Latest / Bleacher Report / Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon Talk Game 7 Loss vs. OKC _ 2025 NBA Playoffs

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Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon Talk Game 7 Loss vs. OKC _ 2025 NBA Playoffs · Bleacher Report

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Joker. I know it just happened.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: You're still processing, but what are some of your early
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: takeaways from this game and this series as a whole
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: for you guys. I mean, this game was basically similar
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: to the second game. We turned the ball over. We
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: didn't maybe we didn't make enough shots. They were a
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: grassic day. They were running, they were running in transition,
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: they were attacking us back, they were playing on our heels,
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: they were attacking the offensive glass. They were making shots,
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: you know, to same official as the second game. So
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: it's kind of similar to the second game.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: Do you want do you.
• 0:41
  Speaker 3: Leave this series feeling like you guys are still close
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: to being able to win another championship or what? What
• 0:46
  Speaker 3: are your thoughts after two game sevens and I know
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: you dealt with health issues, not you, but Aaron and Michael.
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: Do you feel like this team could still win a
• 0:53
  Speaker 3: championship as it's put together now?
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: I mean, we didn't, so obviously we can't.
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: If we if we if we could be winning, So
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: I don't believe in those if if the stuff.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: So we had an opportunity, we didn't.
• 1:08
  Speaker 4: We didn't.
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: We didn't a minute, so I think we can't.
• 1:14
  Speaker 5: Your impressions and your appreciation for what Aaron Gordon did
• 1:18
  Speaker 5: today to get on the court for you guys.
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: Yes, yes, I mean definitely playing with that, playing with
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: at the intro. I mean I told him to not play.
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: You know you can you can, you can injure yourself
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: in wars.
• 1:33
  Speaker 5: Uh.
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: You can see that he was struggling a little bit,
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: you know, hard to move and this and that. So
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: but he he's he's a lot, he's a line. He
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: went out there and fight with us, and we can
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: just appreciate that.
• 1:46
  Speaker 6: Nicola, what can you you know, coming into this series
• 1:49
  Speaker 6: obviously a big you know storylining that was, you know,
• 1:52
  Speaker 6: the matchup between you and you know s g A
• 1:54
  Speaker 6: and you know you guys being some of the two
• 1:57
  Speaker 6: of the top MVP candidates this year after a seven
• 1:59
  Speaker 6: game series to him, what would you just say about
• 2:01
  Speaker 6: the respect you might have earned form or just your
• 2:03
  Speaker 6: approach and you know what you think about you know
• 2:05
  Speaker 6: Shaye and the season that he's had, you know.
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: I mean it's amazing. You know we played we played
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: so how many is four? And the seven games? So
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: eleven times we played this season? Actuot I think we played?
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: Did we play preseason? Two one time. So we played
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: like a lot of times. You know, we we saw
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: him a lot of times. And he's a special player.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: You know, he's his shot selection, his shots, capability of
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: making his own, making his own shots, separation, playing in
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: his rhythm.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: You know.
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: Defensively he was he was like always stealing the balls,
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: always blocking shots. You know, he's he's like a little
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: little I don't know how to say, like a little
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: punter out there. He's like always he was oldays there.
• 2:44
  Speaker 6: You know.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: So he's, uh, he's a special player player.
• 2:49
  Speaker 7: Obviously, David Adam has put in a very unique situation
• 2:52
  Speaker 7: for a few games left in the season. What do
• 2:54
  Speaker 7: you think about the job that he did, uh since
• 2:57
  Speaker 7: moving over the head coach and and the potential for
• 2:59
  Speaker 7: him to be in that role on a permanent basis.
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: I mean, you know, it's really like you said, it's
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: a tough, tough, tough spot to be you have, like
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: he had three three games to change something, and I
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: think I think he changed energy. I think I think
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: the guys were uh woken apple, but the guys had
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: more energy. He he made us believe in something and
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: we we played good. You know, we played the seven
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: seven game series, and we're the probably the best team
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: in the NBA, and we we had opportunity, we had chances.
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: So you know, I think he did a really good job.
• 3:33
  Speaker 7: As far as the future goes for him.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: I'm not I'm not the guy to add.
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: I mean, it's not it's it's about my pay grade.
