Here are notes & quotes from Warriors morning shootaround before Denver Nuggets (Jamal Murray was reported as “questionable”). Eric “EP” Paschall gave us an update on his hip flexor injury, a requirement per NBA guidelines for an injured player to address the media within ten days of the injury — yes, Klay Thompson kind of stretched that rule a bit a couple months ago.

The video atop this article is clickable and is addressed the headline of this post. I was able to ask EP what he does to keep his “mental” strong, because it can be a grind on the mind especially when an NBA player is injured. Connor Letourneau followed up by peeling the onion, and listed off R&B, Bill Withers, Marvin Gaye and gospel as his go-to’s.

The second video (above this paragraph) gives an quick update on Paschall’s hip flexor. Warriors PR announced on April 4th that he would be re-evaluated in two weeks, so that’s coming up some time next week.

The third video is a compilation of Steve Kerr from postgame after the win against the Houston Rockets, along with EP addressing police brutality and his friends and family fearing for their lives anytime they are pulled over:

EP:

- how do you feel? “stay engaged mentally…you just gotta deal with it, talked to my family.”

- how injured? “went up to block a pass, came down, felt it…I can walk without a limp.”

- talked to Wiseman yet? “no…give him his space.”

- many injuries: “we deal with that…it has been a problem trying to get a real rhythm…it’s part of the game…whole point of being a professional in the league.”

- Draymond: “just to keep pushing…it’s all part of it…keep pushing, keep fighting, as Coach Kerr says, next man up.”

- Draymond oncourt example: “just stay aggressive…tells me that all the time.”

- Miles Bridges dunk: “very impressive, I mean, Miles been doing that ever since high school…sometimes you gotta make a business decision.”

- biggest lesson this year: “always stay ready…you never know how anything happens…not really getting too down, not really getting too high…a lot of the game is mental.”

- toughest part, Poole, Nico: “they’ve been playing well…confidence…stay ready…toughest thing is dealing with the injury.”

- police shooting: “didn’t get a chance to sit down and see what happened…why I have this shirt on (BLM)…I’m not saying all cops are bad…this is a recurring thing that’s happened in America…I’ve been very outspoken about…three black sisters…most of my friends are black…soon as people hear cop sirens…one of my friends got pulled over today…we shouldn’t be having to fear being pulled over by the cops.”

- dealing with mental: “Gotta find ways to put yourself in a different state of mind…big on music…play video games…talking to my dad…asks me how are you doing mentally…checking on me…mom texts me every day…bible verse…sisters.”

- music? “R&B, maybe some old school like Bill Withers, Marvin Gaye…gospel…clean my house.”

- more difficult to find niche? “It’s all part of the game…not everything is gonna go your way…stay ready at all times.”

- difficult to stay positive? “It’s rough for guys that don’t play…continue to work out continue to get better.”

/end