Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves | 2025 NBA Playoffs Game 5 Post Game Interviews

Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves | 2025 NBA Playoffs Game 5 Post Game Interviews

Chris, just what did you see from your group from the start to kind of get you where you needed to go here tonight? Um, yeah, I felt confident that we come out and play well and I felt like we caught figured out like an offensive rhythm. Um, the last game I thought, you know, uh, they give you a lot of, like we said, puzzles to solve. I thought we’d come out and play well. Um, really did. You know, fortunately, we had the cushion. They just I think we looked a little bit gassed at times. You know, they they just kept hustling and hustling hustling, beat us to some balls, but thankfully we had the cushion and you know, everybody stepped up and played really well. You know, led by our vets today. You know, Mike, Rudy, Julius, they were really kind of leading the way. Um it was great to see Dante with a big game out there again. And um yeah, so just a really solid effort by everybody. So just from a big picture standpoint, this has been an up and down year. It took you a while to find where you’re at. Just what does it mean to you to be back where you were last year? And yeah, you know, every team goes through a lot and it’s just, you know, everyone wants to rush the process. Everybody wants everything to be great and compare it to what you’ve done in the past, all that’s kind of irrelevant really when you have a new team coming into a season. And uh the challenge we laid down to our guys from day one was quite simple. was uh one question, you know, were you a Western Conference Finals team or were you a team that just happened to make the Western Conference Finals? And there’s only one way to prove that. Go out and do it again. And that was our mission all year. And um you know, uh there a lot of growing pains, but the team’s come together at the right time and playing its best basketball. So Chris, can two things be true at once? uh really active, crisp ball movement and 21 turnovers at the same time. Yeah, no doubt. I thought we had Yeah, a lot of our turnovers I thought were uh unforced. Uh a bunch were in transition. You know, we have these moments in transition where we just don’t make the simple play in front of us and uh make it hard and try to play in a crowd. Um and then u you know just uh some some tired ones at the end. So, but the ball movement Yeah, the ball movement was great. I thought the ball movement was great. I thought our spacing was great. You know, when you play a team in a series, you you you start to figure some things out hopefully. Um, you know, guys did a good job of figuring that out out the zone and all the changing defenses. Chris, uh, with with Mike, you you guys and and he was kind of cognizant all season of trying to maintain his body, watch his minutes, you know, sometimes resting. um what he’s given you right now and and on a night like tonight just is this what you guys had envisioned all all along and and just how huge was he especially in that first half when the game was was still close? Yeah, Mike was absolutely huge today. Um and uh you know I wanted to try to give him as much rest as I possibly could in the first half. Just never know what a second half of a game like this is going to look like. Um and so I gave him a long break. didn’t start the quarter with him like we normally do or often do and uh you know we played pretty well and then he came back in and you know after they kind of tightened it up a little bit and just was outstanding. We did a great job of finding him um you know and you get him clean looks like that you know he’s going to make them. So Chris, what what did you like about the way you guys were able to defend Jimmy Butler in this series and how were you able to prevent him from having these big games that could possibly take over? Yeah, I think uh you know he does such a great job of drawing fouls. I mean he got to the free throw line at a fairly decent rate, but um you know mostly we just try to take away his his his his u you know his playm was really great job of getting everybody else involved. Um and you know we fortunate to have a number of guys to to be able to to body him. Jaden has length, Julius has physicality, Ant has physicality. um you know th and those guys and even Rudy did a really good job when he got switched on him. So you know over time that that uh you know take it take its toll on somebody when you have to face that many defenders. So Chris Ant had a careerhigh 12 playoff assists and as a team you had uh the most infranchise history for a playoff game with 36. Yeah. What was kind of the chicken and the egg there? It was that Ant, you know, being fueled by the rest of the guys or or maybe Ant’s passing fueling the rest of the guys. So, I think Ant’s passing got us started, got us good looks early. Um, you know, Ant, um, they were putting two on him right away, right out of the gate, doubling him. Uh, he found Mike early. Um, you know, he made the right read for the most part out when they were putting two on him. Uh, did a really good job when he got downhill of of of finding people and making the right play there. um you know and in games like this you you know you he said before the game or yesterday sorry in practice he know we’re going to need everybody and you know be ready and um and both he and Julius when they’re creating shots for their teammates you know this is what our offense is capable of so last year you guys had a quick turnaround between the round two and the west finals this year you’ll have at least a few days off how beneficial do you think that’ll be it’s going to be huge I mean as uh you know this series was a lot quicker than the last one. Last game, last series, we had two two days between every game. This one came faster and faster. So, plus a lot of West Coast travel. Uh it’ll be good to get a chance to take a breath and regroup and figure out, you know, where we’re going. So, Chris, in uh in regards to Julius, at any point over the course of the season, did did you have doubt that he was going to be able to find this this rhythm that he did and become the player that he became? I mean, I guess my job is to not really doubt my own players in that capacity. So, uh, I, you know, it’s hard to predict the future. I was steadfast in my belief that Julius was going to help this team when it mattered most. Um, and, uh, you know, like we’ve talked about a number of times, it was a trial and error process like most things are. Um, but I I never really doubted the fact that he was exactly the player that could help us in moments like this. Uh, we just had to get to moments like this. Chris, right here, what what about Julius’s game do you think really lends itself to performing at a high level in the playoffs? The physicality, the offensive physicality, the ability to get his own shot, um, the ability to calm the game down, uh, the ability to put body on on big big wings in the league or big players. you know, he did a great job LeBron. He did a good great job defensively here. I’ve really been most impressed with his defense. I mean, his offense has been I mean, he’s he’s a phenomenal offensive player. We just have to figure out how to unlock it, but his defense and his commitment to the defensive end for us has been uh absolutely top top drawer. Coach, throughout these playoffs, um you guys have proven that you can win with defense, monster individual scoring nights, or a