• 3:46
  Speaker 8: Nikola the thunder there, they tried to make a point
• 3:51
  Speaker 8: to wear you guys down with their depth throughout this series.
• 3:53
  Speaker 8: You guys are obviously playing a shorter rotation for most
• 3:56
  Speaker 8: of it. Maybe this is above your pay grade too.
• 3:59
  Speaker 8: But but as far as depth, what do you sort
• 4:01
  Speaker 8: of think this team needs most going forward?
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: Uh, like you said, it's about but yes, we definitely
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: need probably I think we played so long, for so
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: long such a way, and you know, it's hard for
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: the guys to step up, and especially a player, especially
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: against really two really good teams Clippers and and and
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: and and Okay, see, you know, and we cannot ask
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: for somebody who didn't play Maybe I don't want to
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: thirty games to jump in and like be good and
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: like expect him to be good, you know, but like
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: Julian step up.
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: He was good.
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: You know, Peyton, he was in a rotation, but you
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: know he's he has some good minute too. So uh definitely,
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: Ye seems like the team that has a longer rotation,
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: a longer bench, it's Dumando who are winning. Indiana was
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: the name. Uh okay, see so Minnesota the call on
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: the flip side of that talk about you know, okay
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: sees depth and you know how deep they are and
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: obviously they're one of the historic defenses that we've seen
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: in recent memory.
• 5:09
  Speaker 6: Going against them in a seven game series, how would
• 5:11
  Speaker 6: you say, now you assess them, and you know before
• 5:14
  Speaker 6: the series, and you know what is been your biggest
• 5:16
  Speaker 6: takeaway against going against the deep group of guys like
• 5:19
  Speaker 6: that that can defend.
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: It's versatility. You know, it's that they can put a
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: lot of guys on a lot of a lot of
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: good defenders and a lot of good defensive players and
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: still like have Uh. They're so aggressive, they're so handsy.
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: Even when you go by them, chat or or or
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: is is there? Uh they're attacking passing lane is really good.
• 5:40
  Speaker 5: Uh.
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: They're into the ball.
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: I'd like to say they're they're always their hand is
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: always on the ball, always follow the ball, and it's
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: really hard to make a straight pass. It even when
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: you pass the ball, it's not on on on the
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: on the shooting pocket. And maybe that's why, that's why,
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: that's why the reason it's uh, they always contesting the shots,
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: they always boxing out. You know, they're well thought, they're
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: well coached team, and that's why I hed they're doing
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: this what they're doing.
• 6:06
  Speaker 9: What are you most proud of in terms of what
• 6:08
  Speaker 9: this team was able to accomplish the season, and then
• 6:10
  Speaker 9: what are you most proud of individually that you were
• 6:12
  Speaker 9: able to accomplish.
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: As a team. I think it was probably probably playoffs.
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: You know, I think everybody, even in the first round,
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: they thought the Clipper is going to beat us, and
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: we we found a way to Like I said, we
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: always find a way except to night, you know, we
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: we found a way to win a game. We will
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: find a way to win the series.
• 6:32
  Speaker 10: You know.
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: And today maybe it was not the case. But in
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: season in global, I think that was the that was
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: the maybe description of this team, like we always find
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: a way, and that's why I'm proud of it. Individually,
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: I don't know. It was it was a good season.
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: It was I stayed healthy and I'm really thankful for that.
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: I mean, it's I mean, I put a lot of
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: effort in it, so I'm kind of I'm thankful, but
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: I know, like what's routine and what I need to do,
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: so I trust what I'm what I'm doing, and the
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: seems it's working well for me.
• 7:08
  Speaker 8: How will this off season be different for you? Just
• 7:10
  Speaker 8: I mean playing in the Olympics clearly didn't bother you
• 7:13
  Speaker 8: too much in terms of a production standpoint this season.
• 7:16
  Speaker 8: How how will this off season be different?
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: I think I think Olympics make me even better, you know,
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: playing with the country, playing with different rules, but it's
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: not really different, playing with different players. I think it
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: made me made me even better.
• 7:30
  Speaker 4: You know.
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: I think I need to decide or there is a
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: euro basket, the European Championship, I need to decide that.
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: I need to talk with the coaches and with some
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: of the main players. Let's say like that, and uh
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: we will see you know, but from now, like the
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: next couple of days, there's going to be a lot
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: of beer.
