Dallas Mavericks Interviews: Miles Kelly and Josh Broghamer After Summer League Practice
just what did you see from him last night? Uh, I think more of the same what we saw in practice. I mean, you go back and watch his tape at Auburn, more of the same of that, too. Uh, couple of his shots didn’t go down early, but the one thing he’s done for us is continue to space the floor and shoot. And then I think you even saw it, one thing we hit on today was his ability to run the floor and get to the right spots. You know, Ryan Nemhard makes the big three at the end of the game, which is huge. But the guy who got him that shot was one Cooper going from defense to offense, but also Miles running to that corner and opening that floor up. We all know how floor spacing is super important, whether it’s in summer league or the G- League or the NBA. Uh, but his ability to stretch the floor and then get to those spots is something that he’s done a really good job for us. I know right now there’s a lot of excitement around him given out while he’s playing. How do you see him impacting the Mavericks potentially this season or beyond? Uh, I think again just what he does, shoot the basketball really well. I think we saw last night too, he’s a great rebounder. Um, so as the game turns into more isolation and switching and he has to guard his own and then come back and box out bigger guys to go get the ball, that’s something I think he can always help any team with. And then, you know, once he people are closing out to him, making plays off the dribble and doing stuff like that. So, uh, but shooting the basketball is something we keep encouraging him to do and uh, he does it at a high level. Last night you mentioned that you spent a lot of time watching your flag go to work last night. What was the message today to avoid that? Uh, today was more just do what we did in the second half. I think one thing we saw early uh talked about last night, I think we were two of 15 from three in the first half and when we kind of settled down, I think we were seven to 13 in the second half. So like just getting those same shots, getting the spots in the floor. Um, all these guys are really good basketball players first and foremost and them being able to create, you know, now instead of it’s one-on- four, one-on- five for Cooper, he’s playing more closeout basketball, getting to his spots and, uh, make it easier for him. But like I said, Cooper did a really good job of finding those guys early and then it kind of turned around in the second half of those guys playing basketball, finding each other as well. NBA had a large question for you, but like, you know, I don’t know, 10 years ago, like it was a smaller league and now it’s a really big league and you guys are one of the biggest teams in this big league. like what do you think about I guess that shift and kind of going back to like you know emphasis on just size? Yeah, I mean I think uh everybody wants guys who can dribble, pass and shoot and the bigger you are they can do that uh is always better uh for both sides of the floor and I think that’s something we have a huge advantage of going forward is um our size and then also just the talent with that size. So that’s something obviously uh uh we put a premium on here and it’s been really really good for us so far. I know you’ve asked an answer a lot about, you know, Cooper being aggressive, taking shots, being the, you know, the guy initiating offense. What I thought was interesting last night is he was like I he wasn’t sure whether he had their shot that many times before. You know, 21 shots. He did 22 one time in college. I’m just curious like, you know, how much of the aggressiveness is just like to get up shots and and whether there’s a specific number or whether that’s just like downhill and being aggressive. I think it’s like twofold. One, he just did a really good job of giving what the defense gave him. you know, when they’re going to switch it. They were putting their smalls on our centers and switching a lot. Um, as you saw, we called up uh certain defenders to go one-on-one against, and if they’re going to stay home and let him play one-on-one, those are really good shots for us. Uh, one thing I think that, um, we talked a lot about today and watched on film is just him getting into his spots with spacing. You know, like I said, we’ve had three, four practices really where the spacing is not perfect. Uh, once we get to the NBA season, spacing is a premium. Um, so that’s something where he’ll have more room to work to get to his spots. And I think that’s why he was able to be aggressive was uh, you know, just kind of what the defense gave him and gave him more shots versus at Duke, you know, I’m sure they’re putting two, three guys on the basketball. The paint’s a lot more crowded where he has to make those plays. Um, but last night they were letting him play oneonone and uh, we’ll take those shots all night long. The attention he gets, how much does that benefit guys like Miles and and Ryan? uh and by extension how it will help them once they get to the to that middle training field. I mean obviously a ton just one with the gravity you see you go back and watch the clips and guys are full denying him uh on the wing first play of the game they trapped him. I mean just the respect you get from that like that’s going to open the floor up for everybody else. Uh the other thing you see is they have to put their best defender on Cooper that means their second and third to best defenders are on those guys. Um, so that’s something, you know, those guys