total team effort like tonight. What does that say about your team that there isn’t just one path to victory? Yeah, I mean we know we know what our recipe for success is. You know, we know what that means for us. Um and uh you know, coming into the playoffs, our team talked a lot about the selflessness that was needed uh for it to be able to be anybody’s night and that every series is different. Every night is going to be different and just stay ready. Uh you know, Dante was huge for us tonight. Big spark off the bench. Um, you know, we just talked about the balance in the with our veterans in particular. Rudy had, you know, probably his most impactful offensive night tonight. Um, but those guys kept guarding and they kept doing everything else even when the ball wasn’t coming their way and and you know, shots were were not falling or they were not getting shots. So, um, you know, that’s that’s all credit to our guys. You know, they they made this a point emphasis. This is what we had to have. So, coach, you uh feel like your team is peing at the right time. Um, well, you know, I thought we peaked as the series went along. You know, every series is different. So, you know, you see how we started game one. Thought we played pretty well in the Lakers series. So, uh, you know, every you got to you got to get the engine going again every single time, every time you start a series. So, um, but we’re playing well. We’re doing things we know we can do to win games. Chris, uh, earlier in the season, I think it was out in Los Angeles, you spoke about trying to build a culture and a and a an organization that gets a lot of kind of spins at the wheel, advancing deep into the playoffs, things like that. Obviously, second straight year, you’re in the Western Conference Finals. What are maybe some of the characteristics that you can identify, whether it’s with the guys or the organization as a whole, that has helped you get to this point from where you started when you got here? Well, I would say, you know, resiliency, connectivity, um, preaching about, you know, making winning plays, doing the right thing, all, you know, all the cliched stuff. Um, I think it was Dave asked me about, you know, everybody’s window. Like the key is you got to just put yourself there as many chances as you possibly can. You know, Tim Connley has a great line. and he says uh the path to success is not always linear. You know, it’s it doesn’t mean just because you went so far in the playoffs, you’re going to go one step further. You might um might not always do that, but yet come back the next year having put in place the lessons that you learned. And I think um I could see some of that, you know, I could see some of that for us in the playoffs, what we learned last year in the Dallas series, uh you know, and and and and how we’re applying it. Not not necessarily with with tactics or strategy or game plan, but more about approach and connectivity and what happens, you know, um you know, when the pressure comes. Obviously, Chris, to that approach, the complexion of the series obviously changed a lot when Curry went out. What did you just think about your teams maintaining the proper approach really throughout the rest of the way? Yeah, I think I mean it’s um you know uh a tremendous loss for Golden State, no doubt, you know, tremendous loss for the series. Um and I’m sure it would have been quite different, you know, had Steph been able to play, but our guys took care of business and that’s not something that we’ve always done. You know, I thought we had a bunch of business-like uh approaches in this series and took advantage of something that happened and um um and made the best of it. So, no need to apologize for it. We just, you know, went out and did it. Chris, at one point in the season, did you personally know that this was a Western Conference Finals team and not a team that went to the Western Conference Finals? Depend what day you asked me. You know, that’s part of the journey. Um, but you know, we we felt uh we felt confident in our group once we saw us play how we knew we could play. Let’s put it that way. So, thanks. Uh well, first of all, congrats to the Wolves. They were fantastic. Uh you know, had a great series. Um beating us four games straight after after that first one. Uh you know, congrats to uh to Chris Finch, Tim Connelly. They’ve done a great job here the last few years building this team and um you know, back-to-back Western Conference Finals. pretty damn impressive. So, um it was uh it was a fight. Really proud of our guys. Um they hung in there and they battled the whole way through and um quite a turnaround in our season, you know, from where we were a few months ago to to giving ourselves a chance and having a a swing at the plate, you know, for u for some, you know, some some real chances to uh to go deep. And uh we were right there. and um obviously um didn’t go our way, but um again the Wolves were were great. They deserved it and uh I’m very proud of our team. How diff, you know, part of the playoffs. I learned a long time ago, you know, the the playoffs are really about health and then just guys stepping up and making some big shots, big plays, you know, in key games. That’s what u decides every every series. And um so we’ve been on both ends of that and um it’s just part of it. So there’s no sense in dwelling on it. And um you know, I don’t want to take anything away from uh what Minnesota just accomplished. So, um, no sense in even talking about Steph. How much carryover do you feel like there was from going seven with Houston from last series into this series? Just the attrition that that series required? Well, we obviously came in here and won game one. Um, coming right off of game seven. Um, and um, so uh, I don’t think it was an issue. Um, you know, I I thought, uh, game three was the key to the series. You know, uh, we’re we’re at 1-1 and we’ve got a, you know, six-point lead in the fourth, mid fourth. And, uh, they made huge plays down the stretch of that game. And, uh, that was the one we needed to get. And then, uh, I thought the last two games they, uh, they broke free, um, offensively. I mean, they shot 63% tonight. We couldn’t stop them. We actually did everything we wanted to accomplish. We dominated the possession game. Uh you know, we got 39 threes up, but 12 more uh field goal attempts, 15 more free throws. We did everything we needed to do uh to win the game, but um they shot 63%. So ultimately, you’ve got to be able to guard and um and get stops, and we weren’t able to do that. You guys were only down by six with about two minutes left in the second quarter. Then they go on that n0 run kind of like what they did in the last game, I guess. What happened there? Yeah, they they broke free. It felt like uh the the transition stuff in the first half was was really key. You know, I looked at the stat sheet at halftime, they only had six transition points. I think that was misleading. Um those stats are a little nebulous sometimes, too. It felt to me like they were getting out in transition and then uh getting into the paint and then their their um passing was spectacular tonight. They had 20 assists in the first half. Had us on a string. Uh we kept having to rotate because we uh the ball would get free and we’d had to had to bring help and the ball started to to move for them and they they played a beautiful first half and that last 90 run was a was a big big part of the game. Your two of your youngest guys had the biggest scoring outputs tonight. Obviously, Jonathan and