Mark Daigneault | New Orleans Pelicans | Dec. 26, 2021
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00:00 - [Casey] Hey, Gallo, CaseyThunder.com.
00:02 Just wanted to ask you about the overall game flow
00:05 and some of the things that you all were able to execute on
00:08 in the fourth quarter.
00:10 Again, just kind of seems like another one
00:11 of those situations that's a little bit different
00:14 in the way that you've won tonight.
00:15 - Yeah, I thought, you know,
00:19 obviously get out to a really good start,
00:21 especially offensively.
00:22 I thought for much of the night,
00:24 really good ball movement,
00:26 played together on the offensive end,
00:28 made simple plays and put each other in advantages.
00:31 And I thought the balance that we showed, you know,
00:35 across the roster in terms of scoring
00:37 and creating was evidence of that.
00:39 And then, you know, had to close out with a lead again,
00:43 which is a good experience again for us.
00:45 I thought we did a good job tonight.
00:47 Did it with stats, got it up to 10, the flagrant,
00:50 you know, kind of climbed them back into it.
00:52 But I thought that stretch there right before that
00:54 was really good.
00:55 We were getting stops, getting scores,
00:57 and opening a lead up, which is what you have to do.
00:59 You got to keep the scoreboard moving
01:00 down the stretch of those games.
01:02 - Aaron, obviously had a big night,
01:03 but I want to ask you about Teo.
01:05 The last time that he played was the 32 seconds
01:08 against these guys like 11 days ago.
01:10 For him to jump in like this,
01:12 what did you see and what does it say?
01:14 - Yeah, I mean, him and Ty, you know,
01:19 really good readiness, you know,
01:21 which is something that I think the consistency
01:25 of the environment and, you know,
01:26 the stuff that we try to foundationally establish
01:30 that we've had here for a long time, you know,
01:32 is puts guys in positions to be consistent
01:35 when their number's called,
01:36 regardless of if their role is inconsistent.
01:38 And I give Teo and Ty a lot of credit
01:41 'cause those guys hit it really hard.
01:42 They attacked the program.
01:43 They're ruthlessly consistent with their work
01:46 and with their approach.
01:47 And they've been in a volatile role this season,
01:50 which is normal in the NBA for a lot of players.
01:53 And even in that volatility, you know,
01:55 they've found consistency with how ready they've been,
01:59 which is a credit to their mentality and their work.
02:01 So I was happy to see them contribute
02:02 the way they did tonight.
02:04 - Christine Butterfield, 1077, the franchise.
02:06 This is probably one of Aaron Wiggins'
02:08 most impressive nights,
02:09 especially when you look at him
02:10 and the way he's really fit into the starting lineup now.
02:14 Just your thoughts on how he's progressed
02:16 in the starting role and how you thought he did tonight.
02:19 - I thought he was good.
02:20 You know, I thought defensively it was more of the same.
02:23 I mean, the first time we put him in an NBA game,
02:25 this is what he looked like defensively.
02:27 And even in summer league, you know,
02:28 he was declaring himself on that end of the floor.
02:31 Offensively, I thought, you know,
02:34 he was really aggressive in summer league
02:36 and early on in training camp.
02:38 And we had to reel some of that back.
02:39 He was a little overaggressive.
02:41 And then he almost became timid in his first NBA minutes.
02:44 And I thought his blue stint after,
02:47 I think he's played against Utah, started against Utah.
02:50 His blue stint after that, I think was really good
02:52 just in terms of tapping back into the offensive end
02:55 of the floor and figuring out how to be really aggressive
02:57 inside of what we're doing.
02:58 And I thought tonight was like really good evidence of that
03:00 because, you know, he had obviously a loud night scoring,
03:04 but it all came in the flow of the offense.
03:06 And it was all offense that's sustainable for him
03:09 in the role that he's in right now.
03:11 And the defense is what, you know,
03:12 keeps him out there and keeps him on the court.
03:14 So, you know, obviously he had a good night,
03:17 but I think, you know, it was a accumulation
03:19 of a lot of, you know, development and progress
03:21 that he's made in a short period of time here.
03:24 - And then Josh Giddey had a double-double
03:26 in rebounds and assists,
03:27 but he couldn't seem to get it going points-wise
03:30 on the offensive end.
03:31 Just, it's not really natural for us to see him
03:34 kind of have this low of a shooting night.
