Indiana Pacers NBA Finals Media Availability | June 12, 2025

Indiana Pacers NBA Finals Media Availability | June 12, 2025

uh hi coach good morning uh Zaria from ESPN Brazil i want to talk about the grit and determination of your team last night um I want to uh seems like everybody has the same mindset uh or even though I not play my best I’ll leave 100% in the floor how huge was that and I want to talk I want you to talk about TJ uh and the energy that he brought from the bench last night well the magnitude of the challenge with Oklahoma City is is daunting because of the kind of year that they they had and and how great they are i mean um you know they’re historically great in so many different areas and they got the MVP so uh it’s hard you know it takes nothing less than everything we possibly have together um and you know it’s it’s only been three games it feels like it’s been longer um it’s you know this is an 18-day series where the last one was 13 days and so with with how it’s stretched out um you know it’s it’s a it’s it’s a long it’s a long haul but we need everybody we need everybody to put everything they have into it um and you know that’s that’s how we’ve gotten to the finals jenny up front Jenny Carlson with the Oklahoma rick um TJ and Alex both a couple guys that have made their way in the NBA what has impressed you just about the way that I mean they’ve not only played well but changed all three games in different ways what’s impressed you about those two guys they’re they’re both self-made guys they’ve um they’ve overcome a lot i I mentioned this last week you know we had Alex Caruso in one of our free agent camps in Dallas i don’t even remember what year it was but he hadn’t even gotten into the league yet he was he may have played internationally or something like that and you know he had a he had a he had a good two or three days but um we we didn’t even bring him to you know to to the summer league or ask him to summer league and so some of these guys that that go under the radar um have that level of grit and determination that is able to get them to the league and to get them some longevity and and and high impact and you know both of these guys are examples of that joe can I ask you a another coaches association question you can try there’s been some wild reports out there the last couple days about the Knicks asking for permission to interview all these coaches who already have jobs with other teams and I wonder if there is a stance from the coaches association about this very thing about going after coaches head coaches who are already employed by other teams i mean why would there be an issue about having interest in great coaches oh it just would be uh I guess excluding guys who these are all I mean the names of guys that are you know the permission is being asked to speak to these guys i’ve seen I mean Jason Kidd won Billy Donovan um Quinn Snyder um Chris Finch who was the fifth there was another one right Emma Udoka I mean these guys are all great coaches I mean um I mean I don’t have any problem with it you know I’m just giving you my opinion I’m not speaking for the coaches association but um you you know that just to me above all it it speaks to the value of great coaching and so you know I don’t I don’t I don’t see an issue with it but I’m not I’m not authorized to speak on behalf of the coach association i’m only giving you my my opinion and then a quick final followup you mentioned that Miles wasn’t feeling well last night and might not be with you guys today i just want to know if he was able to come in and he’s not coming to media not coming to media he he did he was there for our film session and he he’s going home so hopefully he hopefully he’s he’ll feel better but um he’ll feel better tomorrow we’ll see tim here on the corner rick you guys have had two-1 leads in in every series so far when I know it’s just the start yeah and and listen before you even ask the question um you know it’s we just uh we’re not getting into I’m getting not getting into answering questions about the future or anything like that i mean it it’s just I mean you look at what Oklahoma did at the beginning of the game 16 to7 boom just like that um we have a lead the end of the third quarter boom all of a sudden we’re down five going into the fourth um there’s no there’s no there’s no looking forward there’s you know we can we we we study some of the things that have happened uh leading up to this but u beyond that you know I’m not talking about anything having to do with you know series standings or any of that kind of stuff be foolish i’m I’m Did you have another question i’m I’m proud that it wasn’t a looking forward question then what I was going to ask you the human condition being what it is what is it about this group that it does not relax in that situation when it has a lead it comes out and keeps playing well man that’s you know that’s the that’s the challenge before us right now is to uh is to maintain and you know it’s got to be a killer edge to beat these guys i mean we’re we’re going to be an underdog in every every game in this series you know it was it was 10 and a half in the first two games five and a half the these last night and then um tomorrow um it’s a it’s a it’s a daunting challenge um anything less than a total grit mindset you know and and we just you know we just don’t have a chance dustin towards the back left rick you’ve talked in the past about uh this team having a lot of leaders and basically everybody having kind of a uh a voice in that how do guys that are maybe younger maybe quieter guys like Andrew Aaron uh Ben Mat and Ben Shepard how did those guys fit into that scenario and how have you seen them step up in you know during this playoff run well I you know we we communicate a lot with our players um you know and you know guys that aren’t necessarily the overt you know um vocal leaders by nature you know we try to pull it out of them you know in in the room and and you know some certain certain players like Pascal is an example of a guy that has a lot of experience um he’s a he’s a leader by nature Um and so you know at the at the appropriate times he he he’s always there to to make um an observation to talk to the team about experiences that he’s had things cautionary things to avoid those kinds of things but look we we’ve got we’ve got great guys i know Oklahoma’s got great guys on their team you can just tell I mean tell tell their they’re top shelf character people um that’s one of the great features of this series just the competitive integrity I think on both sides um but the you know the the challenge is massive tyrese you guys were up 2-1 in every other round as well and then you games four game five you did not there was no drop off you guys kept your edge how why are you making that look so easy when it is typically something that the human condition says you’re going to let go of the rope a tiny bit when you’re going to lead in a series you guys have not done that why why is that um I think it starts from coach Carlile just keeping our our attention on the main thing um you know taking it a day at a time and just focusing on what’s in front of us and then I think that just trickles down you know I think our jobs me Pascal Miles James you know as leaders is to you know continue to share the same message that coach has and um you know there’s nothing to get excited about right now you know we’re still a long way away and uh you just got to take it a day at a time so um you know we’re excited to play another game in front of our home crowd and um approach this game the same way we approached yesterday and um just control what