Brandon, what did you see from them tonight and in the series? Brandon obviously struggled, but I thought it was our best offensive game of the series. Even though we didn’t shoot well, uh the ball really moved. We had great pace, great tempo. I thought, uh, Brandon did a really good job of um, you know, pushing the ball, uh, getting it swung side to side. Um, we were able to attack them on closeouts because the ball was moving. Our spacing was much better. Uh, that was a big big problem for us earlier in the series, just a lack of spacing. Obviously, playing some new lineups um that hadn’t played together, a lot of u lineups that had, you know, um guys who are used to being in the paint and we were asking them to be on the perimeter. Tonight we did a much better job of that of getting spaced and that allowed us to move the ball and both both JK and Brandon uh you know had big scoring nights. I was really thrilled for Moses. You know, it’s been a tough postseason for him, but he showed exactly who he is. Um you know, as a player, as a as a person, just staying ready coming in, having that big fourth quarter, that was um that was meaningful. And and um I love our guys. Like I said, we we we um this was a hell of a run for us. Um you know, considering where we were at the trade deadline. Um you know, Jimmy changed our season. Um flipped everything for us, gave us a chance. Uh we became one of the best teams in the league and obviously, you know, you get to the final eight um in the NBA. Uh you’re one of the best teams and uh we had had a shot, but um you know, things didn’t go our way, but like I said, Minnesota deserves the credit. they were the better team. With with that said, how do you feel about the future? And I’m I’m talking more just next season, you know, with with with Jimmy now here and what you guys can maybe, you know, build on. Yeah, I mean, I’m excited. We got um obviously um you know, Jimmy and Dre and and Steph all coming back. Our, you know, our young players performed really well this year. Um there’s a lot to look forward to. Not trying to set you up with excuses because I know you don’t want that, but was Butler pretty much 100% or was he compromised physically? Well, I think uh he was definitely compromised through all series. You know, um I think the injury in Houston definitely impacted him. He’s been playing through pain and um I think the the biggest thing in this series um is that without u the spacing that Steph gives us, um you know, Minnesota did a great job of just playing us one-on-one. They they guarded us on the perimeter. They they were trying to take away our threes and um that forced Jimmy to play a lot of one-on-one against a long athletic team and his whole game is to ISO, get the ball into the paint and then move it to generate shots. And they just made the decision not to leave our perimeter guys, even even our, you know, nonshooters on the perimeter. They just stayed with them everywhere and made Jimmy play one-on-one. And because they have a lot of length and athleticism, it wasn’t easy for him to get anything um you know at the rim and in the paint. And obviously they’ve got Go Bear back there. So they made things difficult on Jimmy. You know, once Steph went out, it changed changed everything for our whole team, but especially for Jimmy. Steve, you guys did a nice job, especially in the first half of getting Anthony off the ball, which is what you want to do. We had six points at halftime, but you guys were down 15. Is there an adjustment that you can make from that or I mean where do you go from that when you’re down 15 and he has six points? Yeah, I mean we we blitzed him early in the game. We were trapping him and they got free and they they they scored several times against our blitzes and um that’s the risk you take um you know when you when you go to that coverage. So, um I thought all in all tonight we um you know we we threw a lot of stuff at him. um boxing one, you know, one possession, um a lot of zone, um trapping in the back court, but they’re a hell of a team. You know, they’ve got shooting everywhere. And that’s, you know, that’s the name of the game. Um in modern NBA, if you can space the floor with, you know, four or five different guys, it makes defense really, really difficult. and I thought their their spacing, their shooting um just spread us out and that allowed their guys to attack and get into the paint. Following up on the earlier question about Pods and Jonathan, your younger guys, obviously with Steph’s injury, they had a bigger role in this series. How much can this playoff experience sort of help them going forward? Fantastic playoff experience for both guys. Uh very proud of Jonathan, you know, to uh to go from where he was in the Houston series, not really being part of the rotation, uh and then when Steph got hurt, you know, staying ready and and coming in and uh you know, he played really well here these last four games. And u and BP, you know, this was a great great experience for him. You know, he’s there were times in the series where he was hesitant to shoot. Even tonight he was four for six. I thought he could have gotten 10 or 11 threes off and we needed those. Um, and I told him that after the game. I said, “When when we get back here next year, you are not going to turn down a single shot.” And that’s part of the playoffs. I lived it as a player. It it is a uh a mind it’s a mind game. I call it, you know, something more profane. It’s, you know, but the playoffs are a you know, they are a mind game. And um it’s really easy to lose your confidence. Teams throw different schemes at you. you have a bad game and everybody’s talking about your shooting percentage and it’s you feel like you’re on an island. I’ve been there and it’s great for Brandon to go through that and then finish the series with a great game because he’s got to understand this is what it feels like. You know, nobody cares in January if you have two games where you, you know, you’re four for 20. But in the playoffs, um, everybody’s writing about it. Um, everybody’s talking about it. You feel exposed. And that’s a big part of playoff experience is understanding you got to keep firing, you got to stay aggressive, keep your confidence any way you can. Steve, you mentioned earlier we had a shot. Um, when you look back at this series of the playoffs, the way you guys played to get out of Houston, the way Steph and you guys were playing in that game one right before you got hurt, were you wonder uh what if like what did you think how far this team could go, the potential? Um, yes. the next few days. Um, you know, I mean, I actually I don’t even um I don’t even have to think um what I know we had a shot. I know we could have gone the distance. Um maybe we wouldn’t have, but um it doesn’t matter. Um again, everything uh in the playoffs is about who stays healthy and who gets hot. Um you know, are you playing well at the right time? Do you have multiple guys step up in key games, make shots, and do you have good health? And um you know, you see it every year um in every series and uh so there’s a there’s there’s um a little bit of luck involved you know and we like I said we’ve been on both sides of that and it’s just part of it. Does it give you confidence going into next season? For sure. For sure. Second half of the season we became one of the best teams in the league. Um we had um you know really I think the number one ranked defense for the last 30 games. U we became a a two-way basketball team. Um I think Mike Dunle Deep Dunlev is a superstar. Um