Mark Daigneault | Mavericks Post-Game | Dec. 12, 2021
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00:00 - Nick Gallo, KC Thunder.com.
00:02 Mark, you guys were able to kind of keep this
00:03 within striking distance through three quarters.
00:06 What allowed you to do that?
00:07 And then what slipped in that fourth quarter
00:10 that they were able to kind of extend the lead?
00:12 - I mean, I thought they outplayed us much of the night
00:16 and we just kind of made enough plays to hang around
00:19 and stay within striking distance, which is a skill.
00:23 You know, we didn't do it in the Laker game
00:24 and we ended up in kind of an unreachable position.
00:28 And I thought tonight, you know, second quarter,
00:30 third quarter, like they had their chances
00:33 to break the game open and we hung in there
00:35 and, you know, kept it in striking distance
00:37 and, you know, gave ourselves a chance at a spurt,
00:41 but obviously we didn't have it.
00:42 You know, they outplayed us for 48 tonight.
00:44 - Chris Lawson, OKC Thunder.com.
00:49 Wanted to ask you specifically about Darius.
00:51 He had three blocks tonight
00:52 and obviously a tough matchup with Porzingis.
00:54 Just what was your perspective of his night defensively?
00:58 - You know, he's to the point now where I'm not surprised
01:01 when he has like really good possessions.
01:03 If I'm being like totally forthright,
01:05 I actually didn't think it was as consistent
01:07 and as good defensively as he's been
01:09 'cause he's kind of raised that bar, you know.
01:13 We've come to expect him to be kind of a stalwart
01:15 on the bigger wings and the fours like Porzingis.
01:19 And tonight, you know, he wasn't bad, obviously,
01:21 you know, he's become a very, like,
01:22 his floor is clearly raised,
01:24 but I didn't think that was close to his ceiling
01:27 and close to the way that he's defended.
01:29 So really our whole team tonight just wasn't up to the level
01:32 that we established earlier in the week
01:35 on those two road games.
01:37 And we've got to kind of tap back into that, you know,
01:39 from an energy standpoint, competitiveness standpoint.
01:42 It wasn't awful tonight,
01:43 but certainly wasn't up to the level that we're capable of
01:45 or that we've been at here recently.
01:48 - Joe Masato, The Oklahoman.
01:49 Mark, do you have any update on Lou?
01:51 - Left ankle sprain.
01:53 We're going to have to see him tomorrow,
01:54 but I mean, certainly, you know,
01:57 enough that he can go back in the game, you know,
01:58 so they re-taped him at halftime, you know,
02:01 tried to check him out a little bit.
02:02 It wasn't wise to put him back out there
02:04 and we'll see how it looks in the morning.
02:05 - I know he got hurt just before the,
02:08 just before halftime,
02:09 but was it related at all to the collision
02:11 he had previously with Hardaway?
02:12 - No, it was, I think on the illegal screen,
02:15 he got an illegal screen and I think he just got rolled up.
02:17 I think it was on that play.
02:18 I don't know a hundred percent for sure,
02:21 but I'm pretty sure he was, it was, it was on that one.
02:24 - Just wanted to ask you about a box score,
02:26 oddity from tonight, fast break points were zero to zero.
02:30 Is that strange for you to see, or like, how do you,
02:34 did you see something that would explain that?
02:37 - No, I mean, I didn't notice that.
02:41 I thought the stuff that popped off the box score
02:43 was the paint tonight, you know,
02:44 where traditionally we want to be a team
02:46 that kind of plays through there on offense
02:48 and protects their own defense.
02:49 And they obviously own the paint against us tonight
02:51 on both ends, got to the line more than we did,
02:54 got on the glass more than we did.
02:55 That's the stuff that jumps out.
02:57 - Q-tip sports animal, only 15 minutes for Jeremiah tonight.
03:01 Was it the matchup or what went into below minutes for him?
03:05 - I mean, just kind of went, I was, I was kind of searching,
03:09 you know, I thought not just with him, just in general,
03:12 you know, I obviously, we played a bunch of guys tonight.
03:14 I don't know how many guys we played, 12 or 13, but,
03:18 you know, just, I thought it was an energy game.
03:20 I thought, you know, they came out here
03:22 and had more energy from the jump.
03:24 And we were just looking for who was going to give us
03:26 the energy. And so it was not, you know,
03:28 it's usually not a, an indictment on the guy
03:31 that plays low minutes.
03:31 It's just like, you know, trying Teo, trying favors,
03:34 trying Mike, trying Ty Jerome, you know,
03:38 trying more Poku, you know,
03:39 just looking to see who can give us a jump,
03:42 you know, in a game like that.
03:44 You know, I think those guys that don't get as consistent
03:46 of an opportunity deserve a chance in a game like that.
03:49 So that was, it was more by-product of that.
03:53 - [Moderator] Anyone else in the room?
03:54 Okay, I see two. Daniel Bell, you have a question.
03:56 Go ahead, Daniel, with your question.
03:58 - Yeah, Coach, you just mentioned the paint points.
04:01 It was the type where the least amount of shots
04:03 you guys got up in the paint this season.
04:06 Was it their length that was bothering you guys
04:09 or was it a little bit of settling?