03:37 Just your thoughts on how he played tonight.
03:40 - Yeah, I think a skill when you're like
03:42 a long minute player, you know,
03:44 if you're playing 82 games, long minutes,
03:48 you know, night after night,
03:49 there's going to be a lot of ups and downs
03:51 in a lot of ways.
03:52 You know, there's going to be times where you're in rhythm.
03:54 There's going to be times where your body's sore.
03:56 There's going to be times where your shot feels effortless.
03:58 There's going to be times where you feel like you're laboring
04:00 and the guys that, you know, I think Shea's, you know,
04:03 certainly had to go through this, lose learning this.
04:06 And Josh certainly is getting exposed to this now.
04:09 You know, you've got to be able to,
04:11 through all the ups and downs of an 82 game,
04:14 competitive experience,
04:15 you've got to be able to find some consistency
04:18 and tap into the things that you can rely on every night
04:22 and that you can control every night.
04:23 And I thought, you know, to his credit,
04:25 for a lot of the game,
04:26 he controlled a lot of what he could control.
04:28 I think he was frustrated by the shooting and, you know,
04:31 who can blame him, but at some point,
04:33 you just got to move past it and lose yourself in the game.
04:36 And I thought his last stretch, when he went in there,
04:38 he did a nice job helping us close that out.
04:40 And I think that was a good lesson for him, you know,
04:42 to be able to play through that.
04:43 It's not always going to be sunshine and rainbows.
04:46 - Tony Sellers from the Associated Press.
04:49 The early minutes for Tao, I'm guessing,
04:51 came because of the situation with Trey.
04:54 And can you clarify a little bit?
04:56 He went through the warmups and I think was even
04:58 in the handshake line,
04:59 and then we get the note that he's in the protocol.
05:02 - Yeah, so we tested everybody this morning per NBA rules.
05:06 His test was negative this morning.
05:08 He reported symptoms, and the minute he reported symptoms,
05:12 we retested him, and then he ended up in the protocol.
05:15 So it was kind of a wacky situation,
05:17 but credit him for letting us know.
05:19 - And you had to kind of adjust your game plan
05:22 on the fly at that point.
05:23 - Yeah, I mean, that's the luxury of having professionals
05:26 that keep themselves ready, you know,
05:28 Tay, Tao, Tai, you know, with Basely out,
05:32 it was in the back of our mind.
05:34 We're playing four and six days right now.
05:35 It's in the back of our mind to get those guys
05:37 some run this week anyways.
05:38 And tonight, the opportunity presented itself,
05:40 and to their credit, they were ready to rock.
05:43 - I want to ask you one more about Wiggins.
05:44 Obviously, you moved him in the starting lineup.
05:46 - Yeah.
05:47 - It looked like you ran some plays for him early
05:49 to get his confidence going offensively.
05:51 Had never scored in double figures,
05:52 and he gets 24 tonight.
05:53 I mean, that's a pretty good job.
05:56 - Yeah, I think, you know, ideally, good teams are threats.
05:59 We just played Phoenix, and Phoenix is a team
06:02 that's a, they're a threat at all five positions,
06:04 and I think that's what the best teams do.
06:05 They establish a threat at every position,
06:07 and Aaron has established himself
06:10 on the defensive end of the floor,
06:11 like I mentioned before.
06:14 And, you know, now it's like,
06:16 you don't want like a one-end player, you know,
06:18 because there's just a limit to that.
06:19 And so we've been trying to give him confidence
06:23 to be an offensive player and find his offense,
06:25 but to do it inside of the role that he's in
06:27 and inside of the team, which is a hard balance.
06:29 And I thought, like I said,
06:30 this was the cumulative effect of a lot of development
06:33 and a lot of, you know, process and growth for Aaron.
06:36 And that's something we take pride in,
06:39 and something he should take pride in.
06:40 And I thought it kind of came together tonight.
06:42 He got his cracks and obviously had a big night offensively.
06:45 - Paris Lawson, OKCThunder.com.
06:47 You mentioned that strong start for you guys.
06:49 It seemed like the defensive end
06:50 really played a factor in that as well,
06:52 able to get some stops and get out on the other end.
06:54 Just what did you see on that end of the floor?
06:55 Obviously Luke, four steals, that's nothing new from him,
06:58 but how much of that defensive energy
07:00 played into the offensive rhythm you guys had tonight?
