Josh Giddey | Pelicans | Dec. 15, 2021
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00:00Nick Gallo, kcthunder.com.
00:02Josh, obviously you guys would have liked
00:04to be on the opposite side of it,
00:05but this might be the most exciting finish
00:08we'll see in the NBA all season long.
00:09Can you just speak to kind of the unpredictable nature
00:12of the game and anything can happen in these games?
00:16Yeah, it's, I mean, it's obviously that shot,
00:20you know, you've got to live with shots like that.
00:22Obviously there's one second left.
00:23They had to throw up a tough full court shot
00:25and it went in and, but I think, you know,
00:28coming out of that timeout,
00:29we kind of knew that they, the previous position,
00:31they fouled, put us at the line to make it,
00:33to still make it a one point game.
00:35And we knew coming out of that timeout, they did,
00:37and Temple tried to foul Shane.
00:38Shane knew that, and then he got that quick three up
00:40and went in, and I thought it was overtime,
00:42but it's a crazy finish.
00:44And I mean, as soon as it left his hands,
00:46I kind of had a feeling it was going to go down.
00:53Pierce Lawson, kcthunder.com.
00:54Josh, wanted to ask you specifically
00:56just about the offensive boards tonight.
00:57You guys outscored them in second chance points
00:59and obviously they're a big force on the glass.
01:02Just what was your focus tonight
01:03and the group's focus tonight overall,
01:05especially on the offensive boards?
01:06Yeah, that was a big emphasis coming in.
01:08We knew Vellon Junius is a big offensive rebounder
01:10and they're one of the best
01:11offensive rebounding teams in the league.
01:12And just making sure we're cracking down
01:15weak side box outs, you know,
01:17you can't really stop him one-on-one.
01:18So it's going to take multiple guys to come in there
01:20and chip in around the ring.
01:22So that was a big point of emphasis coming into tonight.
01:24And I think, you know, we did an all right job,
01:26at times Vellon Junius kind of pushed us out of the way
01:28and got second chance points.
01:29But I think for the most part,
01:31we stuck to that and did a pretty good job at it.
01:35Joe Masato, the Oklahoman.
01:36Josh, when you're inbounding the ball there late
01:38and you know that they're trying to foul
01:40and Shea's got to create space,
01:42is that something that you're thinking of
01:43trying to get him the ball in space
01:45to make a spectacular play like that?
01:47Yeah, it was.
01:48I mean, obviously he's going to have a lot of attention
01:50because everyone knows the ball's coming to him
01:52at the end of the game.
01:53And they had, you know, Graham was guiding me
01:55and he kind of helped out Shea.
01:56So I tried to throw it out where he could go get it in
01:59quickly before Temple could foul him.
02:00And I mean, he created a lot of space, got that shot off.
02:03I mean, it was a tough shot, it was near half court.
02:04So, you know, something closer
02:07probably would have been better,
02:07but, you know, that's the type of play he is.
02:09He makes big shots like that.
02:10So we live with it.
02:11And then obviously Devante made that shot at the end.
02:14But yeah, I mean, just trying to get him space
02:17because we knew what they were trying to do out of timeout.
02:19And then Trey Mann had a couple more highlight plays tonight
02:22and just seems like the whole arena explodes
02:25when he makes a dunk like that.
02:27What does that do for you guys on the bench?
02:29It's good.
02:30I mean, when the arena's going, we're rocking,
02:32you know, it gets us going as a team.
02:33And Trey's a highlight reel.
02:35He has a number of them every night
02:37and he brings a lot of energy off the bench for us.
02:38He's a, you know, he's that spark we need
02:41off the bench at times.
02:42You know, if our starters lack energy,
02:43Trey, Cambridge, those guys off the bench,
02:45they bring it for us every night.
02:46And, you know, Trey's got bounce.
02:48I don't think a lot of people knew that,
02:49but I mean, I think they know it now.
02:51The last two games, he had a big dunk.
02:52So Trey's been really good for us.
02:56Just along those same lines,
02:57wanted to ask you about the play that you made
02:59to Trey, the backdoor passed him.
03:01And then also Aaron, fellow, fellow rookie as well.
03:03He had a pretty monster put back dunk as well.
03:05Just what's it like for you to see, you know,
03:08your fellow rookies doing something like that
03:09and then walk us through that, that play with Trey.
03:11Yeah, it was awesome.
03:12I mean, the play with Trey was actually meant for Shay,
03:14but he, I think he forgot about it.
03:16So it was meant to be for him,
03:17but we still ran it anyway and then Trey got a backup.
03:19But, you know, it's good.
03:22It's great to see those guys,
03:22obviously on a young team like us,
03:23there's going to be opportunity.
03:24And to see those guys grab the opportunity,
03:26especially with, you know, in and out of the rotation,
03:28he doesn't really know when he's going to play,
03:30but he's always ready.
03:30You know, every time he comes in,
03:32he's elite on the defensive end,
03:33and that's what we use him for a lot of the time.
03:35But offensively, he's got a really smooth game,
03:37three level scorers.
03:37So both him and Trey have been really good for us.
03:41We have one question after two.
03:43Go ahead and select your question.
03:47Yeah, Mark mentioned that you played
03:48all your minutes with Shay tonight.
03:52It also coincided with you having your career high
03:53in field goal attempts.
03:55I'm just curious what tonight felt like offensively,
03:58and then is it easier for you with the space
04:03that Shay creates to operate?
04:04Or, you know, how does that kind of play out for you?
04:07Yeah, no, I love it.
04:08I love playing with Shay.
04:09I mean, especially tonight.
04:11You know, I think, as you said,
04:13we played every minute on the floor together,
04:15and I honestly loved it.
04:16It was the first time we've done that, obviously,
04:18with Lou being out, you know, it kind of opened that up,
04:21a few more field goal attempts for me, for other guys.
04:23So, I mean, when one guy steps out,
04:26the next guy's got to step up.
04:27So, you know, it was really fun tonight.
04:29I mean, Shay draws so much attention
04:31that it creates space for me and for other guys on the team.
04:34So, love playing with him.
04:36And, you know, we're still building that chemistry together,
04:37but it's only going to get better from here.