Mark Daigneault | Kings Post-Game | Nov. 12, 2021
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00:00We'll go questions in the room and then go to the zoom.
00:05Go ahead with questions, everybody.
00:09Nick Gallo, kcthunder.com.
00:11Mark, just your reaction to Blue's steal
00:14and score there at the end.
00:15Great play.
00:16I mean, he's just a monster.
00:20And we got a bunch, but,
00:21and we had a lot of plays like that tonight.
00:23Like we had big time, big time, competitive juice plays.
00:27That second unit group that crawled back in the game
00:30with us to start the fourth, Poku chased down block.
00:35You know, he, I went and got him early in the first half
00:38for basically neglectful defense.
00:41And like the way he responded,
00:43he gave us huge minutes in the third and door all game.
00:47And, you know, since he came out of the womb,
00:50but that was a high level play.
00:53I mean, it was a monster play.
00:56Paris Lawson, kcthunder.com.
00:57Coach, I wanted to ask about the rookies tonight,
00:59Jeremiah and Trey, obviously Jeremiah on the boards,
01:02but then Trey, it seemed like he was all over the floor.
01:04He dove on the floor for that loose ball, him and Kenridge,
01:06but he was also making some of those,
01:08those attack plays that it seemed like
01:10you've been looking at for him so far on the offensive end.
01:14Yeah, offensively, he was really good.
01:16And then defensively, he had his moments, you know,
01:20that he can learn from, but the competitive spirit
01:23and like the recognition of how feisty
01:25he needs to play on that end was there, you know?
01:28And so if that's there and he's making mistakes,
01:31that's to be expected,
01:33but you got to bring the competitive juice.
01:35And I thought going back to his first blue game, you know,
01:38he made it clear in that game that he got that message
01:42and then, you know, has carried that forward since then.
01:45And I thought, you know, tonight he defended
01:47and competed hard enough to stay on the floor
01:50and hold, you know, hold water on that end.
01:53And then offensively, you know,
01:54got it going like we know he can.
01:58Andrew Schleicht of The Athletic.
02:00Mechanically, what's the difference in Lou
02:01finishing around the basket this season from last?
02:04Because it's, I mean, he finished in a variety of ways.
02:06That last finish was not an easy one.
02:08Yeah. You know, what's the difference?
02:13You're bringing him up tonight, right?
02:14But, yeah. I would hope so.
02:15Yeah, he's going to be up there.
02:17Yeah. He's, tonight's a good night for Lou, Matt.
02:21Good question for him. You know, I think,
02:23if you ask him specifically about the summer,
02:25I know he spent a lot of time on it this summer,
02:27but he was up, you know, his Canadian national team,
02:29and then he was in Montreal in the lab, basically.
02:33The one thing that stands out to me
02:35is finishing is mechanical in its decision-making.
02:39And so I think he's starting to recognize,
02:41you know, the plays to not go after.
02:43You know, it's kind of like shooting a contested shot.
02:45You know, percentages are going to go down.
02:48But it's a good question mechanically.
02:50You know, I think he just, he's a worker,
02:53like I've said about him and Shea before.
02:55And, you know, he was impressive tonight.
02:58But that play is just, you know, will.
03:02He just willed the steal and willed the layup.
03:04I mean, he's got some heart.
03:06You talked at practice yesterday
03:08about Bazley's play being repeatable.
03:11Did you see more of what you wanted to see from him tonight?
03:14Yeah. He kept us above board there.
03:16He had a little flurry of the two threes,
03:18and I think he had a layup.
03:20And guarded Barnes, which was their leading scorer.
03:25Yeah, I mean, I think all that, you know,
03:26Treyman, Bazley, Dort with the finishing,
03:28it's like I actually thought about your question after.
03:32And the best way I could describe it
03:34is like the balance between, like,
03:36confidence and aggressiveness and discipline is, like,
03:40so hard because those things, like,
03:41pull against each other, you know?
03:43Like, the more disciplined you try to be,
03:45the more passive you can be.
03:46And the more aggressive you try to be,
03:47the more loose you can become.
03:49And I think, like, they just, when they're younger,
03:52they're just, like, it's volatile going back and forth.
