1
00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,560
Speaker 1: Em it's Matt Ross, thanks for spending some time with us.

2
00:00:03,399 --> 00:00:05,599
Do you just flush the game film out? You get

3
00:00:05,639 --> 00:00:07,599
rid of the statuet as fast as possible? Up looking

4
00:00:07,599 --> 00:00:09,039
at that game against Denver a couple of nights ago,

5
00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:11,039
how do you how do you take take away from

6
00:00:11,039 --> 00:00:12,720
that contest against the Nuggets?

7
00:00:14,119 --> 00:00:15,960
Speaker 2: No, you look at the third quarter and see what

8
00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:18,480
happened for us to go down by that large of

9
00:00:18,519 --> 00:00:21,280
a deficit after you know, fifty three to forty seven

10
00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:23,800
first half where we missed a lot of wide open shots,

11
00:00:24,399 --> 00:00:26,879
made some mistakes and turnovers, and you know, still hold

12
00:00:26,879 --> 00:00:29,320
them to fifty three and would be within striking range

13
00:00:29,839 --> 00:00:32,159
obviously with the Lake three by Brown to put them up,

14
00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:34,600
to put them up six. What happened in the third quarter,

15
00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:37,240
And that's what we really focused on today, is it?

16
00:00:37,799 --> 00:00:40,280
Speaker 1: And it's tough because you run through superstars every time

17
00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:42,000
you played. You say, all right, we held in the

18
00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:44,479
jokich Is sixteen points. We should be in a much

19
00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:47,799
more competitive situation. Does the aggravation come in to say, well,

20
00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:49,640
if a team's got two stars, you got to do

21
00:00:49,679 --> 00:00:51,000
the best you can to stop I mean, you were

22
00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:53,799
able to stop Jokic. Murray unfortunately had a big game offensively.

23
00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:57,520
Speaker 2: Well yeah, I mean that's the tandem that you always

24
00:00:57,560 --> 00:00:59,560
have to worry about with them. But you know, he

25
00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:01,799
got a lot late as well, and the game was

26
00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:03,479
kind of out of hand. So we did a decent

27
00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:05,920
job overall. But you can't let you know, Cameron Johnson

28
00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,799
have seventeen and Brown have nineteen and Hardaway fourteen off

29
00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:12,719
the bench, as well as Valentinas with twelve. So just

30
00:01:12,719 --> 00:01:14,599
too much scoring overall. You got to kind of pick

31
00:01:14,599 --> 00:01:16,439
your poison how you're going to go after Yo Kitschers,

32
00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:18,599
Just to go after him and let him facilitate for

33
00:01:18,599 --> 00:01:21,079
everybody else, or you know, guarding one on one and

34
00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:24,120
he'll be more of a scoring mentality, and so too

35
00:01:24,159 --> 00:01:26,239
much of both. He scored and got a triple double,

36
00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:28,000
but other guys scored at a too higher rate.

37
00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:32,439
Speaker 1: For sure, any logical thinking basketball fan knows the stats

38
00:01:32,439 --> 00:01:35,120
from the three point range were a one off free throws,

39
00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:37,640
especially the three point numbers. What do you take it

40
00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:39,959
as a coach to go, well, it's hard to make

41
00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:42,879
only four thirty three? Was there? Hesitation? Was there just

42
00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:46,359
trying to get get shots up just because the deficit

43
00:01:46,439 --> 00:01:47,920
was starting to grow in the second half a little bit.

44
00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:51,159
Speaker 2: No, I mean the first half we didn't make it

45
00:01:51,239 --> 00:01:53,359
that many either, So it wasn't like we started launching

46
00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:57,040
because of the deficit. You know, they went seventeen for

47
00:01:57,120 --> 00:01:58,840
thirty two. We go four for thirty four. They go

48
00:01:58,879 --> 00:02:00,719
sixteen for twenty two. From the rethrow line, we go

49
00:02:00,719 --> 00:02:04,000
five for fourteen. And so unless you're perfect on defense,

50
00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:06,920
those numbers are gonna be hard to overcome. But it

51
00:02:06,959 --> 00:02:08,400
was the you know, carbon copy of what they did,

52
00:02:08,479 --> 00:02:10,919
which is go after Kevin uh, you know guard, I'll

53
00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:12,719
be one on one with Jokic, go after him with

54
00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:16,000
other guys, and and if we watched the pregame film,

55
00:02:16,039 --> 00:02:17,960
what we showed was getting rid of the ball, taking

56
00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:19,479
care of it and getting wide open shots.

57
00:02:19,479 --> 00:02:21,240
Speaker 3: And that's the last game where we had the blood

58
00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:21,840
at their place.