are used to having the best guys on them, especially a guy like Ryan who was the focal point of the offense uh in college. Now he’s able to playmake a lot more and be really aggressive himself because he’s going up those lesser defenders and more room to work. It’s probably going to be some point where he’s not the lineup. How does that change what you guys go off? Uh, I don’t think it really changes much at all, honestly. I mean, I think you saw last night a guy like Jordan Hall, we want him to come in and be aggressive. We don’t want him just to bring the ball up and pass and watch. Uh, you know, thought Gabe did a really good job. You’ll see some guys come off the bench for us that can get in the paint and score at will as well. Uh, we’re just trying to look at different lineups right now. But, um, that’s something that the way we play basketball and the way the Mets play basketball is we want to show what these guys can do with space and freedom, not tell them what to do or only throw it to one person. So, I think we’ll see a lot of the same stuff, just different names in the jerseys. Some of those Oh, yeah. Next man up. Exactly. Right. Will some of those guys didn’t see action last time now get their shot? Uh yeah, whether it’s tomorrow against the Spurs or going forward, I mean, we know we’re going to have five games no matter what. So, it’s kind of nice we’re able to plan out and uh you know, give guys different time. The one thing we just want to make sure of is when we give them time, we let them play. Uh we don’t want them to just have one three or four minute stretch where, you know, they miss one shot or don’t touch the ball and now that’s kind of all they’re judged off of. So, going forward, we’ll try to get those guys uh um some good run and then go from there. I know Jay Kidd’s kind of been around. He obviously talked to you before summer league. What’s his message been to you as a coach? Uh Jason’s the best. I mean, his message just kind of do what we do. We know what we do as an organization and you know, he’s super supportive and not only for coaches, but for players as well. So, I think for everyone, you just encourage him to, you know, you talked about with Cooper, make mistakes. Uh, you know, put yourself in uncomfortable position and try to do as much as you can because that’s only going to help us all grow. So, uh, he’s very consistent with what he talks about, whether it’s coaches, players, anybody else. He’s been great with that. Going back to Gabe, just talk about his shot. Gabe is uh, incredible is just helping everybody be better, whether it’s spacing the floor, guarding everybody, rebounding, running the floor. One thing we’ve had to be on him about is be aggressive and shoot. He’s a very good three-point shooter. He’s a very good playmaker, especially against closeouts. And he’s kind of been hesitant because he always wants to make that right play. But sometimes the right play for him is shoot the open shot. And I think last night obviously the beneficiary of everybody else collapsing on the ball. He gets those open shots and that kind of kept us in the game and got us going. So, uh, can’t say enough good things about him and just how he is that professional. Yeah, exactly. And that’s what he does. So, um, we all know he can go catch a lob and do all that stuff, but you know, his shot is just as good as anything else. Did you run any like situational thrills like or gate to get over? Uh, like I said, we’re very um, you know, multi-positional, interchangeable parts. So, all the stuff we run, multiple guys are in multiple positions. So, as you saw last night, Cooper sometimes is going to handle it. Other guys are going to set screens. Gabe sometimes will be the one rolling, sometimes he’ll be the one in the corner. So, putting those guys in different positions, I think now when they get to the game, uh, you know, they’re not something brand new for them. So, I think that’s something that we try to put emphasis on and shoot around and, uh, um, in practice this week. What were some things you saw on the defensive side that you can maybe take from last game going into this next? Uh, our two big fellas were about as good as it gets and Sharp and Cece. I mean, those guys protect everything. You know, offensive rebounding numbers wise is obviously a problem, but the reason that the offensive rebounds were there is they were taking so many of those mid-range and floaters. Those are some hard misses to clean up sometimes. Um, so I think we did a really good job of sending everything to those guys and those guys clean everything up. I mean, you saw guys missing layups, guys shooting it over the backboard just because those two guys are always around. So, uh, really, really proud and impressive how those two guys were, which was really good for us. I was looking at your game last night, just what was going right for you last night? Um, I mean, my job was was pretty easy. I mean, I, like I said, I have guys like Ryan and Cooper playmaking and it was all I had to do is knock the shots down and really hung my shot. Um, and like I said, my confidence is is is through the roof and I I rely on my work and all I do is make the shot. So, it was it was super easy game. What are you hoping to prove in summer week? Uh, just to show what type of player I am. Uh, to show kind of I’m I’m more than a shooter. Um, I can put the ball on the floor, play make for others. Um, but I can also space the floor and and my gravity allows other people to get open, too. How do you explain or compare the hype or the the energy from last