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: Probably Jamal obviously frustrated with the result.
• 7:54
  Speaker 6: What are some of the things that are going through
• 7:55
  Speaker 6: your head as you think about this game, this series?
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: What could have been?
• 7:59
  Speaker 4: What was a lot.
• 8:01
  Speaker 11: To be honest, I thought it was a very competitive series.
• 8:04
  Speaker 11: It was really fun, to be honest, the way all
• 8:06
  Speaker 11: seven games. We just didn't bring our best tonight. You know,
• 8:10
  Speaker 11: I thought some turnovers, spacing guys trying to you know,
• 8:14
  Speaker 11: make the right play with each other. But it was
• 8:15
  Speaker 11: two guys trying to do the same thing or you know,
• 8:17
  Speaker 11: just on top of each other, which you know, there's
• 8:19
  Speaker 11: such a good defensive team and they packed the paint.
• 8:21
  Speaker 11: You know, we got to allow each other to you know,
• 8:23
  Speaker 11: keep our allow each other to have space to do
• 8:27
  Speaker 11: whatever the help we're trying to do or create on offense.
• 8:30
  Speaker 4: So I just thought, uh.
• 8:33
  Speaker 11: That compounded crowd was into it, and you know, we
• 8:37
  Speaker 11: just didn't play our best, So UH said, it's frustrating.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: I mean I could go on.
• 8:44
  Speaker 7: But obviously the very unique season for you guys, you know,
• 8:49
  Speaker 7: with the changes made late in the year, what do
• 8:52
  Speaker 7: you think about the job that Adelman did, uh, you know,
• 8:55
  Speaker 7: given the circumstances and and the possibilities of him having
• 8:59
  Speaker 7: in UNI to remove.
• 9:01
  Speaker 11: I think he did a great job, you know, considering
• 9:03
  Speaker 11: everything and just know how we had to stay together,
• 9:07
  Speaker 11: the different schemes that we came up with, you know,
• 9:11
  Speaker 11: a g battling through everything, you know, yoke balloing through everything,
• 9:15
  Speaker 11: the bench stepping up. You know, I just thought, you know,
• 9:18
  Speaker 11: all in all, you know, I think guys did just
• 9:20
  Speaker 11: staying with it and keeping the positive attitude and believing
• 9:23
  Speaker 11: in what we can do. Played fourteen games and we
• 9:27
  Speaker 11: came up short on the last one. So, like I said,
• 9:30
  Speaker 11: I'm frustrated and everything, but uh, you know, there's a
• 9:33
  Speaker 11: lot to take away from the last you know, six
• 9:35
  Speaker 11: seven weeks or so. So I just gotta keep my
• 9:38
  Speaker 11: head and stay positive and then look forward to the
• 9:40
  Speaker 11: next couple of months of uh taking some rest and
• 9:44
  Speaker 11: then getting back to it, you know what I'm saying.
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: So I know we'll be fine.
• 9:48
  Speaker 7: What do you think about what Age was able to
• 9:51
  Speaker 7: give you guys today?
• 9:52
  Speaker 11: He gave us more than we I think we all
• 9:54
  Speaker 11: could ask for. You know, I played through a Grade
• 9:57
  Speaker 11: one cap straight last year and he played it through
• 9:59
  Speaker 11: a Grade two hand.
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: So, I mean, the hamstring is no joke.
• 10:02
  Speaker 11: And I could I could see him limping out there,
• 10:04
  Speaker 11: and we went so on a little more just to
• 10:06
  Speaker 11: have just be able to have him out there. And
• 10:08
  Speaker 11: you know, we had a lot going on but just
• 10:11
  Speaker 11: I mean his toughness is meant to tough to be
• 10:12
  Speaker 11: able to play through that and give us what he
• 10:14
  Speaker 11: did and stick to it.
• 10:15
  Speaker 4: You know, I think it was a lot. It was
• 10:16
  Speaker 4: a lot for him to handle, and you.
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: Know, he did a great job. So I shot d
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: Aig for just.
• 10:21
  Speaker 11: Battling and and and being president today.