I think what he’s done in the last couple years um I I have total faith in Mike and his ability to to look at our team, figure out what we need, and help us get better this summer. And um so I’m I’m excited for what’s ahead. Um, and um, yeah, disappointed, but um, Minnesota was great and I wish them well. Steve, given the ages of Steph and Draymond and Jimmy, how much is luck just a part of when you get to this point, luck that they stay healthy, luck that, you know, older players stay upright at this point. You need luck when they’re younger, too. You know, you do. Um, we’ve, like I said, we we’ve been on both sides of it. you know, um 2015 we go to the finals and uh you know, Cleveland’s without Kyrie and Kevin Love and the next year, you know, we’re in the playoffs and Steph goes down and he’s banged up and Draymond gets suspended and you know, stuff happens and and uh and we’ve been on both sides of it. And so, um yes, we’re our main three guys are older now, so we’re going to have to navigate that as best we can. Um but um you just uh you just go for it and you know do do the best you can. Uh given the arc of the season where you guys you know finished um how do you think you’ll remember 24 25? I will remember this season for the way this team um was connected and u persevered and uh what a what an incredible group. Um going back to you know October training camp playing 13 guys out of the gate. Um and then our team transforming with the the trade for Jimmy. But I enjoyed coaching u every single guy um on this team. And all you can really ask as a coach is u if for your team to commit to each other, to the cause uh and for guys to fight through adversity um when things don’t go their way. And we saw that over and over again with with all of our guys. And um that’s that’s really satisfying. So I I thoroughly enjoyed this season. Love our guys. And um like I said, it’s sad that it’s over, but um it’s a really fun year. Draymond said something, Steve Draymond said something after game four. He said that it seemed like every time we get a little run going, they have an answer for it. Yeah. Does that take an emotional or a psychological toll on a team when you see you’re you’re coming back, you’re coming back, and they zap right back at you. Yeah, for sure. Um but look, they were the better team. I mean, Julius Randall was incredible. What a series, you know. Um, and he’s always been a a really good player in this league. I think he he has taken a leap. Um, I remember playing here early in the season and it looked like a tough fit and they didn’t have the spacing. You know, they missed uh Towns and and you you fast forward to now, he’s 13 for 18 tonight. He was just incredible the whole series. We couldn’t stop him. Um, obviously Anthony Edwards is just a superstar. Um, so they were the better team and um, yeah, it’s demoralizing, but that’s um, you know, that’s that’s what the game is about. Can you get stops and we couldn’t we couldn’t get stops. Thank you. Julius, just how did you feel like you guys responded to the moment here tonight? Uh, hello. Hello. Yeah. Uh, we did great. We did great. Um, we came out with the right approach. Uh, we knew, like I said, all series, they have championship DNA and they weren’t just going to lay down. They were going to make us earn it and they did. Um, they fought. Uh, but, you know, we came out with the right approach, right mindset, um, and executed for most of the game. So, this season took a lot of turns, a lot of ups and downs. Just what does it mean to you to see this team go through all of that to get to a conference finals here? Uh, it’s great. It’s great. Um just proud of our group as a whole uh organization as a whole just sticking together. Um you know having each other’s backs um and you know just battling through adversity together not letting hard times you know split us up as a group but you know us you know having the mental toughness and you know determination to say we going to figure this thing out cuz I think all of us you know as a whole believe how good you know we could be as a team. So, um, you know, I’m extremely proud of everybody in this, um, organization, on this team. With all the adjustments that you’ve made during the course of the season, fit this team. How satisfying was it in some ways to get back to that bread and butter when you knew that they needed a basket coming down tight a couple times and getting those Yeah. Uh, I just try to do my best to read the game um the best way I can. Um they threw different coverages at us, you know, all series long and um our ability to adjust on the fly and um you know, do what the game was, you know, calling for us to do as you know, everybody on the team, each individual was good. So, um you know, whenever we need a basket, you know, coach puts me in great spots to do that. Um and if he needs me to playm, he puts me in great spots to do that as well. So, you know, it’s whatever the team needs in the moment. Mike, Mike, big picture, uh, a big part of this season, right, is incorporating Julius on onto this team. Um, how did you see Julius and Coach Finch uh, kind of navigate that over over the course of the the season? So, um, it peaked and has been thriving the way it has. Yeah. Um, I think obviously coach having a relationship with him prior to being here, he had a vision for what he can be for our team and um, it took a minute for all of us to kind of gel and follow along with that cuz uh, you know, it’s a completely different team between him and who we had last year and and on our squad. and um his game uh he can do so many things for us as far as his playmaking ability and how much he brings the ball up and and distributes and for a lot of us is a it was a learning curve and and they did a good job of just allowing us to stick with it. Um there were times where we weren’t playing our best early in the season and um nobody got frustrated with each other, nobody, you know, was down on you know who our team was at that moment. We knew that if we just kept going at this, kept like figuring it out, learning each other as we as we go, we we’d uh you know, hopefully be in this position we’re in today. Mike, um what do you think your 2015 uh self after playing the Warriors would think of where you are all of this time, having as much fun as seems like you’re having? I wouldn’t have uh I wouldn’t have thought I’d been still playing, honestly. have another chance to play against them. But, um, you know, I’ I’d be proud of where we’re at right now. You know, having lost to them, you know, 10 plus years ago, whatever it was, um, with the team that we felt that that was championship ready, uh, at that moment, uh, hurt a lot. And then it took me another like nine, 10 years to even get back to competing again at that at that same level. So, just happy to be back in the situation with these guys. Wouldn’t want to be with anybody else. and I’m looking forward to, you know, the next four. Mike, at the end of the conference finals last year, Ant came straight up to you. He said, “We’ll be right back here.” Just what does this speak to to Ant having that much confidence and belief in coming right back? And how is he as a leader that we don’t see from the inside out? Uh, what you learn about him, he he believes everything he says, you know, no matter what it is. Um, and at that moment last year, you know, I believed him. I believe that we’d have another opportunity together and um this wasn’t the end of the road and uh he’d been working all summer for that. He worked all season for that and