Kevin Ollie breaks down impressive Nets victory
>> HUNTING, FOCUS ADDING TO JUST RESPONSE AND WHAT WAYS DID YOUR TEAM SHOW YOU THAT TONIGHT? >> ALL OF THAT. ALL OF THAT. I JUST LOVED THEIR EFFORT. I THINK — THAT WAS THE BEST GAME I THINK WE HAD. JUST COMMUNICATING OFFENSE AND DEFENSE. COVERING UP FOR EACH OTHER AND THAT’S OUR POWER.
WE WAS UNDERDOGS COMING IN HERE. I JUST TOLD THEM, NOBODY THOUGHT WE WAS GONNA WIN THIS GAME, ESPECIALLY BACK TO BACK AND WE’VE BEEN PLAYING BACK-TO-BACKS OFF A TOUGH LOSS. BUT THEY BELIEVE BELIEVED. THEY STAYED IN AS A PACK AND THAT’S OUR MOTTO. STAYING IN AS A PACK AND IT’S OUR STANDARD.
AND THEY JUST PLAY — OF COURSE, IT’S GREAT WHEN SHOTS ARE GOING IN. BUT THE SHOTS CAME OFF THEM SHARING THE BALL, GETTING DOWNHILL, FINDING THE OPEN MAN. NOBODY WAS SELFISH. THE BALL DID NOT STICK AND GETTING OUT ON THE DEFENSIVE END AND CLEANING UP OUR TURNOVERS. THEY PUT IT ALL TOGETHER TONIGHT
EVERYBODY, WHICH WAS GREAT TO SEE. >> WHEN YOU LOOK HAD A 12-POINT LEAD IN THE FIRST HALF, THEN THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WERE ABLE TO TAKE THE LEAD AND SOMETHING JUST SPARKED. WERE YOU ABLE TO HAVE THE OFFENSIVE PERFORMANCE. WHAT’S — [INAUDIBLE] HOW YOUR TEAM WAS ABLE TO STILL YOU KNOW,
HAVE BE RESILIENT AND STILL COME OUT LIKE THAT. >> START YOU HAD US — START US ON THE DEFENSIVE END. OUR THREE-POINTS WAS SOMETHING SPECIAL. BUT THEYS WERE ALL ON SPLAYS AND KICK-OUTS. WE TALKED ABOUT JARRETT ALLEN BEING AT THE RIM. IT’S HARD TO CHALLENGE HIM. BUT I CALL IT KIND OF COURT
MAPPING. UNDERSTANDING WHERE JARRETT ALLEN IS AND THEN UNDERSTANDING WHERE YOUR OTHER PLAYERS ARE. SO YOU HAVE A PLAN WHEN YOU’RE ATTACKING THEM AND WHEN THEIR LOW MAN COMES IN, LET’S PRAY THE BALL AND BE CONFIDENT IN OUR SHOOTERS. AND THAT’S WHAT THEY DID TONIGHT AND IT WAS GREAT TO SEE.
BUT OUR DEFENSE PICKED UP. STEALS AND PRESSURE AND ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT OUR COACHING STAFF AND ME WANTS WAS ON DISPLAY TONIGHT. >> WHEN YOU HAVE A GUY LIKE CAM WHO — FORGET THE FACT THAT HE MISSED AS MUCH TIME AS HE MISSE- >> YEAH.
>> A LOT HAD BEEN SAID ABOUT HIS DEFENSE, OR HIS PASSING. HAVING TO IMPROVE THOSE ASPECTS OF HIS GAME. FOR HIM TO BE PLUS 27 TONIGHT AND FOR HIM TO BE SHARING THE BALL THE WAY THAT HE DID AND EVEN KIND OF GETTING STUFF ON DEFENSE THE THE WAY THAT HE DID,
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT’S CONTAGIOUS AND GUYS KIND OF FEED OFF OF THAT? >> YEAH. I MEAN, CAM IS IN THERE. I MEAN, WE CHALLENGED HIM ABOUT THE EGB AND THAT’S OFFENSIVE REBOUND AND DEFENSIVE REBOUND. SEVEN REBOUNDS TODAY, FIVE ASSISTS. SO IT WASN’T ALL THE SCORING. HE WAS CONTRIBUTING IN OTHER
WAYS AND THAT’S JUST GREAT TO SEE. I WANT HIM TO KEEP THAT UP. WE DON’T KEEP CHALLENGING HIM IN THOSE WAYS AND WE WANT HIM TO BE A MASTERPIECE ON THE DEFENSIVE END AND OFFENSIVE END. THEY CAN DO IT BUT WE GOT TO KEEPLE CHAG. IT’S OUR PLAYERS. CHALLENGING TO BE THAT SPECIAL,
BECAUSE WE KNOW WHAT TALENT HE IS. AND WE GOT TO CONTINUE TO HARNESS THERE, CONTINUE TO HAVE HIS MASTERPIECE COME OUT. BUT HE DI PLACED IT ALL TONIGHT. — DISPLAYED IT TONIGHT. BANGED HIS KNEE. AND I WAS GOING TO TAKE HIM OUT AND HE HIT TWO THREES AND I
THOUGHT YOU ALL RIGHT. STAY IN THERE. BUT JUST HIS TOUGHNESS, HIS RESILIENCY. BATTLING BACK AND GETTING ON THE COURT FOR US MEANS THE WORKED FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS. IT — WORKED FOR US. SEE SOMETHING SHOTS GO IN, PLAYING OFF C.T. JUST TAKING THE PRESSURE OFF HIMSELF AND STEPPING UP. HE PUTS SO MUCH WORK IN.
