Draymond, Poole x Coach Kerr Previews Warriors/Kings Playoff Match Up | April 13, 2023

Did you guys get a lot of good work in today and how did Andrew continue to progress? Yeah, today was a much lighter day after the scrimmage yesterday. So we continued to go through our game plan and kind of went through a lot of half court stuff but no scrimmage today. So it was a good day. Andrew looks great. He's feeling good and ready to go. No, to be blunt, I think where we are at this stage, after a decade of this for the core guys, it's just about having an opportunity to win another title and we've given ourselves that chance and the circumstances are different every year and there's no need for any motivation this year in terms of seeking a reason to be motivated. I think trying to go back to back is all the motivation we need. Q just has a way of connecting with people on a deeper level than just the game. I think he and Clay share a lot of the same interests in life outside of basketball and I know they've bonded in Baja a couple of times together during all-star break. So I think everyone is sort of drawn to Q and tends to open up to him because he's got a good outlook on life. Steve, we've watched J.K. sort of develop exponentially almost it seems at times. How would you describe his development this year and what has been the process that you've been able to observe? Well, I think he's doing great given that he started playing basketball late in his life relatively speaking and this is just his second year in the league playing on a championship team with a lot of expectations. That's not easy so I think he's handled everything really well. A lot of ups and downs but the improvement has been consistent and that's the main thing. He continues to work, he continues to get better and I think he'll be dramatically better a couple years from now but where he is now is somebody who can can help us win and he's an important part of our team. Where's he made the biggest leap? I think his on-ball defense has really taken a leap. He's really a guy we lean on to guard the big wings in the league, the tougher matchups. He's just started to understand the nuances of guarding the best players, understanding their tricks. His rookie year you knew he was going to get called for a foul because he would just be slightly out of position and his opponent would take advantage of that. Now he understands what's happening before his opponent can actually draw that foul so he's doing a much better job of just making it tough on his guy to score. It doesn't change our routine at all. We'll bus to Sacramento tomorrow and we'll stay and bus back on Monday but it is a huge relief not to get on an airplane. It's just easier not to cross a timeline, not to feel any jet lag. Basically just a quick trip and back. I guess it's like for anybody else, you always feel a little bit better when you don't have to go on an airplane. I think that's the feeling. Yeah that's important. Playoff experience is always important. Obviously our core guys have a ton of it but even for the younger guys like J.K. and Moses and Gary, going through what we went through last year is a good reminder to them that if you're fortunate enough to move on it's a two-month journey. There's going to be a lot of ups and downs within that journey and we're going to need everybody. Certain games are going to go one person's way and you have to stay ready for the next game, the next series. All of those things were learning experiences for those guys last year and to have that experience is key going into this year. Steve, Draymond described when Mike Brown would talk about defense with such passion, sweating and just an intensity. He liked offense too but a different face and intensity when it came to talking defense. Did you see that regularly from Mike? He's always been a defensive-minded coach and someone who takes great pride in the details and the fundamentals and he's very passionate about it. He did a great job last year as our defensive coordinator. He was a huge help on the offensive side as well. Mike was very passionate, not afraid to laugh at himself, had a great vibe with the players and the staff. No surprise that he's doing what he's doing in Sacramento this year. Steve, do you have any clarity yet on whether Wiggins could be on track for a normal workload for game one or do you have any sense of that? By normal, 30 minutes. It's tough to say because I got to talk to Rick to see if there will be a minutes restriction. I think it sort of depends on how he feels after tomorrow and going into Saturday. On the one hand, Wiggs is one of those guys who just doesn't seem to fall out of shape, doesn't seem to get tired. He's just naturally a gifted athlete. On the other hand, he hasn't played in 10 weeks, whatever it is, so maybe the game will dictate it. We'll just have to play it by ear. Jordan, what was your reaction when you heard that your guy GP2 was coming back to y'all? It was good news, especially on the trade deadline. It went down to the last day. Just getting somebody back that was familiar, who helped us majorly last year in our run. We knew the type of fit that he would be. Me personally, I was just really excited. What does he bring to you guys? A different level of competitiveness, physicality, defense, a burst of energy. He brings a lot to our team. Being