uh he’s led us to this point. Him, Julius, you know, Dante, all the people that have followed along and and added in piece by piece as we go. Um it it kind of all starts with him and uh his belief in himself and his teammates. Julius said when you came back from injury, it you just seem like a totally different person. When do you feel like it it clicked for you that you can be what we’ve been seeing so far this postseason? How excited are you moving forward um to perform at a at the next level? Uh yeah, I mean I mean during that time it was like right before Allstar, you know, a couple weeks before Allstar or whatever, I got hurt and um you know, usually typically when you go into All-Star break, you got time to just like reflect on the season as a whole and how things have been going. And um I mean that process started a little bit earlier for me and then you know obviously leading into Allstar. Um so you know I got to see our team from afar. Um you know I think the the other thing to me for for me during that time that helped me was like even though I was playing and like just talking to like my agent Aaron Mintz and stuff like that like he was always telling me like just be engaged with your teammates even though you’re on the sideline. And um like I think that was like another moment of like growth for me uh in a way um because like even though I wasn’t playing like just being engaged like cheering for the guys like encouraging like being able to like use my voice in a way um that maybe I haven’t been comfortable in the past with you know I just try to like lead by example. Um, so like I felt like even though I wasn’t playing, I was still with the team and um, you know, after I came back, um, just my mindset was is how can I help this team win? And it was just as simple as that. Julius, uh, beyond that too, what else has felt different from for you during this playoff run because obviously you’ve just been so consistent and so dominating. Is it the coaching? Is it your chemistry of your teammates? Is is it What is it that’s different this time? Yeah, I think it’s all the above. Um, I think it’s just environment, uh, coaching staff, um, my chemistry with my teammates, their belief in me. Um, my belief in them as well. Um, and you know, I just think, you know, environment matters and, you know, since I’ve gotten here from day one, they’ve been special. Um, everybody. So, Julius, have you expanded your game since coming from New York? I mean, are you doing more? Uh, I I don’t I don’t know if that’s the case. I just always said that Finch has just been great. Um, you know, from the day I got here, I just knew the type of coach he was, and I just think he’s just done an amazing job of just allowing me to use all my tools. Um, you know, I don’t necessarily want to just be a scorer or, you know, rebounder or whatever it is. Like, he puts me in positions to be, you know, multiple different things, you know, many different things on any given night. So, um, he’s really just opened up my game and I just knew eventually, um, that would be the case. um you know as the season went along and you know my relationship and chemistry developed with my teammates. Mike has your view of the regular season changed at all in recent years you know talk about it being a journey but just I think there are times where you think this is going to sink us um and whatnot and then say he uh he want to go. I appreciate y’all though. Crashing party. I don’t need no seat, man. it. I’ll stand up. Y’all be good. Come on, Mike. Mike bike. Let real B. Go B. Sit down, man. Get up out of here, man. I’m out. and just big picture for this series, what Julius was able to do. Um, just what stood out to you about that and like and just kind of reflecting on the whole season of what he’s kind of built to to get to that this point. Like what what what sticks out in your mind? um just how he create for others, you know, um and his impact on the game. Um the way he control the tempo, the way he pushed the pace, the way he bring us along with him when he pushes the pace and just even his his defense, his defense has gone to another level, the way that he communicates with us like um his attention to detail, everything, man. It’s um it’s incredible. It’s incredible to be his teammate. Um and he brings it every night and he shows you that he wants to win. So happy I’m happy to have him next to me. You were you were confident last season after the Western Conference Finals that you would be back here. I think you said we will be back. What what fueled that and what did you have to do over the course of the season to get here individually and collectively as a group? Um a lot of ups and downs. Just had to stay with it. Um and what feuded I mean we lost last year so just you know trying to take that into the summer. I ain’t have too much um personal workout time because I was with the USA team but the time that I did have I definitely had that in the back of my mind. Rudy, uh you’ve come up big in these closeout games in the first two rounds. Just what was your mindset going into this and how did you assert yourself tonight the way that you needed to? for me was just about being present, you know, try to enjoy the moment. Uh, you know, I try to really focus on my preparation, you know, and then, uh, once I’m on the floor, you know, it’s just about enjoying the moment, being present of both hands, try to set the tone uh, for my team and for my teammates and, uh, and doing it with my energy, you know, and then usually the the game t takes care of itself, you know. But when you when you kind of like in that moment and enjoying that moment, uh you’re just yourself and and I try to be that every night. This was an entirely different ride to the conference finals from last year. Is there more satisfaction or anything just with all of the ups and downs that you guys went through that you stayed together and you’re right back where you were last year? There is no satisfaction. Yeah, we just got here. We not we haven’t did anything yet. So, no, he’s not satisfied. That’s exactly how it feels, you know. It’s it feels good to get to that step, but it’s uh stomach is not full. Not at all. You know, it’s uh it’s just one step and uh you know, in a way it’s last year it felt different cuz it was a game seven. We down down I don’t know how many at half and we came back and won. So, obviously the adrenaline was was different, right? this this year it’s kind of like we we said we sat down early in the season we said we we’re going to get back right where we left last year and then we want to achieve our goal and now we are halfway there so it’s uh we know that it’s going to it’s not going to get easier at all you know and uh we we focused on that and when you were talking about the Warriors earlier in the series you talked about how they have a championship pedigree what do you believe it says about your team the way they were able to bounce back after game one and go want to win the series against a team with championship pedigree. Um, says a lot. Um, I told him today, uh, the most together team and the most mature team is a team that wins around this time. It’s not about who get 30 points, who get the most shots, who get all the the, uh, blame for winning the game. And it’s not about none of that. It’s about coming together as a team. Can we def can we defend at a high level? And can we limit the other team to one shot? It doesn’t really matter about offense. Long as we get good shots and it don’t matter who shoot it. So, we did that tonight. And