07:02 - I thought we dove into the game on that end of the floor,
07:04 you know, especially Ingram and Graham.
07:07 You know, we knew those guys were coming in the game
07:08 with a lot of confidence.
07:09 They've been playing really well and aggressively.
07:12 And I thought, you know,
07:13 Lou was really amped up on Ingram.
07:14 He did a heck of a job.
07:15 He was underneath him from the jump.
07:18 Aaron was on Graham.
07:19 And then the other three guys,
07:20 I thought had great engagement in their help,
07:22 knowing that that's what they were going to try to do
07:24 to establish their rhythm in the game.
07:26 And I thought that's where a lot of the deflections
07:28 and steals and, you know,
07:30 Shea had two blocks in the first quarter, I think.
07:33 You know, those are big plays for us.
07:35 It allowed us to get out on the break.
07:36 And I thought, you know,
07:37 gave us a grip on the game early on.
07:40 - James Jackson with the Oklahoma.
07:42 Shea came in tonight 16 points shy of James Harden
07:45 on the all-time scoring list for the Thunder.
07:48 He scored 31 tonight.
07:50 What was that say about his play
07:52 and what he could mean for this program?
07:54 - I've said this before, but you know,
07:57 the thing that is most impactful for the program
08:00 is just the type of person and professional that he is
08:03 when you've got a player that has the on-court impact
08:06 that he does.
08:07 You know, they have a contagiousness to them professionally
08:11 and they have a contagiousness to them personally.
08:14 And it, you know, it goes through the whole building.
08:17 It's in the air when you've got a guy like that.
08:20 And he's a budding, you know, great player.
08:22 He's already a great player,
08:23 but he's going to get even better.
08:24 He's still developmental in a lot of ways.
08:27 But the thing that is impressive about him
08:29 is he sees the big picture, sees around the corner.
08:32 He empowers his teammates.
08:35 He allows, you know, guys like Robinson Earl
08:37 and Wiggins and Giddy,
08:38 these guys to gain some traction, Trey Mann.
08:41 He's done a great job with them.
08:43 And he's a pro, shows up, he does his work.
08:45 He's a great worker, stays late.
08:47 He's one of the last guys in the gym every day.
08:48 And like I said, when, you know,
08:50 you're young guys that have a lot of, you know,
08:53 status in the league at an early age, have those qualities,
08:57 you get the wind at your back as a program.
09:00 And I think, you know, we found a guy right there
09:02 with great alignment to the things that we believe in.
09:05 And, you know, we're hoping that we continue
09:07 to generate momentum with that with Shea.
09:10 All right. We'll take one question.
09:12 Zoom, go ahead, Angel Bell. Is there a question?
09:15 Yeah, Coach, this isn't the first time
09:17 someone has stepped up when someone has been out
09:21 or someone didn't really play well,
09:23 like one of the starters didn't really play well.
09:25 So can you talk about the next man up mentality
09:28 you guys have had all year?
09:29 I think it just comes from the work and the environment
09:34 that we try to create every day.
09:35 You know, we try to be really consistent,
09:39 try to have an environment that players
09:40 really want to plug into and commit to.
09:44 You know, as a staff and as an organization,
09:46 we want to make sure that we're helping create that every day
09:48 and then try to find guys that are going to be
09:50 naturally aligned with that,
09:51 similar to the answer I just gave on Shea.
09:54 And I think when you do that,
09:56 it allows players to be committed
09:59 in a way that transcends the role they're in.
10:01 And so when you're rifling Trey Mann or Wiggins
10:04 back and forth to the blue or, you know,
10:07 when Tao Maldon is in the rotation to start the year
10:10 and then he's out, you know, as the roles change
10:14 and as the circumstances change
10:15 and as the flow of the season changes,
10:18 there's something stable and consistent
10:20 when you have that kind of environment
10:22 and when everybody's kind of committed to it.
10:24 It has great power and you can generate great momentum.
10:27 And I think, you know, the guys being ready to play
10:30 when their number's called and ready to not only play,
10:33 but contribute and perform is a by-product of that.
10:36 And like I said, it's something we take a lot of pride in,
10:38 but we can't take for granted.
10:39 We have practice tomorrow and we have another opportunity
10:42 to either do that or not, and we've got to go do it.
10:45 All right, thanks.
10:47 - Clear text.