Josh Giddey | Portland Trail Blazers | Jan. 31, 2022
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00:00 Nick Gallo, KC Thunder.com.
00:02 Josh, just tell me about the defense
00:04 over the last three quarters in particular.
00:06 You hold them to 50 points over that time span.
00:08 - Yeah, it was awesome.
00:10 I mean, we started slow again.
00:11 They scored, I think, 30 a quarter time.
00:13 So it was obviously something we spoke about
00:15 in the quarter time puddle and we picked it up.
00:17 I think that could have been the best three quarters
00:19 of defense we've played all season.
00:20 We locked in, we were, made them shoot top shots,
00:23 were early to our coverages.
00:24 So all around it was a team job.
00:26 We made a lot of pop for those guys.
00:27 And I don't think after the first quarter
00:29 they had anything easy.
00:31 - And then offensively, it seemed like you were all,
00:33 were able to just find that balance,
00:35 in terms of the guys scoring,
00:36 but also attacking and transition,
00:39 holding it up and executing.
00:40 Like what were some keys offensively for you all?
00:42 - Yeah, we moved the ball well tonight, I think.
00:44 And as a lot of guys were on the scoreboard,
00:46 and there wasn't one guy that had 30 points.
00:49 I think we shared it pretty well.
00:51 We got a lot of good looks.
00:52 We made a lot of threes tonight.
00:53 We got a lot of open threes, sorry.
00:55 But I think overall, our offense looked good.
00:57 We flowed well.
00:59 We kind of had a good mix of pushing and transition,
01:01 and no one went to pull it out and run a set,
01:03 or get through something.
01:05 So I think tonight we did a good job,
01:07 separating the attacking and holding it up
01:09 and getting through something.
01:11 - Christine Butterfield, 1077 of the franchise.
01:15 You scored 14 tonight,
01:16 and had a responsibility of leading the defense
01:19 without Shea Gilles Alexander.
01:20 How did you feel leading the offense tonight?
01:22 - It felt good.
01:23 You know, obviously with Shea out,
01:24 it's a big hold of field,
01:25 and it can't be done with one person.
01:27 Obviously the scoring load and the playmaking load
01:29 he carries for us is obviously missed a lot.
01:31 And one guy can't fill that void.
01:34 So it was a team effort tonight.
01:35 A lot of guys stepped up.
01:36 It wasn't just me handling the ball.
01:37 We had a lot of guys.
01:38 Tyler was awesome off the bench.
01:40 Lou handled it, Trey.
01:41 So our guard group was really good tonight,
01:42 I think getting us into offense.
01:44 And as I said,
01:45 it can't be a one-man job to fill the hold that Shea leaves.
01:48 - Paris Halston, okazethunder.com.
01:51 Josh, you guys have had a lot of comebacks this season,
01:53 but all those comebacks have come down
01:54 to kind of the last minute.
01:56 It's been a close game at the stretch.
01:57 You guys won the game by double digits tonight.
01:59 Just what was that mentality in the third,
02:01 the fourth quarter to keep that foot on the gas
02:03 and really extend that lead there?
02:05 - Yeah, exactly that.
02:06 I mean, coming into the half, you know, we got it back.
02:08 You know, it was a tight game.
02:10 And then we kind of said that to keep that foot on the gas,
02:15 you know, going into the third.
02:16 And sometimes that's been a weak point for us
02:18 to start in the second half.
02:19 But tonight we came out right from the jump,
02:21 ready to go in that second half.
02:23 And, you know, we didn't really look back after that.
02:26 - Andrew Schleich of The Athletic.
02:29 You guys played a lineup in the fourth quarter
02:31 that had a lot more shooting on the floor
02:33 with you out there, rather than the,
02:35 like the starting lineup that has a little bit less space.
02:37 Like how much more free do you feel, you know,
02:40 whenever you have that lineup
02:41 that you guys started with in the fourth?
02:42 - Yeah, a lot.
02:43 So, I mean, you know, just having guys out there
02:45 that can shoot, I mean, it kind of keeps the defense honest
02:48 and they have to stay on for those guys.
02:49 But, you know, it makes life easy to play with shooters.
02:52 I mean, I can just get them the ball
02:53 and they're ready to catch it shooting.
02:55 You know, it makes my job easy.
02:56 So playing with those guys, Ty, Muskie, K-Rich, Baze,
02:59 you know, Blue, they're all ready to shoot.
03:00 I keep naming guys, but I'll stop there.
03:03 Yeah, I mean, they're all ready to catch and shoot,
03:05 whether they make or miss, you know,
03:06 we've all got that same confidence in the group
03:07 that nobody cares if you miss a shot, you know,
03:10 they're the good shots, they're the right shots,
03:11 keep taking them.
03:12 And, you know, internally,
03:13 we all have that confidence in each other.
03:15 So tonight we made it through.
03:17 - And right now you're on pace to have over 600 rebounds
03:21 and 500 assists, which has been done twice by a rookie
03:25 in the history of the NBA.
03:26 Have you had time to like stop and think about
03:28 the kind of season that you're having so far?
03:30 - Yeah, I mean, not really.
03:32 The NBA happens so quick, you know,
03:33 you're playing so many games,
03:34 you can't really sit there
03:36 and think about yourself too much.
03:38 I mean, it's cool.
03:40 The stats are all good, but for me, it's all about winning.
03:43 And the more wins we can get, the happier I'll be.
03:45 - Hey, Josh, congratulations on the win, first of all.
03:54 The last three quarters,
03:55 what do they show about your character
03:58 and the potential that this team have this season?
04:03 - Yeah, I mean, it shows we don't give up.
04:06 You know, we've got a bunch of guys that want to compete
04:08 and fight to the end.
04:09 And we've been in that situation a lot this year
04:13 and we're kind of learning how to get out of it.
04:14 I mean, it'd be better if we didn't get ourselves
04:16 in there at the start,
04:17 but, you know, we've kind of learned how to come back
04:19 from deficits and I think tonight we did it really well.
04:21 And as I said, it wasn't really close this one.
04:24 We got it back and then we kind of put our foot down
04:26 and kept it down and extended the lead and held on to it.
04:29 So, you know, it'd be ideal not to put ourselves
04:32 in that position where we're trailing by, you know,
04:33 18, 20 points, but, you know,
04:36 we're finding ways to dig ourselves out of those holes.
04:38 - Thank you, Josh.
04:40 - Thank you.
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