03:55And then over time, it just, like, levels out.
03:57And I think, you know, with Bazley's play,
03:59I think you're seeing, like, a leveling out a little there.
04:01It doesn't mean he won't revert at different times.
04:04But, and the same thing with Trey with the offensive stuff.
04:06You know, it's really, that's the hardest balance
04:08for all of them, you know, in their own way.
04:10And I thought, you know,
04:11he had another, like, really solid night.
04:14Joe Masato of The Oklahoma.
04:16Mark, this was your guys' fourth comeback win
04:19of at least 15 points or more.
04:21Winning in that style, specifically,
04:24what can that do for a young group?
04:28It teaches the 48-minute lesson.
04:30You know, it brings a very tangible,
04:34you know, emotional example of the length of the game,
04:37you know, and that you're never quite out of it.
04:41You know, and I just think we could have played
04:44a lot better in the first half,
04:46both things we could control and then things we couldn't.
04:48I mean, we were missing layups.
04:49It was kind of, you know, early, first quarter was,
04:52you know, we were right there,
04:53like, on top of the rim on a lot of plays.
04:57You know, and if you just kind of hang in there,
04:58obviously, and just compete all the way throughout,
05:01then that's going to give you the best chance every night.
05:03And, you know, again, I thought,
05:07we talk a lot about the foundations of the team,
05:11we talk a lot about, you know, trying to educate the team
05:13on what the uniform means,
05:14and, you know, then obviously do it in our own style,
05:18you know, and, you know, paint our canvas as a team
05:21as we, you know, build our program.
05:23But, you know, I thought, again, you know,
05:25like, we were very thunderous tonight, you know,
05:27and I thought the guys competed, you know,
05:29with that kind of fire and just resilience.
05:32You know, we just got back up and just kept coming.
05:35And that's, like, the core of who we need to be.
05:38And I thought, you know, we really tapped into that tonight.
05:40A lot of guys did that.
05:42It didn't end up mattering,
05:43but just curious, with the late-game situation,
05:45it looked like you were thinking about challenging that one.
05:47I know. How much time was left?
05:50Fifty?
05:51I think so, yeah, just under a minute.
05:53Yeah, I mean, I couldn't get a look at it.
05:57I was asking Jeremiah. I don't think he knew.
06:00I think it was one of those. Did you guys, was it ours?
06:03I don't even know. I didn't get a second look.
06:05I couldn't get a look at it.
06:06And, yeah, I mean, I probably, I didn't have a look at it.
06:11I probably, if I could go back and do it,
06:12I'd probably challenge it blind,
06:14because if you win it, you still have it.
06:16If you lose it, you still have a timeout.
06:18If you win it, you can get two possessions to there,
06:21one late in the game.
06:24I probably got a little too cute there,
06:25you know, trying to get it right.
06:27And then I actually went and tried to get it blind.
06:29Right. And they were inbound in the bowl.
06:31I should have just done it.
06:32I probably would take that one back.
06:34And one more from me.
06:36Davion Mitchell just looks well ahead
06:38of where most rookies are defensively.
06:40Dardoche pretty well tonight.
06:42What stands out about his game?
06:45You know, similar to Dort, you know, I think it's feet.
06:48It's physical. You know, like, he's got,
06:50obviously, like, a mature physical frame.
06:53He's a ground athlete like Dort is.
06:56And then, you know, like I said about Lou,
06:58like, Lou's got, you know, kind of the athletic profile
07:00to be a great defender,
07:01but the thing that makes him really good is his will,
07:04and you need to be, you know, someone that can really,
07:07you know, just take pride in it and really, like,
07:10it says a lot about a person's character
07:12when they take pride in something
07:14that's kind of invisible, you know,
07:16and I think Mitchell's that sort of player.
07:17You know, he's got a bright future.
07:21Okay. Yeah. Coach, you talked about lessons.
07:24Jeremiah Robinson Earl shoots one for nine from the field
07:27but then gets 14 rebounds.
07:29Your thoughts on that, just how hard it is to get a player
07:31to have that kind of an impact on a game
07:33when he's missing shots?
07:36You know, we don't get him to do it.
