Coach Malone Full Post Game Press Conference vs. Raptors 🎙

Coach Malone Full Post Game Press Conference vs. Raptors 🎙

About left at halftime huh your loyalty coach you guys go down 22 points in the middle of the third quarter I believe just what does it take to uh sort of sustain a comeback like that I know you guys were down by the same versus Phoenix um well let’s be honest that

First half we were awful and uh you know I asked our players you know at halftime there was no ra speech you know I didn’t break any backboard or clipboards or anything thing and uh the only thing that changed was like we finally started playing hard I mean like there’s a

Hopefully you can notice it a noticeable difference first half and second half with their energy and her effort and how much we cared and you know I thought Jamal Murray the second half I thought Nicole yic second half as well as everybody else that contributed to the

Comeback win but we just started playing harder than that and the first half we were on our heels Midway through the third quarter like SFL is like we can’t trade baskets when you’re down by 20 you know something’s got to improve and then we finally got defense into the game

Held him to 21 points in the fourth quarter um got out and ran took care of the ball and I think second half they only had two fast break points which is an issue in that halftime so uh yeah I thought Nicole and Jamal kind of led the

Charge and guys off the bench you know I thought CB pton Reggie Zeke their defense and energy as well and that end of third going into the fourth quarter was was terrific how How would you describe Jamal’s ability to sort of turn it on after a quiet stretch he’ll have

Some of these games I don’t think he scored until about a minute left in the first half this time it seems like he has kind of a knack for turning it home when he needs to whatever whenever that may be yeah I mean he has a knack and

He’s a guy that like literally just needs to see one go in and then all a sudden he’s shooting into a big basket um but I felt like not just you mentioned the shot man he had 12 assists tonight one turnover I mean the pass to

Kcp for a three the pass to Michael Porter for a three like yes he’s having a game but that’s that’s that’s really important where you can have a game scoring next thing you know you got two guys on you and have the courage to give the ball up and trust your teammates you

Know that that that’s such an important part of his game and 26 and 12 five boards two blocks and Nia the 35 17 12 six Steals and two blocks uh those guys just uh were were incredible in the second half do I like the fact that we

Didn’t play at all in the first half no but I’m really proud with you know our guys Having the courage to not let go and just all right let’s get ready for Miami we stayed with it we stayed with it and uh there was never any Panic

Which is what I loved about it as well do you think the first half was a little bit of a hangover maybe even to that second half against Utah could have been I mean I I I think maybe carryover from that game where obviously we did not

Play anywhere close to our standards and then fin find out a few hours before the game that Emanuel quickley is out Gary Trent is out Chris bue is out and then all of a sudden and Scotty Barnes is already out yaka purle is out and I think sometimes this human nature and

And part of coaching is trying to fight human nature is okay we should we’re pretty good at home we’ll get this one but you got to earn it like showing up is never going to win you a game you have to earn each and every win and fortunately in that

Second half we had enough fight in us to go out there and earn it and take that uh take that game the unwavering belief and confidence that your your team has that the guys have like where do you think that comes from to be down 22 and

To to very very much believe that you guys could come back or that you’re still in the game yeah I mean I think it comes down to been there done that you I mean it’s um you know it’s the one thing if you’ve never been down 20 and come

Back in one you’d be like I can we really do this there’s a little bit of Doubt there for our guys I don’t think there’s any doubt at all I think we know that we’re always within Striking Distance when we defend as well as I know we can and then offensively you

Know we’re capable of putting up big big numbers in a hurry especially when you’re getting stops I mean that’s the defense is kind of what starts all that so again we had 21 more fast break points tonight which is right what we’re averaging now in the 10 games since the

All-Star break which is just an incredible number for us but I think that the confidence comes from the experience and knowing that you know whether it’s at Golden State or what any game you can go back and look at Katie uh we’ve come back in won games before

So there’s never any doubt there’s never any quit in the first half when you something that you know obviously wasn’t much going to still have that interior connection that high love between yo what does that say about their connection that like that find is kind of always there no matter how much

Everything else is kind of struggling well yeah there there’s Comfort I mean that Comfort comes from you know repetitions you know over you know years you know you just don’t build that you know in one season that connectivity and chemistry that you mentioned is just built over many many uh moments on the

Court together and whether you’re down 22 you’re up six up 30 uh I think that doesn’t affect that chemistry and the confidence that each of those two has in each other and everybody else in the court I mean I I think those two passes that Jamal made I mean the kcp 3 was

Huge the Michael Porter 3 was huge and um you know that that that I’m really proud of that because that shows that our guys no matter what’s going on they continue to trust in each other that’s such an important and tangible trait to have do you feel that trust is different

Than what it’s been maybe last year or previous years with Jamal uh I wouldn’t say different but you know look what he did in the finals man you know he averaged 21 10 and six and I think he put on on the biggest age in the world for the NBA he showed that

I can kill you with scoring I can kill you with playmaking and I can also guard in rebounds I can affect the game across the board but um so I I think it’s part of it Jamal just continued maturation development and uh you know I I’m not

Just a scorer man I I I can make the right plays and make the right reads and I think he’s just confident like he knows that hey I can get my shot but I also have a responsibility to make all my teammates better and read the game

And I think Jamal Murray is doing that incredibly high level one more I know now is probably not the game that you want to talk about defense giving up one night team but Joker getting six Steals and two blocks in a game like tonight just what can you say about his activity

Level and just what happens when he really turns it on yeah it’s um well it’s a Difference Maker I mean that that allowed us I mean it wasn’t just n but Nico’s activity in the paint I mean you know what gets tiresome is like people criticize Nicole’s defense because he

Doesn’t average three blocks a game but if you really are a bad basketball purist and you watch the game and you see he’s got some of the best hands in the NBA bar I think he’s top five or six in deflections per game uh he breaks up passes with his feet he had

A big block at the end going up getting vertical so he’s never going to you know out atiz anybody but he is going to outsmart you tremendous anticipation great hands and uh I think one of the most underrated defenders in the entire NBA thank you co thank

Hear what Coach Malone had to say after the comeback win at home against the Raptors.

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Coach Malone Full Post Game Press Conference vs. Raptors 🎙