59
00:02:22,319 --> 00:02:24,759
Speaker 2: We made those same exact looks, and so sometimes it's

60
00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:27,080
as simple as making them, But there are other things

61
00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:29,280
you can control. Obviously, the turnovers are too high, then

62
00:02:29,319 --> 00:02:32,960
getting out in transition, and then you know, defending personnel

63
00:02:33,039 --> 00:02:34,599
and losing some of the shooters.

64
00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:37,319
Speaker 4: One of the things we often talk about is talking

65
00:02:37,319 --> 00:02:40,120
heads in the media, is morale, body language, that type

66
00:02:40,159 --> 00:02:43,639
of stuff. How much does that matter? Is that something

67
00:02:43,759 --> 00:02:47,039
we make too much of it and just about trying

68
00:02:47,039 --> 00:02:49,400
to keep the guy's spirits up with I mean the

69
00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:51,680
good win of course against the Raptors, but the bad

70
00:02:51,719 --> 00:02:53,159
losses in San Antonio and Denver.

71
00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:56,879
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean our group, you know, we could see

72
00:02:56,919 --> 00:02:58,960
that the frustration creep in. I think we all have

73
00:02:59,039 --> 00:03:01,719
a higher expectation and the way we're playing right now,

74
00:03:01,879 --> 00:03:04,000
we're still everything's still in front of us and we

75
00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:06,120
kind of control our own destiny as far as how

76
00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:08,719
we want to finish the season and the standings and

77
00:03:08,719 --> 00:03:12,319
all those things. But definitely frustration in those games, specifically,

78
00:03:12,439 --> 00:03:14,919
especially when you you know, have a close game where

79
00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:17,039
you don't play that well honestly, and then we kind

80
00:03:17,039 --> 00:03:18,919
of lose lose hold of the rope in.

81
00:03:18,879 --> 00:03:19,439
Speaker 3: The second half.

82
00:03:19,479 --> 00:03:22,080
Speaker 2: And so yeah, we're always disappointed when we play, whether

83
00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:24,680
it's a bad quarter or a bad half, and you know,

84
00:03:24,919 --> 00:03:27,520
to get our heads down only down five or seven,

85
00:03:27,719 --> 00:03:28,879
you know, in the third quarter.

86
00:03:28,759 --> 00:03:29,560
Speaker 3: Is not a great sign.

87
00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:32,120
Speaker 2: But what our group does a good job of doing

88
00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:35,439
is bouncing back. And the night after San Antonio, obviously

89
00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:39,159
we played a good Toronto team that plays physical with energy,

90
00:03:39,159 --> 00:03:41,960
and our energy was totally different and so.

91
00:03:41,599 --> 00:03:42,960
Speaker 3: Same thing as the start of the Denver game.

92
00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:45,319
Speaker 2: You know, we were we had the right intentions, didn't

93
00:03:45,319 --> 00:03:47,360
make the shots, but I think we were very competitive there.

94
00:03:47,439 --> 00:03:49,599
So we can't put games behind us pretty quickly and

95
00:03:49,639 --> 00:03:50,919
bounce back to the next And we're going to do

96
00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:51,719
the same thing tonight.

97
00:03:52,199 --> 00:03:54,800
Speaker 4: Rockets head coach Emai A Dooka with us here on

98
00:03:54,879 --> 00:03:57,439
a Sports Talk seven ninety a bit of a swoon

99
00:03:57,479 --> 00:04:00,000
shooting the three four reed Shepherd.

100
00:04:00,039 --> 00:04:01,240
Speaker 1: Have you been happy with his looks?

101
00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:04,919
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean he's gonna you know, you're not always

102
00:04:04,919 --> 00:04:07,199
gonna make shots, but the quality of the look is

103
00:04:07,199 --> 00:04:09,759
the thing that counts. And we know he's gonna knock

104
00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:11,759
down a high percentage when he gets those looks.

105
00:04:11,759 --> 00:04:14,840
Speaker 3: And so that was that. You know, A Tari's had

106
00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:17,199
a little tough shooting stretch. Jabari had one early in

107
00:04:17,199 --> 00:04:18,800
the season.

108
00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:21,319
Speaker 2: Out he's gone through his things and so making shots

109
00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:23,680
is an art for sure. And then the more consistent

110
00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:25,399
you could be, the better will be. But guys are

111
00:04:25,399 --> 00:04:27,040
gonna have as many slumps here and there, and you

112
00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:29,920
got to impact the game other ways. You know, still

113
00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:32,000
play defense, still move the ball and do the things

114
00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:33,959
to get yourself going, which is you know, in the

115
00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:35,839
case of some of our bigger wings, crash the glass,

116
00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:38,800
get on transition, turn defense to offense, and you see a.