we can and and and I think the biggest thing is just playing hard you know if we could do that we can figure everything else out from there so uh there’s no need to get super giddy or excited by any means you know there’s still a lot of work to be done jenny up front hey Tyrese jenny Carlson with the Oklahoma tj if if he was not known to be an NBA player you could probably walk into the Y and people would think who’s this guy but he’s impacting the NBA Finals how has he been able to do that and it’s gotten to the point with both him and Caruso when they don’t have an impact you think what’s going on here but specific to TJ how has he managed to have such an impact on things yeah he just does the little things so well um you know he he always talks about it like he’s in year 10 and the biggest thing for him that he knew he would have to do to stick would be uh just to play harder than people you know I think that’s his his calling card his MO how hard he plays and the the energy that he plays with um obviously he’s a very skilled player um as well but I think he just does a great job of just playing harder than people and that has really created you know such an unbelievable career for him and he’ll continue to do that but um you know I think our our fans have have really taken a a liking and a and a loving him and same way with Caruso and OKC and for TJ it was the same thing in Philly like it’s hard not to root for a guy like that you know who just plays so hard and like you said it’s not he’s an NBA player but if he walks in anywhere he can get away with it people have no clue uh so um yeah he just plays so hard and I think that’s the biggest thing is he just can controls what he can and I think that’s the biggest example of it you know making miss shots that is what it is but he just plays so hard and that makes up for things jeff on the left Jeff Zilate USA Today rick just called playing and beating Oklahoma City a daunting task and he seems to have the weight of the finals he carries it on him but I want to know from your perspective how much you’re enjoying this what are you enjoying about it and you know obviously you’d rather be here than not playing at all but you know how much of it is stressful compared to the regular season yeah I uh I mean I I think the biggest thing with right now is this is like a really exciting time and to play against these guys is uh an honor and it’s it’s a lot of fun because this is a 68 win team this is um historically one of the best defenses ever you know this is a really good team they have the MVP uh they have a bunch of dudes who are going to be in this league for a long time having a lot of success so um you know I I can’t say enough good things about their their team as a group and I think the most fun part about basketball is you know you don’t if you’re going to win you don’t want to do it um any other way than have to beat the best you know and this team has been the best team in the NBA all year uh they consistently respond you know when their backs are against the wall um you know so it’s it’s a lot of fun like as competitors you want to compete against the best and these guys are the best and so um I think that I’ll say that to answer that part of the question and then as far as stress like uh like I think that should be heightened right now you know you’re playing in the in the NBA finals you know guys should there should be a higher sense of urgency a higher level of stress your spit should taste different all all those things right like this is uh this is a lot of fun this is a lot of fun and uh after games I’m struggling to sleep good games and bad games i’m watching a ton of film i’m doing uh us as a group we’re texting in the group chat more about you know ba basketball related things more than we probably ever have like this is a a lot of a lot of fun and you know you don’t want to take these uh these moments for granted um and we got a lot of we got a few people in our organization who have won a championship or played in the NBA finals and that’s all that we consistently hear about is don’t take this moment for granted you know enjoy this moment and um you know you want to be able to you know put all your cards on the table play as hard as you can you don’t want to have any regrets at the end of it so you know that’s the biggest thing we talk about as a group and you know that’s how it should be barry second roll in center yeah Barry Traml Tulsa World um even when Shay’s had some success in this series he seems to be frustrated on some level what’s Andrew doing to to keep Shay sort of off his game even even if it’s emotional well I I I think Andrew is doing a great job of um you know staying in front uh being physical um you know just making it hard on him you know just trying to give him different looks i mean listen he’s the MVP he’s the best scorer in the NBA uh feels like when he wakes up he has 30 you know like that’s just that’s what it is but I think Drew’s doing a great job of making it as difficult as he can uh being physical uh you know just being a pesty defender and that’s his calling card in this league and what he does at such a high level and those guys having played together all summer they’ve known each other like their whole lives like I’m sure they know things about each other that many people don’t know so I think that that’s to both of their benefits as well but uh I think to see such an elite offensive talent compete against such a elite defensive talent has been a treat to watch for me on the floor so I know as basketball fans people have to enjoy that matchup as well so u with a guy like Shay you can never give him the same look and Drew does a great job of mixing things up um you know we’re just trying to make life hard on them as best we can tanya fourth row Terry Tanya Ganguli New York Times you mentioned the few people in your organization who have won championships um I’m wondering if have they been talking about those finals experiences or even like bringing their rings to show you guys or anything like that i haven’t seen any rings i have not um you know coach consistently I think he always uh having been in the league so long I hear a lot of uh stories from him um you know not just from that 2011 run but the unsuccessful runs and just uh stories of him with you know Durk and and certain guys and I think um you know we’ve we’ve been talking a lot about you know that 2011 championship run and uh how that series went and how they had to respond in many different ways um you know I was 11 years old but I remember hating coach Carlile and those guys at that time um but I think even with Pascal I think he’s probably grown to uh the to learn that he might be a little annoyed by me at this point with all the questions that I ask from those finals runs and it’s been like that since he’s gotten here honestly like I just consistently ask questions cuz I wasn’t in the league at the time and I was a huge basketball fan so I want to know about the adjustments and certain things and the conversations in those locker rooms so we consistently talk about those things yeah for sure um and just try to get uh knowledge from all the basketball minds uh that we’re around i think everybody can agree on that not just in our locker room but the external forces as well like Reggie consistently talking uh with with us and just other guys that I’ve had conversations with um sharing their experiences has been uh really beneficial for me and like I said just keep saying I don’t want to take this time for granted i want to live in the moment and um you know just uh you know put all my cards on the table and have no regrets