Mark Daigneault | Phoenix Suns Post-Game | Dec. 23, 2021
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00:00All right, here is coach.
00:01We'll start with questions in the room
00:02and then we will go to them.
00:05Coach, just your thoughts on the effort
00:07from these guys on the second half of a back-to-back
00:09seem to keep responding to every punch
00:11that we went through tonight.
00:12Yeah, I thought that was the case, you know,
00:14they obviously jumped on us early.
00:16I thought we were getting good shots early in the game.
00:19And like, I think the opponent, the crowd,
00:22we were just a little frantic with our defense.
00:24And then once we settled into the game,
00:27got our defense in, made them earn everything,
00:29they missed some shots, we made some shots
00:31that allowed us to climb back in the game.
00:33And I thought it was a little bit of an onslaught
00:36in the third quarter there.
00:38You know, we had a hard time turning them off,
00:39but to the credit of our team,
00:41it didn't balloon past, you know, whatever it was.
00:44I think we kept it in striking range and credit them.
00:47You know, they're a really good team.
00:48They kept us at arm's distance the rest of the way,
00:50but I thought we fought for 48 tonight,
00:53you know, which is all you can ask for.
00:55What worked in the second quarter
00:56that didn't work so much in the first
00:57and the third for you guys?
01:00I mean, we're certainly, they're good
01:02because they require you to be really, really tight
01:05and show Chris Paul and Booker a crowd.
01:09And then you've got to be able to fire out
01:10to their shooting, not to mention Aiden's
01:13on top of the rim.
01:14I mean, they're just a really balanced attack.
01:18And you kind of have to be able to do everything
01:19against them.
01:20That's what the best teams force you to do.
01:22And, you know, in the second quarter,
01:24we did a better job of that.
01:25We got them to turn it over a couple of times.
01:26We got them kind of playing a little bit out of rhythm.
01:30And then our offense started to click.
01:30We attacked with paint, we had good balance.
01:33A couple more shots started to fall for us
01:35that didn't fall early in the game.
01:37And we gave ourselves a chance, you know,
01:39we took a lead to halftime
01:40and against a quality team on the road, so.
01:43And as you said before, in the third quarter,
01:45they kicked through a day with some, again, big shot,
01:47Booker, the three at the end and Sam Johnson's.
01:51What were they doing?
01:52Or what you weren't doing at that point in the third quarter?
01:56You know, I thought our offense stalled a little bit.
02:00And credit them, I mean,
02:01they tightened the screws defensively a little bit
02:02and they were just playing off of misses
02:04and turnovers for a lot of that.
02:06And they were attacking, you know,
02:08when it's possession after possession like that,
02:10you gotta be like really on point to turn that off.
02:14And we just couldn't get it under control.
02:15We couldn't get a grip on the game there for a little bit
02:17and it allowed their lead to balloon there.
02:19But I mean, you gotta credit them.
02:21I mean, they made shots in that stretch.
02:23They got stops in that stretch.
02:24And it's a good experience for our team.
02:27That starting lineup started in the finals.
02:29And we're a team that's trying to, you know,
02:32punch our way through all these games
02:34and use these to improve.
02:37And it's a great experience for us to play against a team
02:39that quality and with that level of experience
02:41and that requires that level of unity.
02:43And now it's our responsibility to learn those lessons.
02:47All right.
02:48We seem to have Booker pretty under control
02:51for like two and a half quarters.
02:53And then there was that weird baseline play
02:56where like second chance loop,
02:58blocks it and the ball flies up in the air and goes in.
03:01Did you view that at all?
03:02Is it a little bit of a turning point in Booker's night?
03:05If so, just show kind of, in my mind,
03:07it seemed to show sort of the small margin
03:09that there is with those types of players
03:12that see one thing go in.
03:13Yeah, it's a small margin team.
03:15You know, they are, you know,
03:17obviously there's a reason why they're having the success
03:18that they're having
03:20or the success they're continuing to have right now.
03:23And again, you know,
03:25I thought we gave really good effort for much of the game,
03:29but the margins are thin against really good teams,
03:31especially on the road.
03:34And it's a good lesson for us.
03:35I mean, these are the kinds of games that we want to play in
03:38because they're a really accurate barometer of where you are.
03:40We did a lot of good things
03:41against a really good team tonight
03:43to give ourselves a chance.
03:45You know, we were even at the end there,
03:46we were a shot or two away
03:47from making a little bit of a noise,
03:51but, you know, we embrace these experiences.
03:53That's a quality team.
03:54We get to learn a lot about ourselves
03:56when we look in the mirror after that one.
03:58Shea continues to be able to get to his left hand at the rim.
04:03Not that he's not getting to his right hand,
04:05but it just seems like he's really finishing
04:07with the left a lot.
04:08Any reason why that's been so effective for him?