• 10:25
  Speaker 8: To two things. First that just from where the season was,
• 10:28
  Speaker 8: is there any pride with with what you guys have
• 10:31
  Speaker 8: been able to accomplish from from the point you were
• 10:34
  Speaker 8: at where people are losing their jobs to take a
• 10:37
  Speaker 8: team like this to seven or is it kind of
• 10:39
  Speaker 8: just more of the frustration in the moment.
• 10:41
  Speaker 4: I guess yeah.
• 10:42
  Speaker 11: I mean, like I just said, a lot to take
• 10:44
  Speaker 11: away from the last six seven weeks. Uh, we stay
• 10:49
  Speaker 11: with it. We had to you know, figure it out,
• 10:50
  Speaker 11: some call some audibles, but you know, like I said,
• 10:53
  Speaker 11: we had a long journey just to get to this point.
• 10:55
  Speaker 11: I'm proud of the belief that we had, the positivity
• 11:00
  Speaker 11: that we had, the guys sitting together, guys were more vocal,
• 11:04
  Speaker 11: even guys that weren't playing, they were more vocal. So
• 11:07
  Speaker 11: a lot of good takeaways, but came up short tonight
• 11:10
  Speaker 11: and that's the most frustrating part.
• 11:11
  Speaker 8: And then two years removed from the championship, Just what
• 11:14
  Speaker 8: is your confidence that that this core group can can
• 11:17
  Speaker 8: still win another title.
• 11:20
  Speaker 11: Just came up short tonight, get back in the gym,
• 11:23
  Speaker 11: and then get back to it for.
• 11:24
  Speaker 4: Next year, Jamal.
• 11:25
  Speaker 6: After obviously a seven game series with a team that
• 11:28
  Speaker 6: you know a lot of a lot of people consider,
• 11:30
  Speaker 6: you know, one of the best teams that have been
• 11:33
  Speaker 6: assembled in recent memory. What can you just say about
• 11:35
  Speaker 6: you know, the outlook of that team and the depth
• 11:37
  Speaker 6: and some of the issues that they might have called
• 11:40
  Speaker 6: you or you guys as as a collective with their
• 11:42
  Speaker 6: depth and everything. Just what is your biggest takeaway about
• 11:45
  Speaker 6: you know, that team across the hall from US.
• 11:48
  Speaker 11: Uh Young Active Run to be honest, playing seven games
• 11:52
  Speaker 11: against mind were just playing AU. It's like an AU
• 11:56
  Speaker 11: tournament out there. You know, everybody's young athletic flying around
• 12:00
  Speaker 11: and we're playing half court trap. You know, like everybody's
• 12:02
  Speaker 11: flying in for rebounds, fast breaks are going up back
• 12:05
  Speaker 11: and forth.
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: So that's the most thing I can.
• 12:07
  Speaker 11: Remind a young, talented group that has a lot to offer,
• 12:10
  Speaker 11: and I think their best quality is just defensively, you
• 12:13
  Speaker 11: know how physical are You know, obviously they get away
• 12:16
  Speaker 11: with a lot, but it leads into how they play
• 12:19
  Speaker 11: in the identity that they create, so they have a
• 12:22
  Speaker 11: lot of potential for sure.
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: Kim, Well, I know you just said you believe in
• 12:25
  Speaker 3: this core, but given that you had a change in
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: the head coach, you're changing the GM. Is this off
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: season feel different like there might be changes more than
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: in the past where it was pretty easy to say
• 12:34
  Speaker 3: let's run it back because you're coming off a championship.
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: Is there a thought that there might be more changes
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: this offseason to either the core or this roster because
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: you try to get to a chance.
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: I'll just focus on what I can do out there.
• 12:45
  Speaker 11: You know, I look at the shots that I had,
• 12:47
  Speaker 11: the greater looks that I had, and how I can
• 12:50
  Speaker 11: help this team win. You know, that's above that's above
• 12:52
  Speaker 11: what I my pay grade. I just do what I
• 12:55
  Speaker 11: have to do out there and focus on that. And
• 12:57
  Speaker 11: that's the question for another person.
• 13:00
  Speaker 12: Jamal, can you speak on how difficult it is to
• 13:02
  Speaker 12: get through the grueling eighty two game regular season and
• 13:05
  Speaker 12: a postseason while remaining healthy and how much pride this
• 13:08
  Speaker 12: group takes and playing for each other despite dealing with
• 13:11
  Speaker 12: nagging injuries.