at the end of this thank you i feel like in game three the box score doesn’t really say enough appreciation to your game you had four assists but it seems like you had a lot more finding success passing out of that low block getting a lot of those hockey assists what did you see from your guys offense that allowed so much more cutting and so much more action around the rim compared to the first two games um no I mean I just thought we we played our game we was we was like against a team like that you got to just you got to continue to play um and can’t get stuck we we know how how good they are defensively um and I think as much movement that we can have the better over here on the front on the left microphone’s coming up um Pascal uh Terres Hallebertton said before the fourth quarter uh interview that uh Indiana has uh has got to rebound and run how much do you think that uh all that run um bothers Oklahoma and do you guys intend to run uh even more tomorrow um I don’t know but I I I know that we got to we got to play our our type of game and we got to continue you know I mean they have great rebounders on the team and they do a good job of crashing so um it’s I think in any game like you just got to try to secure the ball um and and try to run in transition any other questions uh Tanya in the middle um Pascal Tanya Ganguli New York Times um Tyrese was just talking about the how much he asks you about your finals run and and what that was like what are the kind what kinds of questions is he asking and he said you might be getting annoyed with him are you oh no i I’m I’m not annoyed with him that’s funny uh but no I mean I think he’s he’s a student of the game he wants to he wants to learn and and um obviously like he watches a lot of film and um and I think most of the stuff that we just talked about is just yeah like just about the game and how it was and um and and certain things i mean I’m not going to tell you exactly what we talk about but um I I think just understanding the magnitude of what we we trying to accomplish and and and knowing like how difficult it is um and and to me I I just try to you know keep him um just just levelheaded and and understanding that like it’s there’s going to be times where it doesn’t go as planned you know like and um we have to find a way to uh overcome that and and and and to me like like I said the best advice I can give him is just to you know it’s this thing is it’s a long series and and and I mean being in the finals is a lot going on so um try to focus as much in the game as possible one middle second row Barry up front yeah barry Traml pulsa world how much is Andrew Nemhard making a name for himself in this series as a as an elite defender a lot of the league didn’t know the quality of defender might not know the quality of defender he was but the way he’s sort of slowed Shay to some degree um is pretty impressive no I mean I think he’s he’s been doing that all year he’s a great defender um I don’t think I mean yeah if it’s a surprise to you know like it’s like he does that like I mean he’s been doing it all year so um I think when you play against great players every single night it is hard it’s a tough job and um all he can do is just try his best and and I think he’s doing that anyone else for the final one joe up front here i thought uh there’s a question here i I thought last night’s game that the the pace and the the intensity just it seemed to jump off from the court like notice more noticeable than games one and two and I know you’ve been in the finals before a really tight finals tough finals with the Warriors that you guys won a lot of drama does last night for you does that compare to any of the great finals games that you had played in your first run uh I think I think every final game is is intense you know um and and I know like I mean I think for for most people it’s like all right we look at the score and it’s like all right if you were down this much it’s like all right it means one team didn’t play good like hard or the other one did better or whatever like but um every position is intense um it’s it’s it’s physical the crowds and um like everyone’s watching you like there’s a tension so to me they they they all feel the same in a way where like how important it is and and the intensity that you feel when you’re on the court uh no matter what the score is and and whatever happens like it’s it’s it’s physical um it’s tough gritty like it’s it’s it’s really really hard and um and you feel every single possession out there when you’re on the floor so um in that sense to me I think that there is similarities I’ll say yeah no no you have to pick another one or the next talking about my NBA career oh yeah 27 in the final super factor how do you feel now what’s tomorrow morning um I feel I feel good you know i felt good and recovering pretty well you know and just getting ready for the game too which one would you pick as a key forcing them to continue turning over 45 bench the intensity level of defense in second quarter which one would you pick from the game with the last you know if I had to pick something I would say uh the aggressiveness you know we were aggressive and we were uh persistent on the defense side of the ball the offensive side of the ball and we were able to uh you know to win the game my last one quick uh between Shay and Jay in the 10 turnovers i mean they handled the ball all the time but that’s too much that’s that’s a great defensive plan sure i think uh you know whatever whatever we can do to to win the game whether it’s you know grabbing extra rebounds to making them turn the ball over you know it’s the main it’s the main key for the game when the players on the starting ro they know the time of the tip they know when it’s time to go when you’re sitting there waiting how do you come in there and flip that switch like you don’t seem to come in tentative or shy and you get right to it what is it about you that make makes it look so easy when it’s time to go and you just go out and go Um it’s just a mindset i just get in the game knowing uh what I have to do you know and whatever it is whether it’s a dive on the floor or make shots you know I’m willing to do for my team and win is it strange to think you really had a big role in turning that game around yesterday you came in the plays was hype could could you feel that energy from the fans as soon as you went out there for sure i think the fans they play they play a big part of us winning in the games um especially at home so you know very very grateful for the crowd and you know looking forward for the same thing tonight what allowed you to move the ball better offensively as a team i mean contributed to the increase in team defense as well that was the best performance of this series for sure i would say just just you know sitting sit sitting on the loss for a you know couple days just being able to um watch a lot of film and you know pay attention to the details that was the main key for us and I think we we’ve done a pretty good job of you know being being uh locked in on the right things you know so that’s the biggest thing for us you guys had a great game overall but if you guys watch film already where are some areas that maybe you to improve defensively or offensively uh it’s a lot of it’s a lot of areas of grow i think that we we can improve you know for tomorrow’s game um you know all I could really say is watch film you know watch a lot of film and and be ready for next game anything you noticed on on their side that worked well on on your guys side defense defensively maybe not really uh main focus is our team ben you’ve talked a lot about