04:12He's just got all, he's got great feet down there
04:14and he's, you know, got his wingspan probably seven feet
04:18if I had to guess.
04:18So he's ranging, which I think allows him
04:22to find some of those layups
04:23and he's got really tight feet,
04:24which I think a lot of the best finishers do.
04:27And, you know, has just found a really nice balance,
04:31you know, in there, good pace.
04:32And, you know, I thought he played well against
04:34and he knocked a lot of possessions.
04:37All right, let's take it to Zoom.
04:38We got two questions.
04:39Let's start with Christos Saltas.
04:40Go ahead with your question, Christos.
04:43Hello, Coach.
04:44How's Coburn doing well?
04:47Coach, in those last two games of your team,
04:50how satisfied you are about the competitive spirit,
04:52and especially on tonight's game,
04:53playing against one of the best teams in the league?
04:57I thought we really, you know,
04:59and that's what's so encouraging about our team is,
05:02you know, when we're faced with challenges,
05:05it seems to bring out, you know,
05:08a spirit that shows that these guys
05:10see challenges as opportunities.
05:11And, you know, competition is not for the weary.
05:15And so, you know, if you shy away from those challenges
05:18or you view challenges as a threat,
05:20then, you know, the NBA will chew you up and spit you out.
05:23And we don't have a team that does that.
05:25We have a team that, when faced with challenges
05:27or when we get knocked down,
05:29our team sees it as an opportunity, sees it as a challenge.
05:31And that's a really good place to start, you know?
05:35And now we've got to channel that into our environment,
05:38channel that into the fundamentals
05:40that are important in these games
05:42and channel it into a style of play
05:44that's going to sustain us
05:46as we continue to grow and improve.
05:47But, you know, that locker room,
05:50the competitive spirit is the heartbeat of that locker room.
05:53And, you know, fortunately for us,
05:54we have a lot of guys that are easy to believe in.
05:58And then we got last question to Joe Masato.
06:00Go ahead with the question, Joe.
06:04Hey, Mark, what kind of learning experience
06:06can a game like this be for Aaron Wiggins
06:09when he's matched up with a guy
06:11like Chris Paul and Devin Booker?
06:15Huge, you know?
06:17And we see a lot of potential in him
06:20as a perimeter defender.
06:22And his offense continues to smooth out.
06:25But certainly, you know, the perimeter defense
06:27is what's earning him the minutes right now with us.
06:30And when you got a guy like that,
06:32I mean, it's a great lesson for us, you know?
06:35Can't shy away from giving the biggest challenges
06:38to kind of see, you know, where their threshold is
06:41of where they're effective.
06:42And, you know, his first assignment in a start
06:45was Conley, who's obviously a great guard.
06:48And we're not afraid to put him on anybody
06:51with the way that he's played.
06:52He's got a motor, he's got length, he's strong.
06:55He's really, really disciplined for an inexperienced player.
06:59He's got a lot of good tools and a lot of things,
07:02like I said, that we can believe in.
07:04So I thought he did a nice job on Chris Knight.
07:07Chris is obviously a tough cover.
07:09But he just keeps coming, keeps competing,
07:11and he does it within our system
07:13and within what we're trying to do.
07:15And, you know, he continues to impress
07:17as we get these experiences.
07:18And now it's just a matter of him taking these experiences
07:21and learning from all of them.
07:23All right, anyone else?
07:25Thank you.
07:26Myron Patton.
07:26There you go.
07:27Thank you.
07:28Myron, back.
07:29Thank you, Coach.
07:30Go ahead, Myron.
07:31Yeah, Coach, after they hit you with that,
07:32what, 23 to four run or whatever, and you guys came back,
07:36which is the bigger factor?
07:37Is it the X and O that you talk about,
07:39or is it just the mentality
07:41that that's within a group of players?
07:45I mean, the best teams compete really hard
07:48and they do it together.
07:50And then like the next layer
07:51is being able to really execute at a high level.
07:53I think that's what makes Phoenix so tough,
07:55is just their execution on both ends.
07:57They're really, really tight.
07:59And so, you know, I think what allows you
08:02to kind of keep fighting is like the competitive spirit
08:04and the fact that our team's doing it together.
08:06It's definitely not an X's and O's thing.
08:07It's coming from our players.
08:09But the thing that we can learn from this game is,
08:11you know, you can have all the will
08:13and you can do it together,
08:14but you got to also execute.
08:16And those are some of the lessons
08:17that we can draw from this.
08:19I also just, before we go,
08:20I just want to make sure that on behalf of our team,
08:23wish everybody a really happy holiday.
08:24Obviously times are uncertain
08:27and we certainly are thinking of everybody,
08:29especially our fans.
08:30Hope everybody is healthy and safe
08:33and, you know, has a great, great holiday.
08:35So, see you on the other side.
08:37Thanks coach.
08:38Thank you coach.
08:39We'll bring players next.