• 13:12
  Speaker 11: Yeah, I mean everybody was kind of going through something
• 13:14
  Speaker 11: leaving up today, but you know, we hadn't playing our chances.
• 13:17
  Speaker 11: We fought to get to this point.
• 13:19
  Speaker 4: We believe we could do it.
• 13:21
  Speaker 11: Just you know, sometimes it doesn't go your way and
• 13:23
  Speaker 11: the other team played had a better night to night.
• 13:24
  Speaker 4: It's not with her night.
• 13:27
  Speaker 11: But we we you know, even when people doubted us,
• 13:30
  Speaker 11: you know, we we bounced back and showed them over
• 13:31
  Speaker 11: capable of and then when they continued us, we did
• 13:36
  Speaker 11: it again, you know what I'm saying. So I'm proud
• 13:38
  Speaker 11: of the group. Man, I'm proud of what we were
• 13:40
  Speaker 11: able to accomplish. Everything we've battle through, everybody individually. So
• 13:45
  Speaker 11: there's lots, like I said, a lot to take away,
• 13:46
  Speaker 11: but we came up short.
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: Appreciate it.
• 13:50
  Speaker 4: I was pretty sure I was gonna play.
• 13:53
  Speaker 13: It's just been recovery, basically, thirty six hours, forty eight
• 13:57
  Speaker 13: hours of recovery.
• 14:00
  Speaker 4: Everything that I could.
• 14:00
  Speaker 13: Possibly do, hot, cold, contrastsage, hyperbari, everything that I could
• 14:07
  Speaker 13: possibly do.
• 14:08
  Speaker 4: So it's just I could be out there and fight
• 14:10
  Speaker 4: for my team.
• 14:11
  Speaker 9: How much did you feel it when you were out
• 14:13
  Speaker 9: there fighting for your team?
• 14:17
  Speaker 4: Not much much I just wish I would have played better.
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: Aaron.
• 14:23
  Speaker 3: It's early because it's just ended. But how do you
• 14:26
  Speaker 3: look at this run in the idea that you get
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: a coaching change the GM with three games left, you
• 14:31
  Speaker 3: were underdogs against the Clippers and winning seven and take.
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: But most people think is the best team in the
• 14:35
  Speaker 3: league to seven? So is it disappointment or is it
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: you know, some pride over how you guys were able
• 14:42
  Speaker 3: to kind of recover from the way the season ended.
• 14:44
  Speaker 13: Obviously there's mixed emotions there. But I'm proud of my guys.
• 14:47
  Speaker 13: I'm proud of our team. I'm proud of our organization
• 14:51
  Speaker 13: and of our squad. I think we fought very hard
• 14:53
  Speaker 13: give ourselves a chance to beat the number one seed. Yeah,
• 14:59
  Speaker 13: I'm I'm proud of.
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: Us, Aaron.
• 15:02
  Speaker 5: Kind of building on that, where's just the confidence that
• 15:04
  Speaker 5: this core kind of is currently constructed, can can achieve
• 15:07
  Speaker 5: what you guys are out to achieve the next couple
• 15:09
  Speaker 5: of years.
• 15:09
  Speaker 13: Absolutely, confidence doesn't waiver a couple of plays here and
• 15:14
  Speaker 13: there could have changed the series. Yeah, confidence as a waiver,
• 15:19
  Speaker 13: full confidence and everybody in that locker room that we
• 15:22
  Speaker 13: can do what we need to do and get it done, Aaron,
• 15:25
  Speaker 13: would you say, you know, obviously facing off against the
• 15:28
  Speaker 13: seven game series with a team like that, you know,
• 15:30
  Speaker 13: historically one of the best defenses that we've seen in
• 15:33
  Speaker 13: recent memory, what would you say have been your biggest takeaway?
• 15:35
  Speaker 13: You know, playing against them and some of the things
• 15:37
  Speaker 13: that they do that kind of make things, you know,
• 15:39
  Speaker 13: tough to navigate through.
• 15:41
  Speaker 5: Uh.
• 15:44
  Speaker 13: I mean, they got a squad, very interchangeable, they got
• 15:48
  Speaker 13: a lot of uh pesky defenders, and they're well coached.