how hard last year was for you having to watch all these playoff games and not be a part of it how does it feel to have a game like you had last night where you not only are a part of it but having you know the game of your life on the final stage it’s it’s it’s good you know I’m looking forward to to play as hard as you know I did last night tomorrow for tomorrow’s game and you know it was great you know cuz all of this would have meant nothing if we lost the game so the main thing is is just to win the game and I was able to have my team do that have you been able to zoom out today at all and think about the moment you just had within the context of focusing on the rest of the series you guys have um yeah you can say that um I have plans we got to wrap it up soon i’m trying to bake you know I’m trying to do a little cookie tonight so uh you know I’m trying to get I’m trying to get away from it i I don’t know yet i’m still baking sorry I deserve to ask but give me your your thoughts on these big plays for us the fans last night how huge were they for you guys in this game huge huge it’s it’s great to to see Gamebridge you know full of yellow shirts and uh you know the fans just being really really excited you know I think you could feel the energy going to the building and you know as soon as I checked in the game I I felt it right away but you can also one thing you know what we see from the fans but it’s crazy to see what the city like how they redecorated everything in putting up their names on the streets and also I don’t know if you saw pictures like how the people were celebrating after the game what does that mean to you that you put so much into it to showcase you guys it’s great it’s great uh I love seeing our fans happy and if I could you know do it again for for the fans to be happy then I’m willing to do it um in order to see what the city like invests in showcase as a team for sure i mean you know we need the fans you know we need the fans to come out there and support that’s the most important thing and you know our job is to go out there and uh play as hard as we can to win the game matthew you’re the sixth player in NBA Finals history to score 25 points age 22 or younger when you hear that what comes to mind um it’s great it’s great but um I’m not going to the game thinking you know what record can I could I break today um I just play as hard as I can you know put my faith in God that he’s going to keep me healthy and you know the rest I’m going to take care of it ben after uh game one Bill Simmons made a quote where he said “When will you have a game where it’s like he scored 27 points in 22 minutes and that ended up being exactly what you scored last night?” So did you talk to Bill at all before the game and how do you feel about somebody being able to just kind of call your shots like that that’s scary that’s crazy that’s That’s crazy uh the only thing I can tell him to do is uh to say it again what are you What are you baking from i don’t know man this is I don’t know i don’t know yet man i don’t know do the same thing you did before last game yeah same routine sad the situation right now you’re so close to being a championship what’s the mindset yourself um you know it’ll be great for our team you know just uh like I said the main as much as we want to enjoy those moments you know we’re fortunate enough to to be to play tomorrow so we don’t sit too long on winning this game we have to come with the same aggressiveness for tomorrow’s game and I think the Richmond took care of itself does it add to the enjoyment you guys know much of an underdog been considered serious is that something that you’re still talking about now history um it’s a great question i think the main thing is we know what we can accomplish but we can’t we can’t we can’t skip steps you know we have to we have to be prepared for tomorrow’s game and I think that doing that it’s going to be a great step in the right great step in the right direction after 25 years what was your perspective of like the fan base’s energy from last night’s game I mean it’s the first time that they see a final after 25 years here what was your perspective on it i mean I had no idea before the game what I was going to be walking into um I played in some big games here last year my rookie year Eastern Conference playoffs um in season tournament the crowd was rocking but I feel like there was a different energy and um I feel like once you stepped out on that court you could feel how much the fans wanted uh for this city so just adds a little bit extra motivation for all of us they made it a great environment u we’re going to need them to show up tomorrow too only one one day between uh game three and game four what does that change in terms of process in terms of recovery in terms of your daily kind of regimen leading up to the game yeah you definitely got to take care of yourself during um the day in between um I don’t know we kind of had a light practice watch film um picked up on all the things that we messed up on and then just focus on getting better tomorrow do you prefer like the quicker turnaround or having like the full two days in between games i’d say personally for myself I like the quicker turnaround um just cuz I’m so anxious to play all the time and so excited so um yeah definitely excited for tomorrow the level of intensity between every game how much has been growing up um I feel like every both teams know how much is at stake so um as the series goes on each situation is so important within the game so um yeah I feel like pressure is building but um just sticking together playing our team basketball even though there is 48 minutes do you feel it’s shorter or longer as soon as the game the the series is advanced i feel like it’s longer um just cuz every play is so important and um just kind of gives you a good idea of how the series is going to go and all that type of stuff so I’d definitely say longer what do you expect from Oklahoma City in that so-called must-win game for them on Friday night just come out and play hard um we know they’re going to be ready we know they’re going to be ready to compete so um yeah just going to expect them to play hard and just do what they do can you match what you did in game three is it easier said than done to do that it’s easier said than done but I think our group is ready for it um we’re excited and just excited to defend home court again and see what we can do so been now since this has kind of been the whole routine event a weekend a week into the routine do you do you feel like um this is still still just an NBA game or do you feel like this is the finals and it just feels everything about like even off the court um I’d feel like it’s more important once you get on the court but um dayto day I just feel like it’s a normal routine um a normal playoff game and just trying not to let the moment get too big and um just focus on playing and focus as a collective group just seeing what goals at stake so you go into a cocoon or do you have family sitting with you do you try to uh limit distractions definitely um I’d say when I’m outside the gym I try to take time to myself and not too not think too much about basketball but uh yeah just making sure I’m managing my time correctly ben when Andrew Lambert had I think three fouls and went to the bench you’re the guy assigned to go at SGA for a portion of the game how is you preparing for that and are you the guy to guard um SGA whenever Nvar can do that yeah I’d say I’m the secondary defender for him coming off the bench but um just playing confident doing what I’m doing and um for a young player like me it’s cool to