Warriors-Raptors postgame: Klay “fired up” (but not to the whole team); “humiliating” loss

Also: “paring things back” for Wiseman, Bazemore grit; Draymond injury

Here are notes & quotes from Warriors-Raptors postgame with Steve Kerr, Kevon Looney, Kent Bazemore and Nico Mannion.

Please visit our YouTube channel for more visuals. The above video atop this article is about what Klay said after the game and to whom (see the last bullet point after Nico’s Q&A for clarification that Klay was not speaking in front of the group).

The second video is about the impetus to sit Draymond Green tonight as he was reported a “late scratch” by the Warriors and seen on TV on the team’s bench just before tipoff:

The third video is on “paring things back” for James Wiseman:

KERR:

- recap: “I mean, you saw it, we just got destroyed. Not a whole lot to be said.”

- trail by 61: “humiliating for everybody involved.”

- prevent spiraling? “We don’t have a choice…we have no choice but to pick up the pieces and get back at it and fight and compete.”

- recap: “the game went south on us quickly…without Steph and Draymond…rudderless…we got demoralized”

- repetitive mental errors: “the basic fundamental stuff, letting people get behind us in transition…24-0…like being a free safety in football…as I told the teams those are grade school games…we’ve done it back to back nights…lack of ball movement…when you move the ball…that’s when the magic happens…karma…I just saw possession after possession one pass and a shot…gotta play for each other.”

- Draymond: “could barely hold on to the ball…I told him not to play.”

- mental for youngsters: “well, the NBA is hard…you have to respect the difficulty…tone things back and strip them to their core…what can I do now?…try to do too much…that’s what happening with James…game happens so fast that you just have to strip it down to let’s be good at the things I can be good at now and my game will expand as we move forward…the only way to learn that is to feel it…we’ll stay positive…help him build his confidence.”

- lots of injuries, combinations: “yeah that’s been difficult but that’s all part of it. You just have to play through that…guys on the bench have an opportunity…next person up but everybody has injuries so that’s not an excuse.”

- doubling the wrong opponents, why? “Inexperience, the game happens quickly…understanding personnel…learn who does what…struggled in that area…what a team is trying to do and which players do what.”

- processing this game: “the staff will watch the tape…go over the basics (with the team)…simplifying things, getting guys to understand exactly what we have to do to compete.”

LOONEY:

- Kerr said humiliating? “didn’t show our identity…go out there and lay and egg…coach said it right.”

- prevent from snowball? “a lot more games to change our season…tonight how we played is not who we are.”

- Steph or Dray say anything? “Nah, not much to say…everybody was embarrassed…coach gave his speech, covered it all.”

- Kerr postgame message? “Effort and the two things that we gotta work on…share the ball…got back on defense…if you’re not gonna get back on defense (you’ll lose).”

- Wiseman extra frustrated? “We all hate losing…every game matters for us right now…frustration for everybody…move on and not let it happen again.”

- humor in film sessions? “A lot more teaching points, they still do a good job keeping the…culture…couple years ago we had a lot of veterans…they kinda already knew…a lot more detail (now)…learning.”

BAZEMORE

- stagnant? “Toronto is a team that loves to pack the paint…need to move the ball side to side…swing swing…they scouted us pretty well.”

- worst game ever seen? “Yeah for sure…away from your family…a lot on your mind when you’re down so much…it hurts to get smacked like that. I’m a grown man with a family…get your butt handed to you.”

- avoid snowball: “hopefully it motivates you…need to have in the NBA is grit…some cahunas…man up…regardless of if the ball is falling in or not…every night you’re not gonna make shots, being without your three best players…find a way…physicality…taking their soul…I’m just trying to set a tone, set a physicality.”

- poor effort? “You can make a ton of excuses…younger guys that don’t quite understand what it’s like on a night to night basis…condensed schedule…hard to hold their hand…have our own (struggles)…takes some talks from other people to kinda snap you out of it…man’s league…we can’t score, you ain’t gonna score either, that’s the mentality you have to have…been on a sixty win team…not like we were blowing everyone out…bringing physicality every night.”

- Steph Dray vocal? “It’s a hard pill for them to swallow…Klay was back there as well…this hurts them more than anything, Klay was fired up after the game…I’m kinda upset at myself for not really being able to help…in a way that I can help this team…put this behind you.”

- what did Klay say? “How he misses the game, it’s just not acceptable to lose this way…it’s hard watching…as a competitor you wanna be out there…it’s hard to explain…understand what goes through your mind when you’re watching.”

- what envisioned when signed as FA? “Top Three, Top Four team in the West…I was thinking of Pete Myers back with the Bulls…when I left in 2013, they were all about togetherness…that’s kinda what I carried on my journey…coming back, bringing my journey back, bringing this team back to where it belongs…2012 my name not being called…giving me a chance to live out my dream…we all have families now…with guys I watched do it…watched guys hoist that Larry O’Brien trophy, I want that…I grew up in the Eastern Conference…that’s what I want to bring to this team…they can call all the fouls they want but they’re not gonna take away my passion, my physicality.”

“Go Dubs.”

NICO:

- vets: “There was no negativity…biggest thing is we gotta stick together…trust each other…moving the ball…picking up defensively…communicate…a lot of little things…plus second night of a back to back…there’s always one game where there’s an avalanche…we play 72 games and we can really dwell on every single game…they’re coming fast.”

- what did Klay say? “I don’t know if I was around…heard from outside…we gotta have a little more heart.”

Warriors PR: No practice tomorrow although they will do film study and not go to the gym. Also, Klay did not say anything to the group…talking to guys outside the hall.

/end