• 15:58
  Speaker 11: So yeah, Aaron, you played for coach Adleman for the
• 16:03
  Speaker 11: last seventeen games.
• 16:04
  Speaker 8: What are your impressions and how did you like playing
• 16:07
  Speaker 8: for him?
• 16:08
  Speaker 13: I love DA. I hope he's here next year. I
• 16:10
  Speaker 13: hope he's a coach. I hope he gets an entire
• 16:12
  Speaker 13: training camp and in a whole off season and a
• 16:17
  Speaker 13: whole training camp to figure out his philosophy.
• 16:21
  Speaker 10: You know.
• 16:23
  Speaker 4: DA in Orlando, we have DA here. Yeah, it's great.
• 16:28
  Speaker 13: He was excellent for us, and I hope that he's
• 16:30
  Speaker 13: here next year.
• 16:32
  Speaker 6: Aaron, what's I don't want to say changes, but what
• 16:35
  Speaker 6: do you guys need to do in order to get
• 16:37
  Speaker 6: back to the top of the mountain.
• 16:43
  Speaker 4: Well, I think in this game specifically.
• 16:47
  Speaker 13: Personally, I think I was more focused on the reps
• 16:52
  Speaker 13: than I was on the actual game. And so I
• 16:54
  Speaker 13: think just narrowing our focus to what needs to be
• 16:59
  Speaker 13: done and what needs to be accomplished health is a lot.
• 17:06
  Speaker 13: You know, I would really really appreciate it if there
• 17:13
  Speaker 13: were a couple of days in between games and the
• 17:15
  Speaker 13: playoffs instead of every other day, regardless if you go
• 17:18
  Speaker 13: seven games. And I understand, if you do your work
• 17:21
  Speaker 13: early and you get first seed, then you can have
• 17:23
  Speaker 13: some time off.
• 17:24
  Speaker 4: But I think the days in between.
• 17:28
  Speaker 13: Games not just an off day and a travel day,
• 17:31
  Speaker 13: but a travel day and a recovery day, just two,
• 17:33
  Speaker 13: just two days.
• 17:34
  Speaker 4: I think the product of the game would.
• 17:36
  Speaker 13: Be a lot better. I think there'd be a yeah,
• 17:40
  Speaker 13: just a better product on the floors. Just to give
• 17:43
  Speaker 13: all these professional athletes just, you know, one more day
• 17:46
  Speaker 13: of rest, and you would see a higher level of basketball,
• 17:51
  Speaker 13: probably less blowouts.
• 17:52
  Speaker 10: And why'd you say yes? Like, what was the determining
• 17:55
  Speaker 10: factor and what did you fight through today?
• 17:58
  Speaker 13: Oh?
• 17:58
  Speaker 4: I never said no.
• 18:00
  Speaker 13: Know, there was never a doubt in my mind that
• 18:01
  Speaker 13: I wasn't gonna play today. The only thing that made
• 18:05
  Speaker 13: me doubt playing was the MRI you know the MRI,
• 18:08
  Speaker 13: I told me something worse than what I was feeling.
• 18:13
  Speaker 10: And I know you and Michael will close how you
• 18:17
  Speaker 10: guys leaned on each other this season. And obviously he's
• 18:20
  Speaker 10: dealt with a lot of uh, he could use those
• 18:23
  Speaker 10: extra days as well.
• 18:24
  Speaker 13: Absolutely, man, Absolutely, I think everybody could. I mean, you
• 18:27
  Speaker 13: saw you saw it around the league, like Steph with
• 18:30
  Speaker 13: a hamstring, you know what I mean? J T Man,
• 18:33
  Speaker 13: big respect to Jason Tatum Man. I hope he gets
• 18:35
  Speaker 13: better quick. I mean there's guys like Dame. You know,
• 18:39
  Speaker 13: there's guys all around the league that are just like
• 18:41
  Speaker 13: you know, uh, suffering just like fatigue based injuries because
• 18:48
  Speaker 13: the games are so closely stacked together.
• 18:53
  Speaker 4: And yeah, it would just.