able to have him back, and he just fits seamlessly with us. I think he's been showing that with the games that we've played together. Jordan, what did Mike Brown mean to you as a young player, and just the way he relates to guys, his spirit, just everything about the way he does his job? Yeah, Mike helped me a lot my first couple years. I was able to ask him questions offensively, defensively. He was a big part of my development growing up, or coming up the first couple years. It's exciting to see what he's done with the Kings this year. I'm really happy. Were there any specific moments he was there for you, or a specific thing he did to influence your development? Yeah, he did a lot of stuff, major stuff. I just mean a couple weeks. I'll probably give you a more in-depth answer. Reflecting back on the playoffs last year, how much do you think that your veterans create a sense of chaos, and how much do you think you thrived in that chaos as a team? On the court? Yes. Yeah, for it being my first run last year, I didn't really know what to expect. I knew that the intensity would be higher. It would be a different level of basketball. It's almost like control chaos. If anything, you feel it more than you see it. Just like how possessions matter, or play calls, or good shots, or fouls, or turnovers, or whatever it is. You just feel the magnitude from just everyone, everybody, just the situation. Honestly, it's like a good feeling. If anything, you're excited. Those who like to play in the bright lights thrive in situations like that and look forward to them. Sheena helped remind me what my question was. Last season, you, Gary, Andrew, Otto, a ton of players had never experienced the playoffs before JK, Moses. This season, think all but the rookies and two-way players have playoff experience. Now, how beneficial is that as a group to have a collective understanding of those differences, of the different level of intensity and focus the playoffs require? We were able to rely on our vets last year. They've just been in this situation in these playoffs and the finals so many times that it's almost like an overload of experience in which you can kind of almost ask them anything, any scenario, any question, and they'll have the answer to it. We were able to do that last year, but after getting our run a lot of the young guys and most of our team being in the playoffs, we kind of got our own experiences and we got our own lessons that we were able to learn from last year. We kind of apply that to this year's run, but it's even still really good being able just to continue to ask them questions and there will probably be different scenarios and situations throughout the course of this run that we'll need help with. It's really good to have a year under our belt with a lot of different game situations, scenarios, and being able to play all of the maximum amount of games last year in the playoff run really helped. I'm excited and I think everybody in the locker room is too. Jordan, how far has JK come from where he was when you first got here, when you first saw him, to where he is now? What's made him where he is now? What's gotten him there? I think we know how talented JK is. Everybody knows in the organization, the fans, the rest of the world knows. Development just comes with time, opportunity. He was able to play more this year. I think we were able just to see what it's like when he's able to be a focal point. He's out there to impact the games with his defense, with his athleticism, and the plays that he makes. It just takes time to develop and we're seeing him come into his own and make big plays out there on the court and in big moments. It's only up from here. As a champion now, do you change at all how you enter the playoffs? Did you learn anything last year that makes you do anything different as far as preparation? That's a great question. I only ask great questions because last year was my first year and everything that I did felt comfortable. It worked. We were able to win a championship. I think I have the foundation of what I want to do that I'll carry over from last year. I may ask a few questions just because I have a little bit more insight and experience on how it'll go, but I think I'll just stick to my basics. I guess my fundamentals that I had last year. Maybe tweak it a little bit for the better. Not sure. Ask me in a couple days. Great question. Jordan, just in terms of the lighter travel, how would you explain the difference between what your body goes through on a bus ride and a plane ride? Well, I think our bus ride is only like an hour from SF to Sacramento as opposed to taking a 30-minute bus ride to the airport, two-hour flight, 30-minute bus to the hotel, whatever it is, recovery, blah, blah, blah, do whatever you got to do. And then after the game, you would have to take a 30-minute drive there, and then you're on the plane for two hours, so you can't recover for those two hours. Then you got to drive back. You're getting in late at night. Games are probably over around, I don't know, 10, 30, 11. Probably not getting to bed until 1.30, 2.00. You're probably still up from the game as opposed to driving 45 minutes. You can get home, get to your recovery, get some sleep. Probably still have a couple extra hours in your day to kind of like settle down later after the game as opposed to ending your night