00:09 and the third game of the playoffs?
00:11 I mean, we gave physical efforts,
00:16 but mentally we had too many breakdowns.
00:20 The game was for the second.
00:25 We, you know, we definitely gave ourself a chance,
00:28 but it just wasn't enough.
00:31 And it's a challenge, but it's also a beauty in it.
00:37 Like, for us to win games,
00:41 we have to put together so many things.
00:45 And we have to do it at such a high level and consistent.
00:51 And we didn't do that tonight.
00:54 Like I said, I mean, we gave physical efforts.
00:57 I don't think we just, you know, laid down, you know,
01:01 but mentally we just weren't sharp enough.
01:06 So physically, I say, you know, to answer your question,
01:08 we gave a good fight, but that's not going to cut it.
01:13 Josh talked about just him kind of trying to take on
01:16 some more of these high-level defensive matchups
01:19 and how that's going to be
01:20 a really good learning opportunity for him.
01:22 I know you're still obviously really young in this league,
01:25 but you've gone through a lot of that type of stuff already.
01:28 Just your thoughts on, you know, at the early stages for him,
01:32 kind of taking on some of these challenges
01:34 and how he'll be able to improve off of those.
01:38 You know, I think it's really good.
01:41 Josh is a high IQ player,
01:43 and I think it'll translate on both sides for him,
01:46 especially with him being on the ball so much,
01:48 he kind of knows just what's going on.
01:53 So I think if he's able to use that to his advantage
01:56 on the defensive end, just kind of knowing
01:57 what guards are wanting to do
01:59 or what teams are, you know, trying to get done,
02:02 he could use that to his advantage.
02:05 But I think it's good that, you know,
02:07 he's taking on these challenges now
02:09 because it's only going to make him better.
02:11 You know, like tonight,
02:13 this game is only going to make us better,
02:14 you know, to be able to watch film.
02:16 He'll be able to go back and see, you know,
02:20 different things, what he could have did better,
02:21 what he did good, you know, just things to just keep
02:24 growing on, you know, so that's good for him.
02:30 I mean, like I said, the only thing he's going to do
02:33 is just elevate his game even more.
02:37 Darius, you talked about the beauty
02:38 and just the challenge of tonight
02:40 and one of those challenges being under man,
02:42 but that gave an opportunity for a guy like Poku
02:44 to step up and give you guys some solid minutes tonight,
02:47 just being out there on the court with him
02:48 and seeing the minutes that he gave you guys.
02:50 What did you think of his performance overall?
02:52 I thought Poku was really good.
02:54 Came in, he rebounded the ball.
02:58 He had some big shots for us,
02:59 you know, trying to get back into the game.
03:03 You know, I thought he did really solid.
03:07 You know, I thought when he went in there,
03:08 his presence was felt, gave us good minutes,
03:11 you know, and it's just a testament not only to him,
03:15 but a lot of the guys, you know, just staying ready,
03:18 you know, no matter what, no matter what circumstance,
03:22 you know, I see Poku, you know, he puts in the work,
03:27 you know, and from when he first got here to now,
03:32 it was definitely like you can see the growth.
03:36 So he did a really good job tonight.
03:38 And one more for me, you mentioned
03:40 just the physical effort that you guys gave
03:42 and I was just thinking about the offensive side of the ball.
03:43 You had two and ones tonight.
03:45 Just why was the physicality such a cue
03:47 that you guys were aiming for on the offensive end tonight?
03:52 I mean, just being aggressive, period.
03:56 You know, I think that's a big --
03:57 try to put pressure on the defense.
04:02 Yeah.
04:09 Joe, go ahead.
04:10 Darius, you've had a wide variety of defensive assignments.
04:13 Like, sometimes you're guarding five.
04:15 Tonight you started on Halliburton.
04:16 You're getting switched on to guards.
04:17 Like, how have you sort of taken on those challenges
04:21 and what have you learned about yourself this year
04:22 as you've been so versatile on defense?
04:28 I mean, the biggest thing that you take away from that
04:31 is that when you look back at all of this,
04:34 like, you're able to do it, you know,
04:36 just kind of like showing yourself,
04:39 okay, you're able to do that, you know,
04:43 and then just embracing it and using it
04:45 to help the team in any situation,
04:49 you know, to be able to be on Halliburton
04:51 or chase Hill around the court,
04:56 you know, or banging down there, you know, with their fives.
05:03 You know, but it's good.
05:06 I like it, honestly.
05:08 It just -- I get -- like, I get ready for that.
05:13 It kind of helps me just, like, stay engaged,
05:15 stay locked in because I am able to, you know,
05:18 switch off on so many different positions.
05:20 You can't, like, really take a play off or, you know,
05:25 and mentally you just stay sharp
05:26 because one minute you might be switching.
05:29 The next minute you might be in coverage.
05:31 You know, the next minute, you know,
05:33 you may be able to gap off of a guy.
05:35 You know, the next guy you might have to,
05:38 you know, pick up really high.
05:39 So it just helps me stay, yeah.
05:43 -All right. We have no questions on Zoom.
05:45 Thanks, guys.
05:46 -Thank you.
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