Coach Taylor Jenkins Press Conference | Grizzlies vs. Hawks

Coach Taylor Jenkins Press Conference | Grizzlies vs. Hawks

We heard the excitement just describe the feeling kind of out pulling that one off yeah I mean that was a high level basketball game I thought both teams played extremely well um obviously down 10 at halftime uh I told the team hey we’re we’re guarding pretty well it’s

Just the second chance points we gave up 17 Second Chance points in the first half um only four in the second half I think there was a better commitment there better level of physicality um obviously this team is a high scoring team it was back and forth I mean 119

125 but um credit to our guys when we finally got stops we were able to break through obviously third quarter you know Dez doing his thing JW doing his thing uh setting a tone um but this was a high level basketball game both teams playing extremely hard there was a level of

Physicality level of skill um for 48 minutes just proud of our guys to bounce back um you know with the ups and downs in the first half and then being down 10 then the back and forth nature of the fourth quarter you know come up with some crucial stops and crucial execution

On the offensive side Heaven job back and obviously it’s kind of you know led to better results for you as a team is this kind of what you envisioned you know when you when you got him back did you kind of see that okay this is kind of going to put

You know certain players in certain positions and kind of lead to better results yeah for sure I mean obviously there there’s a confidence when you know he’s at the lead for you um you know guys have been waiting for this moment but you know proud of the group as I

Keep saying for those first 25 games as choppy as it was um you know throughout guys getting their opportunities but now guys being able to sit on the rooll um you know it just gives more comfort and then just what he does I mean 30 points

Uh 11 assists um it still baffles me gets one free throw when he shoots 23 shots in the paint uh that just baffles me um but his connectivity with teammates you know in transition coming off the pick and rolls um you know building chemistry with some new

Teammates as well um but you know we got a lot of confidence what he can bring to this group and you just see how they feed off of each other but other guys playing well he feeds off of them too another factor in his return you have

Shot over 50% three games in a row since he got back I think that’s a first for your season so what does he do that leads to that number going up I think one of the biggest things that we struggled with um was consistent Pace you know getting out in transition I

Think we’ve improved with that uh but it’s really the paint touches and the paint scoring you know teams were able to be a little bit more physical with us and keep us out on the perimeter and I thought you know our embracing of our ability to you know willingness to shoot

The three and knock it down was something that we were striving for even going into the offseason but you know our our kind of struggles to touch the paint to create Rhythm shots or I mean we scored 76 points in the paint tonight you know it’s not just you know getting

To the rim I mean Dez attacking downhill jiren attacking downhill other guys you know X finishing at The Rim um just the more that we can touch the paint whether it’s our initial drive game it’s our fast break game or it’s our pick and roll game um that just unlocks a lot of

Us and that’s you know kind of ouros working throughout the paint scoring the paint high percentage shots and then you know kicking out to the three-point line so I think obviously adding JW back that just enhances that ability John Contra is he all right yeah

He just got his thumb caught on a jersey so just kind of precautionary more evaluation to happen so we we were just kind of just reacting to the moment just keeping him out for precaution and I know we were talking about Vince Williams earlier he mean he’s really

Playing well with that starting lineup you’re going to have like a big decision to make soon do you foresee just putting Marcus mark back in the starting lineup like how do you see that working out yeah I mean I’m I’m really proud of what Vince has done I mean he’ll be embracing

Whatever role um is necessary you know just his competitive fire I thought he’s doing a great job obviously guys are going to still score but he’s trying to make it as tough as possible I think he wears on guys um you know he’s just learning the tricks of these guys he’s

Getting full you know exposure against young tonight you know bogdanovich Murray occasionally um you know when you got Elite offensive players but you got a guy that goes out there with that tenacity and that willingness to give it all on the defensive side that’s someone

You have a lot of trust in no matter starting coming off the bench you know obviously leaning to him for a lot of minutes and I just love how he’s playing on the offensive side too letting the game come to him but he does a lot of intangible stuff um you know rebounding

50/50 balls um just his activity overall on both sides of the floor is really impressive does it almost almost feel like a new season yeah I got asked that one the other day I mean I I think it’s just like a renewed um you know energy

For sure I think our Spirits have been phenomenal over the season despite all the adversity and challenges um obviously you know game 26 everyone was pointing to getting job back um obviously we’re really excited to get Marcus back and Luke back as well uh but just getting whole you know what you’re

You know envisioning going into the season what you’re fully capable of but I think there was a lot of good work done despite a six and whatever it was 19 record you know the records are the records but I thought the effort and the spirit and the togetherness and the

Things that we’re working on that obviously allows us when J comes back to have a seamless transition um that was that was the whole process for the two months is being as prepared as possible for these guys to develop and be ready for when ja was back and really excited

To see obviously you know good three game start and we just got to keep build on that consistency great thanks everyone happy holidays appreciate holiday y

Taylor Jenkins meets with the media following a 125-119 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

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