is there any lesson that you learned from the Dallas series that stuck with you uh that maybe you’ve applied throughout the regular season or throughout the playoffs thus far? Nope. Just a loss. How about Rudy? Was there anything you think when you look back to last year’s Western Conference Finals that was missing for the team that from your team that maybe that you have more of going into this year’s? I think for us it’s it’s uh it’s our approach uh more importantly you know it’s not about talent it’s not about us wanting to win or not right we we we we want to win but it’s uh it’s about being staying you know uh levelheaded after a win like we had last year against Denver game seven uh I felt like you know when I mean you got the whole world praising you and you know and all of a sudden you went from being an underdog to being the favorite. Uh I think in a way we weren’t mature enough to handle that yet, but we we were much aware of it. And uh this year I feel like we we mature enough. I feel like we we understand where we at and and so in a way that’s the lesson you know in our preparation in our approach. It’s uh it’s about us. It’s not about who we face. Uh it’s about our mindset and when our mindset and our work and our you know attention to details our level of urgency is right um we know we can play with anyone. Question for both of you. Obviously there’s been some history between you guys or the Timberwolves and Jimmy Butler and Draymond. How personal was this? Um I don’t have no history with those guys so wasn’t personal. Was trying to get a win. I don’t know about the Jimmy thing. I wasn’t there. Yeah, I don’t have no history with nobody. We have I mean I have I have a lot of respect for those two guys. Uh they both highly competitive players. Uh and uh yeah, I just for me just about you know I’m just focused on trying to win the championship. Uh you know what happened happen you know and uh there’s nothing really personal. I think it’s it’s also a team game. So, you know, they they both accomplish great things. Um, but now it’s I feel like now it’s uh for me personally, I’m just focused on writing my own story, you know, and to each individual has their own journey and story and I’m just uh, you know, try to accomplish my dream, my goal, you know, winning a championship. That’s that’s all I care about. And going back to the Western Conference Finals, how different does it feel this year? How prepared do you feel? How much more prepared do you feel to try to get it done this time? I can’t I can’t really speak on how much how prepared I feel because I don’t know. We haven’t started playing yet. But I mean, hopefully I’m more prepared than I was last year. And uh I think there was a story in an All-Star game that they asked you to throw a lob coming out and you told the coach, “I don’t throw lobs.” You threw a lot of them today. Just like what what are you seeing in that and and how how how much much more comfortable are you in that? How many throws today? I threw like three four day. Uh just um like Root comes up to me every time out sack. You got to read it, you know, and um and I need that because it’s there a lot. And um I tell I tell Jaden all the time like when I’m driving, cut that corner because most of the time your man trying to play two and if you cut, he can’t play two. Now he got to make a decision. Do he want to give up an easy two points or a corner three? So just reading the game and then um See Hans bringing the clips to me every time out when I’m out of the games and we watching it and I’m analyzing it. Just you know trying to break the game down for sure before I go back in before I check back in. Rudy, um big game for Mike Connley tonight. I was thinking about the in the bubble I think it was he had that that final shot to go to the Western Conference Finals that that rimmed out. Yeah. I mean, I guess for both of you guys, like to see him specifically uh get to this point, I know it means a lot to you, but I guess Rudy, thinking back to that, you know, and where you’re at now, what does that make you think? We’ve been through a lot with Mike, you know, and uh I mean, I love him, you know. I just want to more than anything I want to win for him, right? You know, because it’s like, you know, we’ve been I just know how much he cares about winning. How great play through anything, man. how great of a guy he is. And uh and um I want to say I want to do it for Joe, but I don’t care about Joe actually. But but for Mike Connley, man, he’s the ultimate vet that you the best vet you can ask for, man. Um plays through everything, never complains. Um always knows the right thing to say. Um always knows where to be. Yeah. And just um great great guy to look up to for sure. And there’s you guys didn’t need it tonight, but there have been a couple key points. Lakers fourth quarter game four, Golden State game three where you guys were down um and in tough spots and you had some really tough shots. Uh what has it kind of been like figuring out when to take those um and just the confidence to drill them when you guys really got to have them? Um just just trusting the work, man. Um like I know I I trust myself. So anytime I and I tell them like, you know, it’s time it’s time for that. So they already know. They know what it is. Like when I get in that mode, just give me the ball and try to get me open. I tell them all the time like you set a good screen, we’re going to score. I promise you. So Rudy, what is it like as a team maybe when the chips are stacked against you guys to almost have kind of like a get out of jail free card sometimes with some of the shots you can make? I mean, uh, you know, it’s it’s kind of like finding that balance for me. It’s like I I think now is compared to last year and the previous years, I think it’s really finding a way to choose these moments and then uh and understanding momentum, you know, understanding like when to take them, maybe when not to take them. And and also he’s uh I mean such a unique scorer and such a high confident player. I realized that sometimes you just got to let him do his thing, you know, and then sometimes going to miss it, he’s going to make it, sometimes going to miss it, but you got to let him do his thing and and um and you got to rely I miss for a later, but yeah, just just uh communicate with him, but also, you know, let him do his thing and try to I always tell him, I’m going get you I’m going get you a good shot. I’m make it easy for you to um to score and and and also tell him a lot to not not settle. You know, he’s I mean, he he can shoot from almost anywhere. So, I can I can understand why it’s good for him to settle sometimes, but I’m also like if you play percentages, you know, when you get to the rim, u first of all, it puts a lot of pressure on the other team and and we can get some some much easier stuff. So, he’s been great at, you know, finding that balance and uh not settling in, you know, using the both weapons. We’ll do two more questions. Rudy, you said this morning that you felt that this game was a big test for you guys? It seems like you guys are passing a lot of tests throughout this postseason. Have you seen enough from this group that leads you to believe that you guys are at a point where you believe you can win an NBA title? We don’t get them too bad. Yeah. I mean, our goal is the same. you know, our goal is the same. And uh like I said, you know, it’s about uh not getting too high, not getting too low, you know, being present, enjoying every single day, every single practice, every single