night’s game to some of your games at Auburn? Man, the energy last night was crazy. I mean, we talked about it this morning. He one of the coaches like that was like an NBA playoff atmosphere last night. So, um, on top of the fact that it was so physical last night as well. So, um, that was that was definitely up there. I think I’ve I’ve had some big games at Auburn, but that by far my first NBA game of that magnitude, that that was up there for sure. Did you see anybody courtside or anything where you were like, “Oh, courtside. Um, I did I did see some uh YouTube creators that I seen. Um, I thought LeBron was there. I seen cuz I seen Savannah and his daughter. So, I thought LeBron was there, but other than that, no, I didn’t I didn’t I wasn’t looking around too much. Who are some of the NBA players you try to take stuff from and just incorporate to your game? Yeah, I think um guys like uh Contavius Cowell Pope uh being able to guard uh being able to knock down open shots, uh being able to set the tone defensively, honestly, and kind of just just be that connector for his team. I think somebody like that, he’s a Georgia guy, too. So, um super easy guy to connect with and learn from, for sure. I was going to say he was there last night. Did you get to talk to him at all? I seen him. I seen him. Of course, I didn’t get to talk to him a little bit, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be here for a while. So, I’ve talked to him. You mentioned some of the physicality. What are the biggest adjustments you have to make from the college level? I mean, right, the physicality. I mean, I I feel like I played in the most physical conference in in America last year, the SEC, but I mean, the NBA is is is a notch above that. So, uh just getting ready for that. I think it it kind of uh showed last night of of how physical this league is. I mean, the wrestler letting you play um and just getting ready for that and just being able to take bumps, being able to give bumps, stuff like that. So, I mean, it it was overall a great experience. How did you see Cooper kind of manage that point forward? Say that again. How do you see Cooper trying to kind of manage? I mean, he managed it really well. I mean, I think that that’s his game. I mean, he was he was very comfortable out there, although he didn’t shoot the ball the way he wanted to. I told him, I said, I mean, I mean, it’s not like you you you stopped shooting even though you weren’t hitting. I mean, you went five for 21. like that’s good. Like you know what I’m saying? So, um it’s going to be games like that and I think he did a very good job of of keeping his composure and not getting too high or too low. What have your impressions been of uh playing with Denmark? I mean it’s great. I mean he’s a he’s a he’s a shooter’s dream. I mean playing with a guy like that to be able to find you anywhere in the court. I mean it’s that’s perfect. I mean I was standing in the corner one time. Um I think he was taking this man off the dribble and he just he shot the ball up in the air and pass it to me in the corner late second. I was just ready for it. And just playing with a a point guard like that is just just super great for me. With Cooper getting so much attention here, does that in some ways help guys like you and I mean for sure. I mean, you got to think um the gravity he has out there on the court. Um it everybody’s keying in on him. So, uh it’s it’s allowing me and Ryan to be able to play our games, being able to create, being able to make shots, being able to put him in spots that that make him look good, stuff like that. So, um, of course, I mean, playing I mean, we’re playing with number one pick in the country. So, um, it definitely going to be like that. Kind of going back to being at Auburn, of course, you know, shooting like you said, but one thing I asked coach was what are the other skills that you’re good at? You mentioned your rebounding. So, just talk about, you know, you being like more athletic and physical and how to help with that. I mean, the thing is, I mean, being a guard, I mean, you have to you have to crack down the rebound because a lot of the bigs, how the league is, they’re fighting down low for for these rebounds. So, I think I take pride in going to get rebounds and and and my goal is to go out there every game is try try to get a double double every game. Uh try to get double digit rebounds. Um and just just set the tone on that on that end of the basket offensively and defensively. What’s up? Um, I just think our resilience and the way we fought. I think we we got hit with a lot of adversity. Uh, they they went up a lot of times. They hit a lot of big shots. Uh, Swider made some threes and and the refs made some calls that that that that weren’t in our favor, but I think we just fought the whole game. and and for a team to be this be the first time a team put together. Um like coach said, we we really only had like one or two guys playing the NBA on this team and and they had like six or seven. So, uh just being able to have that resiliency as this team, I think we’re really special for sure. Yep. Appreciate y’all.
Dallas Mavericks guard Miles Kelly and assistant coach Josh Broghamer spoke with reporters following Summer League practice. Kelly discussed his confidence as a shooter, rebounding mindset, and playing alongside Cooper Flagg and Ryan Nembhard. Broghamer addressed the team’s practice focus, Flagg’s offensive role, and how player development is being evaluated ahead of Las Vegas competition.
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