07:37You know, I think the you guys talked to me early,
07:41you know, about kind of the spirit of the team.
07:43Like, the organization does a great job
07:45of identifying the, you know, funder guys,
07:49and he's a funder guy.
07:50You know, we're not, like, instilling that in him.
07:52He's got that, you know, he's walking in the door with that.
07:54Now it's us trying to, like, bring out,
07:57you know, consistency with that
07:58and also try to, you know, sharpen the edges
08:01a little bit in his game and getting him to channel
08:04kind of those qualities into the type of player he can be.
08:07But, you know, that's the second half
08:10was just the character of our players.
08:12You know, like, those guys are just monsters.
08:15And, you know, his ability to stay with it like that
08:19was impressive because, obviously,
08:20he had a rough night offensively.
08:22All right, we're going to take two questions.
08:24Oh, go ahead, Myron. Sorry. Go ahead.
08:26Myron Patton, Fox 25.
08:28During this winning streak, like, tonight,
08:29Shade didn't play particularly great,
08:31didn't shoot it well, a couple of offensive fouls.
08:33There's Trey Mann, there's Kendrick Williams,
08:36the Lakers, Ty Jerome, hits big shots.
08:38What's that say about your team,
08:39the other guys at different times,
08:41and, essentially, your star players
08:43that helped get this done?
08:44We want to be a team that competes together.
08:47And I think when that's the mentality,
08:50which I think this group has and has exhibited,
08:56that's kind of part of it, you know,
08:57is, like, when your teammate goes in there,
08:59you root for a success.
09:01When you get your number called,
09:02you're ready to contribute to the team.
09:04And I think it's powerful when everybody
09:06has their fingerprints on the impact of the team.
09:10And this is a particular group that, you know,
09:13if it's not your night, they do a great job
09:15of hanging in there with each other
09:16and rooting for each other and being supportive.
09:20And, you know, it's powerful when you step out there
09:23and you get an opportunity and you know
09:24you've got, you know, 16 guys behind you
09:26that are pulling for you and that want you to do well
09:28and that you feel like they need you.
09:32And that's kind of the spirit of the team right now.
09:34And that's something that you can't take for granted.
09:37You know, we have to continue to build that
09:39and continue to emphasize that and make that who we are.
09:44You know, we have to compete and we got to do it together.
09:47And then we're going to take one question to the Zoom.
09:48Go ahead, Daniel Bell, with your question.
09:50Go ahead, Daniel.
09:52Yeah, Coach, can you talk about the poise
09:55and composure of this team?
09:56Like, you don't really see young teams
09:59be this composed and poised,
10:01especially this early in the season.
10:05Usually see them mess up at some point during a comeback.
10:09But you guys have really been composed.
10:11Where does that come from?
10:14I don't want to ever take away from, you know,
10:16just the character of the players,
10:17like I said, about the competitiveness
10:19when, you know, there was a question about Robinson Earl.
10:25So some of it's just the quality of people
10:28that, you know, we try to go out and find
10:31and that our people do a great job
10:32of going out and acquiring.
10:35And then I also think that environmentally,
10:37having an environment that's, like, very consistent
10:40where, you know, we try to be as non-emotional
10:43as possible in our process.
10:45You know, obviously we enjoy the hell out of wins like this
10:48in the locker room after the game.
10:49But when we come in tomorrow,
10:51we try to just be very cold-blooded
10:53about detaching the lessons from the game
10:55and just continuous improvement
10:57because you can't ride the roller coaster of the season.
11:00And I think that when you have a program like that
11:03and everybody in the building is kind of wired that way
11:06and then the players commit to that type of mentality,
11:10then I think it's easier in the emotion of the season,
11:13whether it's in a game or whether it's in a winning streak
11:15or losing streak, to just stay very even.
11:17And I think, you know, a combination of our players
11:19and our environment, you know,
11:21gives us the best chance to be poised.
11:23But, again, like the connection to the team
11:24and competitiveness, it's something
11:26you can't take for granted because, you know,
11:28we're going to wake up tomorrow zero and zero,
11:30and, you know, we're going to have to go earn it again.
11:33Thank you, Coach. We'll bring players next.
11:35Players next.