game. And um and when the opportunity comes, just being ready. And tonight we our mindset was there. So I had zero doubt that we’re going to, you know, pass that test. Now we halfway there. So it’s a it’s almost like a new season starting. Hey, I I don’t know if you saw, but your little guy Luca who gave you the wristband was here tonight. Yeah, he was fly as hell tonight. Yeah, I was just wonder like what does that mean to have that moment with him and to know that he looks up to you and he’s giving you something? Means everything. Means the world to me. Um I was shooting and uh he was uh his dad was holding him up and I didn’t realize it till like two three minutes left when we was warming up and then I seen him and he was flies. He had the glasses on, the jersey, the wristband. He was fly as hell tonight. Shout out Luca man. I love Luca. Thanks. Yeah, thank you. How, Dr. How tough is it to end a season like this under these circumstances without Steph? Uh, it sucks to end it without Steph, but they beat us. You know, injuries are a part of it. we’ve won championships. Um when guys got hurt, um that’s a part of it. You know, you try to, you know, you want to be as good of a team as you can be, but we always say you need a little luck. Um just because health is a huge part of it. So, you know, we definitely miss Steph. That obviously goes without saying, but I’m not going to come up here and harp on Steph not being there. uh and make it like their their win is less of what it is. They’re moving on. Uh you know, congratulations to those guys. They they beat us. Uh regardless, you if you’re on the other side, you play who’s on the floor and that’s what they did and they won. So, you got to give them a lot of credit. You obviously thought that this team had, you know, championship potential when everyone was fully healthy against the Rockets and in game one. How close do you feel like you guys got to your ceiling? Um I think we’ve continued to improve. Uh there’s no way to really say, you know, how close we got to a ceiling is over. So that’s kind of really don’t matter. Um but like I said, give them give them a lot of credit. Uh they were they were incredible. Uh Drew Drew played great the entire series. Uh you Ant-Man’s patience was beautiful. Um, Rudy played really well, you know, so you got to give those guys a lot of credit. Uh, our ceiling is it is what it is now. We were a second round team and second round exit. So, that’s what it is. How how do you view the future uh, you know, in next year, next couple years now that you got J? Uh, I think we’ll be right back at it. Um, sucks to end this way, but we think we got the pieces to make another run at them and do it again. And that’s going to be our mindset um, going into the summer. They’ll do all that got to do to improve. Um, we got one of the best ownership groups and front offices in the NBA. You know, they’ll do whatever they feel is needed to help the team improve. And us as players, you got to get back in the lab and do what you got to do to get better. Uh, but I think, you know, come next year, we’ll be right back at it and give ourselves a chance again. Draymond, your final game of the season and your two big scorers obviously were both 22 years old, Pods and and Jonathan. How would you sort of characterize their growth this year and what do they need to do next to be more of a factor next year? Uh, I think anytime you’re starting to grow in age, um, years experience, the one thing you can always do or the one focus that I would say, uh, is your consistency. Um, doing it on a nightly basis. And I think, you know, you look at those guys and Moses as well, Ge Santos, um, QP, Pat, you know, they all made tremendous strides throughout the course of the year, Trace. Um, you know, and it’ll be a big summer for all of them. Uh, obviously JK’s got the contract situation. Um, you know, um, always wish him the best with that. you know, been in that situation whether it’s here or elsewhere, you know, you just wish them the best. Uh, but I think, you know, we saw the growth from those young guys, uh, you know, next year for all of them. You hope to see them take that next big step that they’re all capable of. Draymond, you had said uh, this team had the capability of winning a championship. Um, is there anything you guys need to do differently to reach that or do you think it’s just a matter of staying healthy next season? I mean, there you go into the off seasonason, you you better get better because everybody gets better. Uh, or attempt to get better, I would say. Uh, so that’s always got to be the goal. Um, and so that’ll be our focus. I think I still have that belief wholeheartedly. Uh, that has not changed one bit. and you know, you retool, you do whatever it is that you got to do to take that next step and give yourself a better chance. And here at this place that we are, I have no doubt in my mind that they’ll be looking to do it. And with Jimmy these last two games, do you think it was the the illness he was dealing with that kind of impacted him? Um, uh, well, I think number one, they, you know, their their defense just kind of started loading up on them. Um, it made it a little tougher, but I know he was definitely under the weather, but you know, we’re not a group that’s going to make excuses. Give those guys credit. They defended well. They did a good job. Go back to the drawing board, figure out what we need to figure out and come back next year. But the credit goes to them. It’s, you know, not going to sit here and say, “Oh man, he was sick.” Or, you know, he would have played better if he wasn’t sick or we would have played better if Steph was out there. Got to give them guys a lot of credit. They’re moving on to the Western Conference Finals. Um, and they put the work in to get there regardless of who didn’t score, who was out there. Uh, they’re moving on and, you know, kudos, congratulations to them. Uh, they played a hell of a series. You and Jimmy and Steph led the charge down the down the stretch and the playoffs and everything until entries and stuff like that, but people are going to say going to next year that, you know, they can point out how old you three guys are. Is that a factor? Is that a legitimate concern or is that something you can get past? They they pointed that out last year and the year before too. Um, one thing I can assure him is every year we will get older. Um, just like every year you’ll get older and he’ll get older. He’ll get older. Not him. You don’t age, huh, Scott? But I don’t worry about that one bit. Um, I feel like I’m still improving. I feel like Steph’s still improving. And I feel like Jimmy’s still improving. As long as you’re improving in this league, it’ll treat you well. It’s when you stop improving that the b the bottom falls out. And I still think I personally got a lot of room for growth. And I’m sure those guys feel the same way. So yeah, I don’t worry about that one bit. You feel like you guys pretty much got all you could out of this postseason considering the circumstances? I mean, Jimmy coming mid-season, Steph going down. I mean, just do you think that you guys went about as far as you’re going? Do you think you guys still could have gone should have gone farther? I definitely think we should have gone farther, but we didn’t. Yeah. Uh, so, you know, it is what it is. Um, yeah, we lost. So, I guess we did get all we could, but I still think we could have went further, and I always think that, but with a being a and Julius playing like he is, how good is that team? They