117
00:04:38,759 --> 00:04:41,319
Speaker 3: Guy like Jabari bounce back. Because of those things, you

118
00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:42,560
have two players.

119
00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:44,839
Speaker 1: Reid's playing the most minutes in his life, probably in

120
00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:46,879
this one season. Tari has not been in a long

121
00:04:46,879 --> 00:04:49,000
stretch of being able to count on for him. In

122
00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:51,839
matter of fact, he's played fifteen straight games. What is

123
00:04:51,879 --> 00:04:54,759
the advice to each one of those two guys individually

124
00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:57,399
the rest of the way, knowing that, hey, we need you,

125
00:04:57,399 --> 00:04:59,319
our depth is not as good as it is. You

126
00:04:59,399 --> 00:05:01,160
got to come through for us here. I know you're

127
00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:03,199
going through a lot of minutes, most you've played in

128
00:05:03,199 --> 00:05:05,720
a while, but man, every single night it feels like

129
00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:07,439
there's a flip in the standings car depending on one

130
00:05:07,439 --> 00:05:08,319
individual matchup.

131
00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:12,319
Speaker 2: Yeah, the first thing is everybody's going through that at

132
00:05:12,319 --> 00:05:14,839
this time of season. It goes quickly after all Star

133
00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:17,680
breaks and right before all Star breaks. You know, the

134
00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:19,439
dog days of the season you have to push through.

135
00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:22,160
And so for young guys, you know Read not playing

136
00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:23,800
a lot of minutes last year, it's this first time

137
00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:26,720
for him. But you know, be aggressive, be confident, but

138
00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:28,959
also pay attention to detail and all the little things

139
00:05:29,079 --> 00:05:30,839
that you can do to impact the game. And so

140
00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:33,480
with Tari, you know, his health is much better. He's

141
00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:35,120
playing in the back to backs, like you said, and

142
00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:37,800
although you're having your ups and down shooting, you know,

143
00:05:37,879 --> 00:05:39,800
Tari isn't relying on that only to.

144
00:05:41,759 --> 00:05:42,439
Speaker 3: Affect the game.

145
00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:45,319
Speaker 2: And so for them, it's just continue to take advantage

146
00:05:45,319 --> 00:05:47,680
of your matchups. Like I always say, I'm in out

147
00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:50,160
for and Kevin are gonna draw the main defenders per night,

148
00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:51,920
and we want the other guys to dominate the matchups.

149
00:05:51,959 --> 00:05:53,199
Speaker 3: And for the most part, they do.

150
00:05:53,199 --> 00:05:56,600
Speaker 1: That all right, New Orleans in the night. That twenty

151
00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:59,279
five point loss still kind of unsettling the way they

152
00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:01,759
got to us New Orleans earlier this year. Does that

153
00:06:01,879 --> 00:06:03,560
is that that game was so long ago?

154
00:06:03,639 --> 00:06:04,000
Speaker 3: Does that?

155
00:06:04,399 --> 00:06:06,160
Speaker 1: Is that thought about much? Or do you go, you

156
00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:08,079
know what, we have so many games coming up and

157
00:06:08,079 --> 00:06:09,920
so many games have just played that we don't think

158
00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:11,800
about a game a random game earlier in the season.

159
00:06:13,439 --> 00:06:15,160
Speaker 2: Oh, I mean, it's a very different team now what

160
00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:16,360
they're doing and who they're playing.

161
00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:18,399
Speaker 3: But you know, we look back on a lot of

162
00:06:18,439 --> 00:06:18,839
those games.

163
00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:21,480
Speaker 2: Has missed opportunities for us obviously, be having that big

164
00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:25,319
lead and losing overtime against them, and so for us,

165
00:06:25,319 --> 00:06:27,480
it's it's continued to play the right way heading down

166
00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:30,759
the stretch, regardless of the opponent. And they're playing really

167
00:06:30,759 --> 00:06:32,480
good basketball right now. They're seven and three in their

168
00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:35,480
last ten. They got Fears and Queen coming off the

169
00:06:35,519 --> 00:06:37,680
bench now, so they're playing more veteran lineups out there

170
00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:41,240
with Dejontay Murray coming back and Williamson, outside of missing

171
00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:43,879
one game, has played you know, the most games in

172
00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:45,439
a row of his career, and so he's playing at

173
00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:47,959
high level at the five now, and so still a challenge.

174
00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:49,639
Speaker 3: Still talented guys out there, and we have to come

175
00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:51,199
ready to play. Thank you for the visit.

176
00:06:51,199 --> 00:06:52,000
Speaker 1: We'll see you later tonight.

177
00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:53,839
Speaker 3: We appreciate it. Thank you,