#latepost Warriors-Bucks pregame: Back at Chase! Giannis out (but we have views of him); Curry “fine”

Steph “rock solid”; “still time” to make a run; Jrue

Oops, I forgot to post this pregame and had too much on my plate. You can check out all our views on our YouTube channel. There’s a lot! Decided to go with Stephen Curry pregame for the article photo (which is a clickable video above).

So I’m back at Chase for Warriors-Bucks, so just gonna do a quick dump. You know the drill; visit our YouTube channel for all the views from inside Chase. And yeah, I actually did take notes again from Steve Kerr and Mike Budenholzer’s Zoom calls. Hopefully the camera crew guys yapping the background aren’t too loud on the videos!

KERR:

(I maybe missed the first question or two, maybe not?)

- pregame: “hack our way to a loss…you gotta make shots…all has to come together.”

- important game? “Idk if I’d call tonight’s matchup favorable…overall we have a great opportunity…basically a third of the season left…no reason why we can’t go on a run…climb up the standings…make a run.”

- frustration, lots of ironing out? “Not really, I mean, yeah everyone is disappointed but the circumstances are what they are and you just face what’s ahead of you…let’s try to handle our business and find our stride.”

- Bucks 3s, your off ball defense? “You’ve got Giannis and Jrue Holiday coming downhill…ton of ground to cover, you gotta be on point defensively.”

- GSW analytics? “We get a game report everyday from (?) Sidhu…we’re constantly asking (?) and his staff…lineup combinations…play types, what our efficiency ratings are…big part of what we do.”

- how odd to not know what kind of team you have: “definitely the first time that I’ve felt this way…I’m still a relatively young coach…first time the puzzle hasn’t come together…we had an amazing roster that fit perfectly…we knew how blessed we were…this year the puzzle has been much trickier…tried to move the pieces around and frankly it’s been very difficult…we gotta keep going, keep searching…for consistency…finally get on a run…I think there’s still time.”

- Jrue: “He’s so poised and strong and skilled, he never seems to be in a rush. I love his pace…he can turn on the jets…smooth…gets anywhere he wants…unbelievably smart…that’s what you really notice about his defense…knows what’s happening at all times.”

- Jrue evoked GSW (see our video on our channel for this!), Steph Klay Dray early, nurture culture: “continuity is sort of the baseline, it’s the constant that you see with great teams in any sport…I know that there are exceptions…such a fine line between winning and losing…culture and a style with several key players…just gets stronger…Iguodala and Andrew Bogut.”

- solving puzzle, coaches meetings:  “you’re talking about combinations, mainly…covering each other’s weaknesses…it’s been tougher to find momentum within all of that.”

- Steph minutes? “Yeah he’s fine.”

- Steph over the years: “exact same guy. Rock solid…so comfortable in his own skin…he is as solid and stable as any human being I’ve been around…this year despite our troubles…he’s the same guy every day…laughing, working, enjoying the process, he’s collaborating with us…(others might be) asking for a trade, maybe wanting to go somewhere else…it’s all very matter of fact.”

- Steph as food as you thought? “Even better. I knew he was great then…but he’s even better than I thought.”

- how do you view passing? “Most guys can either pass or not pass…intuition…but you can absolutely work on it…you can develop from a bad passer into a solid one…understanding the game better.”

BUD:

- Giannis out with left knee soreness

- Giannis reason: “he was warming up tonight and felt it a little bit and made the decision that tonight was not a good night he should be out (there).” [WE ACTUALLY HAVE VIDEO OF THIS!]

- Giannis long term? “I don’t want to speak either direction…not anything we’re overly concerned about.”

- look at minutes? “We are conscientious of what the load the other guys are playing…you wanna keep the whole picture in mind.”

- Jrue without Giannis: “The Indiana game may have been the first since the break…again the other night in Sacramento…continuing to be more aggressive.”

- what more you wanna see from (a frontcourt player I couldn’t hear)? “Sometimes it’s playing in fourth gear…creating for others…keep adding to his game”

/end