at like 2.30 in the morning. So in the playoffs, whenever you can minimize travel, I think we really appreciate that for sure. Following up on Marcus, it does seem you're more animated and free and just comfortable. I don't know. Is that a stretch? No, no, no, in terms of what? Just animate, you know. On the court, off the court? Absolutely, on the court. When you make a big play, and I don't know, maybe Steph's celebrations have sort of rubbed off on you. I don't know, but that's just an observation, and I may be off base. No, you're right. I've always been like that, though. I've always been like interactive with the crowd. It was a bit different in school, you know, just because it's college, and you know, you gotta abide by the rules, you know, but in the league, you got more freedom. You know, it's almost like you got a little more of an entertainment aspect to it. You can get the crowd involved. Going into timeouts, you can, you know, shake a, you know, a fan's hand, get everybody excited. You need all the positive energy that you can get, but I've always been like that, you know, try to, you know, be electric, and give the fans something exciting to watch, and now that we can be so close and interact with them, I think it was taken away playing during COVID. There were no fans there, and so, you know, you can turn up after a big play, but everybody's at home, so not seeing everybody on the court, it makes you appreciate it a bit more. Can you imagine, too, what that means to the fan who you nearly fall onto, or you shake their hand? No, for sure. That stuff lasts a lifetime. No, that's why they got them seats, though. That's why they're so close. That's true. Did you ever have a player do that for you when you were a kid? I can never get seats that close, but I would wait after the game. I would wait after the game, how a lot of, like, you know, kids and fans do now, and I get a little bit of a sweaty handshake or so. Who's the best one? Big Michael Red fan growing up, so whenever I go to the Bucs games, Michael Red would be there, Brandon Jennings, Charlie Bell, a lot of throwbacks, a lot of throwbacks. Okay, on a slightly more serious topic, what did Looney do all those months ago to keep this team from fracturing, and potentially, just as a voice of reason, as a steadying force, that he's been now for years, but these last couple of years, he's played every game and just, you know, kept things peaceful, perhaps? Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's just extremely steady and really good. He's like, stability for us. I think people don't realize, like, how long Looney has been with the team and with the organization. He was here through the entire run, so he's a part of this, you know, as much as anybody, you know, and being a younger guy coming in and, you know, just being able to ask some questions, and him being a leader, and him seeing the things that he's seen over the course of the years, and being in the playoffs, and many important games. He's extremely knowledgeable, and I think he kind of takes on, like, the big brother aspect, the enforcer role, kind of like steady stability factor in our locker room, and he does a tremendous job, and a lot of people go to him if we need, you know, questions or something to talk about, and he's really, he's a really good outlet for us, for sure, on and off the court. You and Loon both went All-82 this year, and I know how much pride he takes in that. How much pride do you take in that, and how much of that is that, you know, that Milwaukee Midwestern kind of mentality? No, for sure. I joke with him all the time and tell him that if it wasn't for COVID last year, I wouldn't have missed those six games. I would have played All-82 with him, but, I mean, it just kind of shows the testament of, you know, our personality, who we are as people, where we come from, like, when it's six inches of snow outside, and it's negative 10 degrees, we're still going to school, we're still going to work, so, I mean, it's nothing to, you know, try to get up and get your body right, and go out there and play the game that we love, and if we're available, and we feel like we can help our team win games, we'll be out there, and it's just kind of been that way since, you know, we were kids, for me at least, and just the way we grew up, so I can't speak on other people, but it feels good to, you know, go out there, play 82, and give your team a chance to win every night. When you look at Klay Thompson and just kind of everything that he's been through in this journey over the last year and a half of, you know, getting his legs back under him, playing his first full complete season, and he clips 300 threes for the first time, he set a career high for rebounds, I mean, just being a teammate, and you getting to observe that, like, what are what are some of those moments that you look at, and you're like, Klay is Klay, and he's kind of doing the thing. Doing the thing. That is what he's doing, is the thing. Congrats to him, first of all, for hitting 300 this year, and, you know, being a select few to do it, but you know, I think what makes Klay so special is the, you know, the chip that he plays with, after all the accomplishments that he's had, and the championships, and the rings, and it's really special to see him want more, you know, and find ways to stay motivated, and