04:11 - I'll have to look at it.
04:14 I think a little bit of both, you know, I, you know,
04:17 when we don't play well,
04:18 I never want to take that away from the opponent.
04:20 You know, I thought they came in here really hungry.
04:23 They threw the first punch in the game
04:25 and they had a grip on the game all night.
04:27 And I want to make sure that I tip my hat to them.
04:29 It's not always a by-product of us.
04:32 You know, I thought they did a really good job tonight
04:34 and they were really consistent through the 48
04:36 and they deserve to win the game.
04:37 You know, that being said, you know,
04:39 we want to be a team that's stubborn about getting in there
04:42 and stubborn about establishing
04:44 that as kind of our ground game
04:46 and stubborn about trying to find the best shots
04:49 on every possession.
04:50 And, you know, we had some possessions
04:51 where we got decent looks tonight.
04:53 Some fell, some didn't.
04:54 But, you know, I thought they did a really good job
04:57 and I thought we weren't quite stubborn enough
05:00 on our end of things.
05:02 So there's a combination of those things.
05:04 - Got last question, Jason Panagaio.
05:06 Go ahead, Jason, your question.
05:08 - Hey, coach.
05:09 I kind of just wanted to hone in on the struggles
05:12 of Shea Gilles just Alexander.
05:13 You know, obviously two back-to-back games
05:16 where, you know, the looks kind of, you know,
05:18 they were there, he just wasn't hitting them.
05:21 Do you have any thoughts on that
05:22 and why he could be, why he's struggling so much?
05:25 - Well, it's definitely not so much
05:28 'cause the three games prior to that, he was cooking.
05:30 You know, the three games he played before that
05:32 were Houston, Detroit, and then Toronto.
05:35 And he was rocking and rolling in those games.
05:37 And I think, you know, it's an 82-game season.
05:40 He's the top line of the scouting report every night.
05:43 He's still a developing player.
05:46 You know, players start to hit their prime
05:48 around 25 years old or so, and he's 23.
05:52 And he's learning just like everybody else.
05:54 I think when we think of player development,
05:56 we think of the younger players
05:57 that don't have experience like Trey Mann
06:00 or like Robinson Earl,
06:02 but player development applies to everybody.
06:05 And especially these guys that are like growing pros,
06:09 you know, that have a lot of experience,
06:10 they're still developing and he's still developing.
06:12 And he's seeing different looks every night.
06:14 He's seeing everybody's best defender every night.
06:18 And, you know, the level that it requires him to play at
06:22 is a really, really high level
06:24 that he's capable of playing at
06:25 and that he's shown he can play at.
06:28 But, you know, these sorts of like dips and struggles
06:30 are normal for great players.
06:32 And the reason's 'cause the other team comes in here
06:33 and they're trying to make the game
06:34 as hard as possible for him.
06:37 And so this is, you know, his developmental track.
06:39 And so we're really optimistic about him.
06:42 He's played really well as of late.
06:44 But, you know, all these guys, nothing's linear,
06:46 and all these guys are going to have dips
06:48 in their developmental track.
06:49 And, you know, he obviously didn't play
06:52 his best game tonight.
06:53 But the one thing about him is he comes in,
06:55 he looks in the mirror,
06:56 he doesn't point fingers at anybody,
06:57 and he's usually better after having done so.
07:00 And I have no doubt he'll do that again now.
07:02 You got one, Joe? No?
07:06 - Yeah.
07:07 - Oh, I'm sorry.
07:07 (indistinct)
07:10 - So you guys are proud of the progress
07:12 he's made tonight.
07:14 (indistinct)
07:16 - And he had a good game tonight.
07:21 Well, what's it like to just see sort of,
07:24 even though he's not with you guys,
07:25 him continuing to play well?
07:26 - I mean, anybody that comes through the program,
07:29 whether they're here for summer league,
07:31 you know, for two weeks,
07:32 or they're here for a year,
07:34 or they're here for 10 years,
07:35 we take a lot of pride in them
07:38 doing really, really good work here.
07:39 And we want to have a reputation
07:43 that if you come here,
07:45 you're going to improve,
07:46 we're going to invest in you,
07:47 it's holistic program,
07:49 we care about people.
07:51 I think he would feel that way if I had to guess,
07:53 'cause we poured a lot into him.
07:55 And we really like him.
07:57 And, you know,
07:58 we always want to see guys that pass through the program,
08:00 have success when they leave here.
08:01 It only helps us reinforce the program
08:04 with our current players,
08:05 and also, you know,
08:06 for future players walking in the door.
08:08 I think in over the course of time,
08:10 the organization's, you know,
08:11 established a certain reputation
08:13 in terms of player development,
08:14 in terms of opportunity,
08:16 and in terms of investment in our players.
08:19 And so when we have a guy pass through here,
08:21 and then, you know,
08:22 go on and have success,
08:23 you know, we're rooting for him.
08:24 And he, in particular,
08:25 is a high character,
08:26 really good guy that is easy to root for.
08:28 So we're happy for him
08:29 as he continues on in his career.
08:31 Yep.
08:32 - Thank you very much.
08:33 Players next.