watch Andrew do what he does out there and just learn from him and take everything that he’s doing out there to guard him and slow him down and um just try to implement that when I get out there then you had a couple shots that you made that normally you might pass or or not look to work is that something where you were just building and took it or has there been a emphasis to try and get you to pursue more more shots um I just say taking my shots as they come um I know what I’m out there for and I’m not trying to force anything but definitely taking advantage of my opportunities and um just being aggressive and being confident you move on to the next you guys have been so good about a disappointing loss you move on big win everybody’s so excited how do you put that in the rear and say “Hey we still got to work.” Um I mean those games was over with uh watch film uh learned from the mistakes that we had and then now it’s on to the next game game number four uh we got to go in here or come back in here and get that one it seems like no matter what the game is people feel about pressure if you play in the finals every game’s got pressure yeah yeah um I mean I don’t really feel pressure uh just probably excitement uh I feel like more most of these guys are are excited to play uh which which might bring the game a little faster than it’s supposed to but uh once you once you get into the game and get to a groove it slows down and you just trust in your work you brought your a game and so did the fans didn’t you the fans was amazing yesterday uh I I’ve never heard it that loud in here and uh it was just it was rocking yesterday you guys know what’s on the team what is the message among yourselves teammates your coach yeah um we not we we really not looking that far into the future we just worried about this next game coming up uh like I said we we have three games uh done already uh we get to learn from the mistakes that we had and get better from it so that we don’t make it in game number four you had in my opinion one of the highlights of the final put back for me that was one of the key points of of the game i just want to get your thoughts on on that moment how it felt when you were in front of your fans your first finals getting a huge put back on yeah it felt good uh crowd was crowd was going crazy after it so uh the energy was definitely in there uh it felt great um I just I just knew like as soon as Tai uh put the floater up I knew it was going to be a perfect miss so uh I had to creep in there and get that putback dunk but uh no the energy in here uh yesterday was amazing after that obie when do you start looking towards the future for what for like where this the series progresses uh whenever that game whenever we going for game four uh after we win that um we got to win two more though uh but the first one is is tomorrow and we got to get that one done first watching the games last night not disrespecting OKC but it felt like those loose balls those that you guys had was so so evident yesterday last night what is it about this team when the game was on the line down the stretch you guys step up there and doing everything to try to win this game uh I mean we’ve been in a lot of close games this whole whole season uh we got great leaders on this team and the coaches and players uh who who keep us on track with everything but um we we’re comfortable in in in close games and and um at the end of games as well uh we just trust trust our uh our work and trust we got to get the ball into our guard’s hands and they was going to they’re going to make the play so how valuable is Rick and keeping that mindset just one game at a time at a time how how key is he that mindset uh he’s a he’s huge part just because uh he has a lot of experience being in the finals like he he’s won the finals he’s been in the finals a couple times so um he definitely knows what he talking talking about and we also have Pascal who who was a main contender on on Toronto’s team and they won so we got two great leaders who who’ve been here jim as well jim has won uh some rings as well but um just listening to them um we understand they’ve been here before and know what it takes what’s going on bro how you doing yes sir good player corresponds awesome yes sir i wanted to ask you how does it feel to have your family watching man it feels amazing uh a lot of people know my dad knew we used to play ball uh so it I feel super happy for him to have the opportunity to be here and and experience this and obviously have a son uh playing here so uh it’s super exciting though my kids love it uh they they at a age where they don’t really understand what’s going on but they’re just screaming cuz everybody else is screaming having fun so uh I love that they’re here watching how annoying plays it just frustrates everybody man I had to play against TJ a couple times when I was in New York i hated him but uh we can we can pull up the dunk that I had over there yeah I had the between the legs done he talks about that all the time but um CJ is a is a pest like he’s like an annoying net just flying around your head uh getting those quick steals um just doing the little things that’s helping this team win um like he might not have the the most numbers on the team on the scores on the scores sheet but he’s going to do the little things that’s going to help any team win and um and we love him how you doing this which one of these two should be more impressive forced to them to 19 turnovers 21 points or you TJ and Matthew from the bench 45 points them or us what you asking which one you pick what we’re doing yeah yeah what we’re doing with me what you doing yeah me Ben and TJ he said “Yeah we doing a great job i’ve never picked that side.” But the bench was awesome i mean out of the world your energy is that do you think you are better and deeper now from the beginning from the playoffs um I mean I feel like we’ve been we have depth uh since last year um uh we didn’t get to the finals last year but we’ve learned from the mistakes that we had uh then to allow us to be where we’re at now so uh we’re going to continue learning from all our mistakes and get better so we can get to that ring okay my last one your level is amazing yes sir which which one was the key or the click for you to evolve as a player since two years ago from Yeah yeah uh just being a sponge um listen listen to every all the feedback that I get back from the coaches from the from the players um and just continue to work get better every single day to to allow us to be in the position we’re in now congrats yes sir thank you you guys have worked extremely hard yeah uh it’s super important uh but we’re taking it one game at a time uh we got this game tomorrow that we’re focused on and we got to come back into gamebridge with our amazing fans and get it done how do you think your role has evolved as the series has progressed um I mean my role has been the same just come in and do whatever I can to help the team win uh um I don’t really look at minutes i just I just try to with the opportunities that I get come in and and just make an impact on the game uh whether that’s offense defense just come in do whatever I can to help the team win you said of course you just play game to game nothing is reached so far but still you are the one leading the series in terms of two run and no one was kind of expecting that how satisfying but still is that appreciate that moment uh it’s not going to be satisfying until we win and uh win the ring uh so like I said we just going to continue continue looking at film and getting better every single day until that until that time comes toby Rick’s