got a chance. They got a real shot. Um, anytime you got a number two that can just go get it, you give yourself a chance at the, you know, to to go make it happen and and and get a ring. And like I said, the way Jew has been playing since he came back from the injury, by the way, it ain’t just start like he been the way he’s been playing since he came back from his injury, he been lights out. So, you know, I I have no doubt that he’ll continue to play that way. Um, he’s aggressive as hell and he he he going to go after it. He got that mindset. Always have had that mindset. So, and it’s clicking for him, you know. Um, so I think they got a real shot at it, you know, when you got two dynamic and then they got all the pieces, right? Like they got Nas coming off the bench. Jayden McDaniels is a hell of a young player. Rudy, four-time defensive player of the year. Mike Connley and his experience, Dante flying around and defending and shooting, Alexander, they got pieces, you know, so it’s just not one or two guys, they got a real team. And so I think they got a real shot at it. Draymond and the best teams in the West at the top. They got a combination of young players who are getting better. Not just Minnesota, Oklahoma City, some of the other teams. You guys are a little on the older side when you think about We got young players still getting better as well. Yeah. Do I was going to ask, do you feel like those young players can make enough of a leap to get you into that conversation or do you think you need significant, you know, personnel help that’s not in the building? I think every team in the NBA feel like they need per uh personnel help that’s not in the building. That’s just the way this league works. I don’t think any team, maybe I’m wrong, but I I don’t know any team that came back with the exact same roster next year. So, I think everybody feel that way. Uh, and it has nothing to do with who who’s young, who’s old, who that’s just the nature of the business that we’re in. Contracts happen, money situations happen, all those things happens. And so, um, I think that’s everyone. But do I have confidence in our young guys that they can take the next step? Absolutely. 1,000%. In what areas do you feel like you’re improving? And in what areas do you want to improve more? Uh, I want to continue to um be better with the ball. I think I turned the ball over way too much this year. Um, and I think for me, my role has changed quite a bit. You know, I’ve always kind of been in the middle of the offense, running offense, making the plays, which allows you to take more risk because you just got the ball so much more. And I think for me, I continue to take the risk without having the ball as much. And and so it looks different. And so that’s an adjustment that I have to make um going into next year is just understanding what that means and learning to play better. And the uh you lit, huh? Respect. and and learning to play better in the role that I am in now. Um, I think that’s something that I continue to improve on. Um, so yeah, that I think that’ll be one of my main focuses for sure. Uh, Jimmy, to what degree did the fall game to uh in Houston affect how how were you feeling the rest of the postseason? Uh, fine. uh good enough to go out there and compete. Um we’re not going to use anything as an excuse. So just didn’t win. And then how would you just contextualize um how different things were throughout the course of the series without having stuff out there? Yeah. Uh obviously it’s very different whenever you don’t have stuff on the floor. um the the room is so much smaller. Um and I feel like everybody has to take on more and everybody has to play a little bit of a different role. Uh but that’s just the game. Injuries happen. Um but it is a lot different with Steph not out there. How do you view just I guess your your few months here and what the future and with this franchise can look like? Uh great. uh a bunch of great guys that work incredibly hard, young talent that’s going to be um incredibly successful in this league. Um it’s all about, you know, staying healthy as it always is and um getting more and more comfortable playing with one another. When do you and Draymond and Steph get together and start talking about next year? Uh that’s a good question. That is a very good question. Uh maybe on the plane, I don’t know. uh for sure sometime this summer. Um but when it happens, it will happen. Have you have you seen enough I know you played what eight playoff games with Steph. Yeah. Have you seen enough to be convinced that healthy this team is a contender? For sure. Um I think we we all know that. We all believe that. Um but like I said, injuries is part of it. Nobody wants to be injured. Uh, it’s all about playing your basketball, the best basketball at the right time and being healthy at the right time. Unfortunately, that wasn’t us and um, we came up short. Jimmy, the last couple of times you’ve been in the playoffs, you’ve had to maybe carry underman rosters further than maybe where we projected where you guys should have been. Does this collection or group or at least you you Steph and Draymond at the top, does that give you a little bit more optimism maybe despite your age, despite how, you know, tough the Western Conference is? Like, do you walk away feeling a little bit different than you have your last few playoff rounds? Yeah. Uh, it is tough, but it’s it’s tough on both sides, Westies. And like I just said, if if we’re healthy, if all of this and if all of that, then it may be different. We don’t know. Um but we going to take our chances for sure if Steph is out there. Um but you know, we’ll we’ll come back um and figure this thing out and next year do the same thing. Jim, you guys were so close in game three. You had them with six minutes to go. You were up and they blitzed at the end there. When you look at what they were able to do to you guys on off with to your offense, what what made them so successful defending you guys? Uh, I don’t know, maybe some physicality making us take tough shots. Um, but I I don’t I don’t think it’s ever the offense. I think what tonight they shot 62%. So, if we can’t stop guys from putting the ball into the basket, it’s going to be hard either way. Um, so I’m not going to say that our offense was a problem. Um, you know, guard the three, you know, make him miss a little bit more. On the other side, then you guys had a really strong defense last few months of the regular season. What did they do to sort of take that apart? Uh, move the ball incredibly well, get into the paint. I I don’t feel like we took too much away from them. You know, we talked about what we wanted to do. We did it in some spurts, but not the entire game, which we needed to do. So, they played well. You got you got to give them that. Jimmy, it feels like you guys have been going 100 miles an hour since you got here when you were traded. What’s it going to be like? Yeah. Uh, I think it’s going to be fun. Um, a lot of great basketball to be had and to be played and um, I can’t wait to to get to that point because I don’t want to be not playing basketball 425. a new destination for myself. Get comfortable working toward success to the next.

Timberwolves Wins Series 4-1!

Source: NBA/National Basketball Association

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Timestamps:
0:00 Chris Finch
11:07 Steve Kerr
26:03 Julius Randle & Mike Conley
34:23 Anthony Edwards & Rudy Gobert
47:06 Draymond Green
58:00 Jimmy Butler

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