SO I KNOW THOSE SEEDS THAT HE’S PLANTING IS GONNA BLOOM AND BLOSSOM AT SOME POINT. HE’S METICULOUS IN HIS WORK. AND THEY’RE GOING TO SHOW. SHRUG HAS PART OF IT. HE’S GOING TO GROW THROUGH IT IF HE DOESN’T STOP THE IN I HAD — IN THE MIDDLE.
AND HE FINISHED IT RIGHT THE — THE RIGHT WAY, THE BROOKLYN WAY. >> WHAT SOMEONE LIKE HIM — [INAUDIBLE] FOR A GAME LIKE THIS, WHAT DOES IT DO FOR HIM TO SEE HIS ENERGY ON THE COURT TRANSTHAT IT WHERE THE SHOTS ARE FALLING DEFENSIVELY, HE’S DOING HIS JOB.
JUST BEING WHAT HE CAN BE. HE’S HAD THESE STRUGGLES THE LAST FEW GAMES. >> IT’S VERY IMPORTANT BUT YOU SAID IT. THAT IS — THE ENERGY. THAT SHOULD NOT NEVER WAVER. IF SHOTS GOING IN OR SHOTS NOT GOING IN AND SHOTS MAYBE — THAT SHOULD NEVER WEAVER HIS ENERGY.
HE’S TOO GOOD DEFENSIVE PLAYER FOR THAT — FOR THAT TO WEAVER AND PHYSICALITY THAT WE BROUGHT. THAT’S A PHYSICAL TEAM OVER THERE. AND I THOUGHT WE BROUGHT IT TO THEM TONIGHT, WHICH IS GOOD FOR US, BECAUSE WE’VE BEEN TAKING PUNCHES. AND FOR US TO THROW PUNCHES AND
LIKE YOU SAID, MEGHAN, FOR US TO HAVE A LEAD AND THEN A COMEBACK IN A GAME, THAT’S WHEN WE USUALLY KIND OF FADE OFF OR GET DISCOURAGED, BUT WE GOT ENCOURAGED ABOUT IT. THAT’S THEIR PUNCH. WHAT’S OUR COUNTERPUNCH AND THEY TALKED ABOUT IT. POINT, TALKING, BEING RESULT — RESILIENT, OFFENSIVE REBOUND AND
DEFENSIVE REBOUND AND WE DID IT TOGETHER AS A PACK. WHEN WE DO IT AS A PACK, I MEAN, THAT’S WHERE IT’S AT. THAT’S WHO WE ARE. I CHALLENGED THEM AFTER ONE GAME IN HALFTIME. WHO WE GONNA BE? WHO ARE WE GOING TO BE? FORGET ABOUT ATLANTA AND CHASING ALL THAT.
LET’S TAKE CARE OF WHAT WE NEED TO TO TAKE CARE OF AND THE RESULTS WILL HAPPEN AND THEY’LL FALL OUT AND WHERE GOD INTENDED TO BE. BUT WE CAN’T FOCUS ON SOMETHING WE CAN’T CONTROL. WE GOT BETTER TONIGHT. >> SPEAKING OF DOING THAT, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE STAT SHEET AND
YOUR STARTINGS ALL FIVE BEING IN DOUBLE FIGURES AND THEN EVERY STARTER HAVING MULTIPLE REBOUNDS AND MULTIPLE ASSISTS LIKE THAT, JUST — WHEN YOU GUYS MOVED FORWARD WITH THE REST OF THE SEASON, WHAT DOES THAT SHOWCASE ABOUT WHAT THAT GROUP IS STARTING TO KIND OF LIKE GROW
AND HOW CAN YOU USE THIS GAME AS AN EXAMPLE? >> YEAH. WE CAN USE THIS GAME. WE CAN USE GAMES WHEN WE DON’T DO IT. LIKE ALL OF US JUST — IT’S JUST PART OF OUR JOURNEY. IT’S JUST OUR LEARNING EXPERIENCE WITH EACH OTHER. BUT WE CAN’T GET DOWN ON EACH OTHER.
WE CAN’T POINT THE FINGER. WE CAN’T BE SPLIT. WE CAN’T BE DISJOINTED. AND THAT’S ALL I WANT TO TALK. THIS IS SPECIAL. LIKE WE’RE SPINNING — SPENDING OUR LIVES TOGETHER AND I WANT THE GUYS TO UNDERSTAND IT, BRAWS THIS GROUP MIGHT NOT NOT BE THIS GRUP KNEES, YEAR.
WE GOT TO TAKE — GROUP YEAR. WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE WE’RE GRATEFUL AND WORK HARD. BUT THE BALL SHARING IT’S JUST GREAT TO SEE. AND THEY PUT IT ALL. — TONIGHT. IT WAS THE FRUIT OF OUR LABOR AND THE PAIN WE’VE BEEN THROUGH. WE GOT A REWARD TONIGHT BUT WE
CAN’T BE DRUNK ON SUCCESSES. WE’VE SEEN IT BEFORE. WE GOT TO COME BACK WITH ORLANDO, TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY WHEN WE GET BACK AND COME WITH THE SAME FOCUS. ARE WE GONNA WIN? I DON’T KNOW. THAT’S UP TO GOD. BUT WE NEED TO HAVE THE SAME FOCUS AND HAVE OUR SAME
ATTENTION TO DETAIL LIKE WE DID
Kevin Ollie chats with the media after a stellar game for the Nets in which they defeated the Cavs, 120-101, behind strong scoring nights from Cam Thomas and Mikal Bridges. Subscribe for daily sports videos!
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