talked about how culture is an everyday thing to establish and maintain it but what do you think what do you attribute to each of you starting in your own role being ready when called upon all those sorts of things like we continue to see um I mean everybody on this team is a great player and uh we all trust each other and love to see each other have success and it starts with Tai uh Tai Pascal and Miles uh they do a great job um keeping everybody involved and and when you feel out involved out there on the floor it’s just it’s fun playing that way um everybody on our bench Ben me TJ Jarus uh Ben Chef everybody on that bench can have 20 30 points uh on any given night um but we just go out there play the right way so we can get a win do you guys have a name for your bench uh no tj might got the name i’m going to let TJ go hey DJ how much really comes down to stats and this and that at this time of the season how much is it just grit and working hard and competing i think it’s about playing together um as a group um obviously I think we’ve got a total team and we’ve got to continue to play together communicate um and play as hard as we can on both ends of the floor did you find something yesterday that you can apply tomorrow with a vehicle um we’re still looking at stuff like that and then obviously look at stuff that um we can fix um but you know don’t want to divi divulge too much information but Rick and his staff do a great job of figuring out what we need to fix and um stuff that we can add how you doing this America i know you’re going to say it’s your job but five steals from the bench you change again your energy with Albi and Benedict etc were you amazed about yourselves doing that in the finals um you know I’m I think you know me uh our group it’s a fuel thing when we need to inject energy i think we do a good job of doing that um and like you said um just trying to do my job really that’s all it comes down to nothing more nothing less for you what was the key yesterday the level and intensity of the defense forcing 19 turnovers or that second quarter was amazing with 40 points and the close out which one would you pick at the moment of the game um I’m not quite sure i just think as a group we just continue to need to be tied together um on both ends of the floor cuz we’re going against um a great team who’s extremely well coached got the MVP um of the league so um we have a lot more left to do thank you so much ask uh if your defense squad has a name he said they ask you um I don’t I I’m not I don’t I don’t know if we have a name um you might have to ask around um if they do if we do I don’t I don’t know about it tj it seemed like no disrespect to OKC but down the stretch you guys getting like you guys really wanted this game from last night where does that come from for you guys especially in this postseason have you guys been able to find a way down the stretch i mean I feel like throughout the series you know to start the game you could really say OKC was getting all the 50/50 balls and um you know the second chance points um it just it goes in waves and you have to have a concerted effort from the group to kind of dig deeper and and go to another place competitively and that’s what we need to continue to do what do you do with your relationship with the fans like you’ve taken that more on each game each season of of finding a moment within a game and and hoping it sparks something yeah I mean I love this place um I love our fans and anytime we can get them energized more than they already are it just it takes us to another level um and we need their energy next game tj what’s the role conditioning in terms of playing the way you do seem more energy yeah I mean we obviously got to be in good shape um you know got to credit Rick and our strength and conditioning staff for preparing us to play this way from the moment Rick walked through the door and um credit to us for kind of taking and no pun intended running with it um you know it’s a style of play that that he wanted to play and and and we’ve we’ve adapted and and we’ve got to continue to do so [Music] um you know I’m just trying to like I said I’m just trying to do my job you know we got to focus on game four and fix some stuff there is there something that you found or something that you uh was just one of those days yeah I mean I don’t know i mean you could look back at game two and their bench um you know outplayed ours um so we we’ve got to continue to look at the film and see what we can do better and take things um that we need to clean up and fix those you talk a lot um just continuing to play um staying together through their runs cuz they’re going to make runs they’re a great team um just coming together talking to each other and and being connected on both ends of the floor throughout the entire game um I mean they’re a great team um you know I don’t I don’t really have you know a direct answer for you but I mean they got really good players over there and a great coach um so for them to make runs is is not unusual they’re it’s it’s it’s just we’re going against a really good team rick has done a good job of not too high not too low how benefic yeah I mean we just have to take it one day at a time um Rick’s done a good job of um you know like you said keeping us in the middle um not too high not too low good win yesterday but we’re moving on focusing on game four um just trying to pick my spots honestly um when an opportunity presents itself for me to try to go score that’s what I try to do but other than that just play hard and get my teammates the ball and um bring energy on defense tj you’ve talked throughout the season about the importance of of accountability of you guys holding yourselves and each other accountable when and how was that most important in the course of the season when did you guys most have to do that how do you feel like this year i mean I feel like we’ve we’ve done that all year obviously we got off to a slow start to start the year um not using it as an excuse but we weren’t exactly healthy um to start the year but the accountability in this locker room you know guy 1 through 15 um everyone listens to each other and what each player has to say um and that’s valuable how would you teach that skill um I mean that’s it’s a tough question but at the same time you know in your offseason workouts just you know getting yourself in great shape and um you know playing one-on-one full court against somebody just getting a mindset that you’re not going to get tired um I think is something that’s that I would try to teach someone to just play hard effort wise what do you expect from here in game four um I mean they always respond um they’re a great team you saw how they responded in game two um we’re going to have to be really locked in and dialed in uh for their response and and and be totally together tj for your grandpa to attend games is that a special scenario um he hasn’t made it to too many of my games so um you know the fact that he was able to see the game yesterday you know we had a bit of a tragedy in in our family um and it was his wife so the fact that he made the trip here to come watch me play um yeah I mean I just I can’t put it into words how much it meant tj Obie referred to you as a pest when I asked him about your style of play he wanted to remind you that he had had a massive dunk against you one time would you describe you as being a pest you talked about working hard and bringing that extra is that a good description you think um I’ve heard about every nickname you can imagine um so just kind of roll with it um but you know it sounds super cliche just I’m out here just