there's nothing I love more than, you know, people shutting other people up, and Klay did that the entire year, and people were talking down on his name, and, you know, not only this past season, but two years ago, and for him to come back and play at an extremely high level, and, you know, accomplish the thing that he's accomplished is, it's amazing, and it's a huge testament to who he is, and, you know, I never once was a doubter, and I, you know, I've been supporting him since day one, so just being able to make him, see him make other people eat their words, it's pretty cool. What is his hunger, and just his drive do for the rest of you guys, and help fuel and motivate as you guys prepare for this postseason run? Yeah, I think what makes this team special is that we have a lot of guys who have a pretty high competitive level, competitive edge, you know, a lot of guys want it, you know, and just to see Klay come in, and, you know, lock in, whether it's in practice, or see how laser focused he is in the third quarter, or the fourth quarter of a game, you know, throughout the course of the year, he hit really big shots, he made big plays, so it's just, it's exciting, you know, just to be back in the playoffs, and, you know, I think we have a lot of guys on our team who are ready to step up, rise to the occasion. How has it been to have Andrew Wiggins back, and how has he looked, especially in your guys' scrimmage yesterday? It's fantastic to have Wiggs back, my guy, I'm excited to get back on the court with him. I will not be the person to tell you how he's looked behind the scenes on the court, but I am excited to be out there on the court with him, and, you know, have him come back and play with our team, and he's such a big part to our team, and we'll need him to make a really big run, and it's exciting for sure. Hey Jordan. What's up? What's the biggest thing that you've learned from observing Steph, in terms of how he takes care of his body, in terms of his mental, when you're thinking, what can I do to still be playing at this level when I'm 35? What do you look at Steph and say, like, man, this is, like, my takeaway? How meticulous he is with his routine, and how consistent he is. I think that was something that I took from it, you know, just to see him out of his routine, and be consistent throughout the course of the year, throughout the course of two years, throughout the course of, you know, his career at this point. Just seeing how he does it over and over daily, and, you know, never taking days off, whether that's with his body, or recovery, or, you know, obviously performance. And I just showed you that the, you know, you can't skip any steps if you want to be great, and yeah. R2 told me I was only supposed to be over five minutes. It's a scam. Just, I guess, start off, like, just overall thoughts on this series against the Kings. It's a great, you know, very good team we're playing against. They have a great offense, you know, so it'll be important for us to take care of the ball on the offensive end, and make sure we can get our defense set, and not playing against them in transition. They're really good when you allow them to play in transition, and not against the set defense every play, so it'll be important for us. What we do on the offensive end will be very critical to what we're able to do on the defensive end. After the Portland game, you were talking about how you learned anything over these last 10 years. It's that, you know, legacies, things, reputations are built in the playoffs, not the regular season. So, I guess, heading into this postseason, how much are you taking what happened in the regular season, saying either that's not us, or there's still another level? And then also, I guess, I mean, there's still teams around this league that really do fear you guys heading into the postseason, so how does, I guess, your reputation just lead to that? It's huge to have that reputation going into the playoffs, because, you know, people can act the way they want to act, and you can make your mouth say anything, but it ultimately shows up when someone is a little bit fearful. As far as the regular season goes, I think for us, like, I feel a totally different energy now that the regular season is over, and, you know, some of the issues that we had during the regular season, they just don't go away. Like, you still have to correct those, but, you know, the focus level in the playoffs is totally different. The preparation is totally different. So, you lean into that a little more, and you lean into the know-how. Like, you know what to do. A lot of these teams don't know how, and so when you can lean into that and be confident in that, I think, you know, that's an added bonus for us. I thought you was trying to age me two years, Melissa. I think it's a little bit of both. I think, you know, the work that you see him put in on his body each and every day, you continually watch that grow, but then also has watched him grow mentally and get sharper and sharper. How he approaches things, how he thinks about things has continued to get sharper, and, you know, when you look at the guys who's been able to do it at that level for that long, I think those are the two most important things, and then just his will and desire to win. That hasn't waned one bit, and if anything, it's gotten stronger, and so I