trying to do my job and it sounds redundant because I keep saying it but that’s just been my mindset throughout my career hard is to keep an even kill if you know that you’re just two games away from um because you there’s still a lot more work to do um we can’t look ahead um like I said we have to stay in the moment and focus on the task at hand and and that’s game four tomorrow last one will you rinse your dishes again i saw you dishes um maybe do takeout takeout tonight with the wife but um I’m not sure if she needs me to I will for sure at the same time if we see the parks um every game is important um tomorrow we’re going to have to come out with the same fight same same effort we gave yesterday um you know they’re going to come out with their own punch we’re going to have to restain that and punch uh give a punch of our own you did a great job against Shay in the last game how tough was that and how how come you guys can repeat that in the game court for um it’s a whole team effort but Andrew is doing a good job at the point of attack you know making life difficult for him and we’re just going to have to continue to make it tough you’re talking to Brazil you have a lot of fans in Brazil do you know anything Portuguese do you want to say something to your fans in Brazil i don’t unfortunately but thank you guys i appreciate you man appreciate the support from over there we need to constantly feel you through the TV thank you so much could you say you watch the movie watch the movie which one who’s Oh who’sers i haven’t seen I I It may have been a long time i feel like I have seen it though you remember something of the movie no but you know the story behind I do know yeah high school yeah yeah you feel that something similar with this i mean a little bit a little bit but you know we’re just trying to write our own story play our um you know just trying to take it day by day and not worry about narratives till it’s all over you know I’ll think about that stuff when it’s over and make comparisons in the last 25 years is that something that’s crazy is that something I was going to ask if people mindful that um you sort of sense a difference when execution approach uh I think it’s more about us you know to be honest i think we just we just thrive in those situations we’re just we just know how to play and and clutch games and you know do what’s necessary when the game calls for it um so I think that’s more about us tonight i don’t know the exact stat but clearly assist all season what’s What sort of blow to that uh just making life tough uh giving them different reads and you know trying our best to you know make them work for everything your transition defense has been excellent season in the playoffs and particularly in this series just kind of what goes into having such an excellent transition um you know turnovers are part of the game mistakes happen it’s about how you bounce back from those mistakes or learn from those mistakes and understanding just because you turn the ball over the play’s not over you know we got to get back and hope to try and get it back what strategic principles do you kind of got nothing for you brother sorry yesterday a guy called TJ like the great white i don’t know if you agree with that and also what do you think uh what do you think his impact is in creating momentum uh when he comes off the TJ’s huge man you can’t put into words what TJ means to our team like he just it’s just a spark plug off the bench every time how are you America first up my two questions how are you feeling this morning 2-1 up finals excited relaxed trying to be focused and desperate uh we’re focused i mean we’re up 2-1 it’s where we want to be um but you know we got another game tomorrow that we got to win so focus immediately shifts to that game and what we got to do better from yesterday doing adjustments when you are the winner is maybe more difficult um you know we just got to keep an edge make sure that we come out fire and come out with a you know the same play the same way we did yesterday play with the same urgency and which would be maybe the three-point shoot i mean the only thing you can say from yesterday okay maybe we didn’t hit more trees whatever but the rest was awesome mhm yeah play our game man we’ll play our game we’ll play hard and um you know we’ll go out there and we’ll try and win the ball game okay talking about like their defensive level intensity since the second quarter and a half was amazing terrific did you surprised about yourself that what you’re doing forcing them so many turnovers controlling shade trapping all that stuff i mean I think it was the plan but I think it was perfect uh no never surprised um it’s just us playing our game sticking to our game plans and you know doing what the game calls for thank you thank you do you remember from Thailand yeah would you like to see Would you like to say anything to Thai fan who wakes up so early every morning to watch this no we appreciate you i feel your support through the TV we need you thank you so much continue waking up for us we can get the job done appreciate you it’s 20 hour from Thailand United States i appreciate you thank you for coming do you remember playing against TJ when you were with Boston and that pestiness did you ever have a possession i did i do man i remember I was sitting on the bench like who is this guy bro this guy man 61 guy coming over here causing havoc but yeah he’s like I said he’s unreal man what did you think of the bench in general last night i know Ben Min had the game that he’s been open to have this last specifically how he kind of elevates it he’s huge man ben is such a talented guy um when he plays like that we’re very hard to beat um and we we’re going to need that from him to you know they’re a great team over there we got great guys over here we need we need Ben to continue to play that way we need TJ to continue to play that way you know and we’ll be fine you were healthy with Boston when you weren’t playing as much in he literally could not play last year what’s that feeling like of having to watch and then coming in and eventually playing uh you learn you look at the game differently um you just you pick up different nuances you understand the importance and it’s you know sometimes it’s a wakeup call of like gosh this is you know I miss it and you take some things for granted and when it’s taken away from you it’s you know you’re just that much hungrier to get out there so Obie said that TJ is a pest is that a good description of how his style of play is what is it about him that he can turn a game around like you said it doesn’t look like he’s going to be a guy that produces a four nothing run or gets a bucket non-stop man that’s TJ non-stop always going giving 100% like that’s who he is as a person aaron you’ve been a key piece defensively this postseason what’s your focus like heading into game four um you know continue to make life tough for those guys um continue on you know talk to my teammates my teammates got my back on defense and giving them giving them different reads making it hard and you guys have talked a lot about accountability and holding yourselves each other accountable what’s how does the coaching staff kind of create an environment that makes that work uh I think it’s it’s just grown over the past three seasons with you know the group that’s been here just knowing who each other are um just being so close and understanding that we know how to get the most out of each other and we we we do that how long did it take for you guys to get to like say whatever you wanted to say in the basically game that it was going to be taken the right