think it's that. You know, a lot of times you see guys lose the love for it, lose the love for the preparation, you know, and for him, I've watched that get stronger. You know, you start to see guys take shortcuts, like, man, I don't feel like doing that today, and it's just continued to get stronger and stronger for him, and so it's no surprise that he's still able to play at the level he's playing at. Dre, what makes the Kings such a good transition team offensively, and although they're not the best, do you think? They are Fox fast. Really, really, really fast. Possibly the fastest guy in the NBA, so you start there. They have shooters around him, so you got guys running to the three-point line, which then allows the floor to stay space for him to drive in the lanes, and then if nothing's there, they have an incredible playmaker trail in the play who's catching and going into DHOs and Sabonis, making reads. I think he's averaging, what, six and a half, almost seven assists this year. A lot of that comes out of the secondary break, and, you know, but when you got a guy like De'Aaron Fox who's pushing the ball and flattens out the defense, then it allows him to work behind the play and get guys open, and so it's a mixture of things. I think they do a really good job of leaning into their strengths, playing to their guys' strengths, and that's, you know, a few of the things that allows them to be so successful in transition. What about defensively? They're not the best defensive team, but they're number one in opponents. Fast break points allow them. Well, Mike is very crazy about transition defense. That's one that he harps on, and that shows the discipline of a team, you know, because everyone talks about it, but, you know, when you say, like, oh man, they're not the best team yet, they're giving up the fewest transition point. You know, defense sometimes come down to a particular skill set as well, you know, so some guys don't have that skill set, you know, but you do what you can. I think, you know, the transition defense is more indicative of the commitment, the coaching, and then also what's happening on the offensive end, you know, because you're taking care of the ball, you're not giving up as many opportunities. Obviously, they have the most potent offense in NBA history. That'll help your transition defense because there's not as many opportunities, so I think that's as important. When it comes to Klay Thompson, you know, we've talked to him and seen this journey that he's been on, but you've obviously been at a different level. He's average career high in rebounds, he's knocked down 303s in the season for the first time. Are there certain moments in the season where you've seen Klay and you've been like, that's Klay, and like, what were those moments and what are you looking for when you look at, like, this new version of Klay? I think more so than it just being a particular moment is how much more consistent he's gotten. You know, early on, he would have a game and then you're like, oh man, that's great, and then he'll have a game where he just can't get it going, and I think that's a part of the build-up, right? Like, as you're working yourself back, doing that night in and night out, like, that's what separates superstars from just average guys in this league. It's like, everybody has something that they can get going on a particular, on a given night, but can you do that night in and night out? And that's been a part of his journey back, and so I think for me, it's more, excuse me, it's more so him doing it now on a more consistent basis, as opposed to, like, we've seen him have 50 a few times this year, or two or three times. We've seen him have 40 a few times. As opposed to, like, singling out one game, I think it's just the consistency of being Klay Thompson every single night. Draymond, Andrew was obviously essential to your title last season. How confident are you that he can get back to that level of last year's playoffs sooner rather than later? You hope so. You know, a fairly young guy who's always in shape, so you expect, you know, you expect him to come back and play at the level that he's played at. I know it's important for us, and we'll need it, so it's definitely what you expect. And you obviously had a, have a really good relationship with Mike Brown. How have you personally felt his absence this season? His voice, number one, just, you know, his voice, especially when it comes to the defensive side of the ball, he's super intense, and when you have someone that intense, you feel that. You know, you feel that on a daily basis. It's accountability. You know, anyone that's held you accountable to something in your life, you feel that to a different extent than someone who just lets you get by. And, you know, not that our coaching staff now will let us get by, but, you know, some people have that knack, you know, where you just hear their voice all the time, and that's Mike. You know, I realized it years ago, just like, even when he was on the offense, when he would start talking about defense, he'd start dripping sweat, like getting all into it, and you're like, man, he's really passionate about that, and I think anything in life, like if someone's passionate about something, you feel that passion no matter what. Everybody good? Everybody, y'all got what you're, yep, all right, no problem.