way couldn’t tell you i don’t know it just it was uh just happened naturally what state uh I can’t give away all my secrets man but I start inside the out um inside to out and I just focus on my rhythm my confidence and you know believe every shot it takes going to thank you do you prefer the quicker turnound between game three and maybe just one day you prefer that there’s only one day between game three and game four or do you like having more days um I’m kind of indifferent honestly i enjoy having two days if it’s a travel like if you ever got to fly then that’s better but yeah playing every other day is just looking forward to the games always huge huge huge huge I said it earlier I wish I could have seen uh what it looked like outside gamebridge before and after the game I wanted to see how rowdy it was but the fan the fans in here were rocking we’re going to need them rocking again tomorrow they made a big difference for us in the game and we’re going to need them to make another big difference tomorrow what can you say about yourself and your team your teammates and how there’s like this will down the stretch defensively what does that all come from especially in this postseason um we just we’re just a resilient group you know we understand what the game needs we answer the call um and we just do it time and time again and we just fight for each other i think when things get tough you know we just look at the guy next to us and understand what it means to them and we just fight for the next man more than we fight for ourselves last question here was talking about even he’s aware of even like this point spread and how you guys are continuously counted out how much have you guys used that both as individuals right from your previous destinations but also going into each of these uh we just live I mean we just we’ve learned to love the space we live in we’ve lived in it for so long it feels like like that’s just the norm for us at this point so I don’t look at it any differently i’ve never expected to be the favorite so that’s just life for me at this point honestly yeah thanks y’all sh more frustrated than almost any defender has all season what the key to that i mean it’s it’s a team effort trying to play hard make it tough on him be defense and just try to make it work he seems to be emotionally frustrated as well i know you guys have a history together but what are you doing did you know what buttons to push or I don’t necessarily know if he’s emotionally frustrated i mean guy’s pretty even kill and um he’s been through a lot so he’s the MVP of the league not going to do much to kind of sway that a lot of lot of history playing together a lot of uh you know watching from afar seeing each other’s success um definitely definitely a guy who’s who’s set the pace for Canadian basketball and guy who’s got a lot of lot of game that people can learn from so I definitely admire from far you talked about making him more you guys are picking him up higher uh than before in the series this time he’s picked up a lot on the other end of the floor how much do you think those body blows uh 10 to 12 in terms of like fatigue throughout the game um I think we’re trying to make it tough on them you know the the biggest thing is just being persistent trying to make it tough on them it’s a team job you know we got to all be locked in and tied together on that side of the floor to get it done drew how much of your pestiness comes from yourself how much have you learned from playing with TJ um I think it’s uh a little bit of both i’ve definitely watched TJ a lot and seeing how he’s impacted the game and how he’s been instrumental to his own success and and our team success and um I’ve also felt like I’ve had a little bit of that in me just growing up and wanting to be competitive and and taking those battles a little person what makes those inbound steals possible when other teams knows that something he’s going to do and he can still get the 3 four five lead um not really sure you just uh see Sneaky with it and uh got a good feel for it and uh a lot of experience a lot of tries probably how long is this game for for you guys you can make 3-1 series at the same time OKC can regain the home court advantage how is this game for you guys no I mean each game in the in the playoffs is is important you know we’re coming in with the same mentality to play hard um and stay together what makes your transition defense so effective it’s been great all particularly in this series um I think our whole game plan of how we play with pace um can deter transition defense at times but just being locked in tied together understand that’s is a point of emphasis very effective for you guys i think he has the most points scored in the finals three games man without a free throw ever say it again harris has the most points scored in the finals three games man without a free throw what do you make of how he’s been you know scoring um he probably could have got a free throw i mean he been times he got fouled but uh he does a good job of of making it work without having to to draw fouls you know he gets in the paint sprays out to guys and score from everywhere so uh he just does a great job orchestrating our offense austin Rivers on our podcast said that you guys the best next mentality team in the league where no matter what happens you’re always on the next fight how long did it take to develop that kind of mentality on the next game i think um the amount of time we’ve been together you know we’ve built that trust and um we’ve been in a lot of situations where we’ve had to rely on each other down the stretch to make a game game happen so uh over time Andrew what motivated you guys to change how you recovered Shay and having picking him up 94 ft you’re denying him after eight um I mean I think he led the all time scoring for first two games um we didn’t didn’t necessarily switch it up as much as people think to be honest we did it better were Were you surprised he wasn’t uh trying to get open from you more when you were picking him up at this end and he just got you like point to Jay-Z not a lot of those i mean uh no not sure what did you make rick said he wasn’t feeling great yeah he fought through he fought through he wasn’t feeling great waking up um knew he was going through that throughout the game and I think maybe started off a little slow but made big plays for us throughout the game and persevered can you talk about what the crowd did for this extra loud it’s my first time here so it’s huge it was the best game I’ve played in here it was just a little one 2% louder a little one 2% more passion in the building um it was fun to be a part of and we know how how important our fans are for us do you as a player you actually feel it or you stay in the moment that you get to feel you try to stay in the moment but you’re going to naturally feel the way it tries to swift switch momentum but um it was great for us and and we need we need that six man are you making a name for yourself in the league with the defense you play in this series i’m not really too worried about making a name for myself i’m trying to win games and try to play hard and impact winning as much as possible um yeah

Rick Carlisle, Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, Bennedict Mathurin, Ben Sheppard, Obi Toppin, T.J. McConnell, Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard spoke with the media after practice on Thursday.

0:00 – Rick Carlisle
8:22 – Tyrese Haliburton
16:28 – Pascal Siakam
21:25 – Bennedict Mathurin
29:14 – Ben Sheppard
33:34 – Obi Toppin
42:07 – T.J. McConnell
50:52 – Aaron Nesmith
1:00:00 – Andrew Nembhard