• 18:54
  Speaker 13: Be nice for just one or two more rest days
• 18:59
  Speaker 13: throughout the offseason or throughout the postseason, just so we
• 19:02
  Speaker 13: can come back fresh and compete because a lot of
• 19:05
  Speaker 13: the times, it's the team that's most healthy. You know,
• 19:11
  Speaker 13: it's not even the best team, it's the team that's
• 19:14
  Speaker 13: most healthy.
• 19:14
  Speaker 4: And I think what I tried to talk to MPJ
• 19:19
  Speaker 4: about is just rest.
• 19:21
  Speaker 13: Your mind, rest your body, relax, and then when it's
• 19:25
  Speaker 13: time to get back to training, refocus and narr your
• 19:29
  Speaker 13: focus and understand what the goal is.
• 19:32
  Speaker 7: When you saw the MRI, how much concern did you
• 19:34
  Speaker 7: have about making the injury worse and knowing what that
• 19:38
  Speaker 7: might mean.
• 19:39
  Speaker 4: Obviously I knew the risks. You know, unfortunately.
• 19:44
  Speaker 13: The injuries are part of the game, So I knew
• 19:47
  Speaker 13: the risks, but I wanted to be there out there
• 19:50
  Speaker 13: for my team.
• 19:53
  Speaker 7: And then you know, there are times like transition. Obviously
• 19:55
  Speaker 7: you couldn't look like you just couldn't.
• 19:57
  Speaker 4: Get in that gear that you usually get.
• 20:00
  Speaker 7: You know, how did you feel like you were limited today?
• 20:04
  Speaker 4: I couldn't sprint. That was tough. Tough. I was trying
• 20:09
  Speaker 4: to play a real old man game.
• 20:14
  Speaker 13: Yeah, anytime I tried to sprint, it was gonna just
• 20:17
  Speaker 13: probably be a lot worse.
• 20:22
  Speaker 4: I gave them all.
• 20:24
  Speaker 10: That's one.
• 20:26
  Speaker 5: You were in the room with the fellows. You went
• 20:28
  Speaker 5: through the battles with them all year long. Do you
• 20:31
  Speaker 5: feel like this group got stale before the change and
• 20:36
  Speaker 5: what did you find in the last month that you'll
• 20:40
  Speaker 5: cherish or you can use going forward as a group.
• 20:51
  Speaker 4: Yeah? Yeah, I mean the game is great.
• 20:55
  Speaker 13: Obviously playing is amazing, but really what makes it special
• 21:02
  Speaker 13: is just being around a high character group. Of people
• 21:05
  Speaker 13: and the interactions and the memories that you make and
• 21:09
  Speaker 13: share it with a great group of guys. So the stillness,
• 21:17
  Speaker 13: I'm not entirely sure. You know, it's still fresh. I
• 21:22
  Speaker 13: haven't been able to digest kind of the totality of
• 21:26
  Speaker 13: the season. But yeah, it's just give me a couple
• 21:29
  Speaker 13: of days and maybe I'll be able to answer that.
• 21:31
  Speaker 13: But it's a great group of guys. I'm excited for
• 21:35
  Speaker 13: the future of this organization.
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: Aaron By playing today, were you basically planning to get
• 21:41
  Speaker 3: the team through the next round knowing would you have
• 21:43
  Speaker 3: been able to play in the next round or was
• 21:44
  Speaker 3: this kind of a one off to get through this
• 21:47
  Speaker 3: and say, you know what, that was probably it because
• 21:48
  Speaker 3: you're gonna have to rest it.
• 21:49
  Speaker 13: It was probably it at least for two or three
• 21:54
  Speaker 13: games into the next round. So I'll say, maybe I
• 21:57
  Speaker 13: can get through this one and then rest a little
• 21:59
  Speaker 13: bit and come back later in the next series.
• 22:04
  Speaker 9: What with everything that you went through last summer leading
• 22:07
  Speaker 9: up to this season, what and improvements that you made
• 22:10
  Speaker 9: on the floor, What are you most proud of that
• 22:12
  Speaker 9: you did this season? And as the team to what
• 22:14
  Speaker 9: are you most proud of the team?
• 22:15
  Speaker 13: One you know, uh, I guess just being able to
• 22:26
  Speaker 13: compete for the first time without my brother by my side.
• 22:29
  Speaker 13: I know he was with me, and I know he's
• 22:30
  Speaker 13: staying with me, but uh I think just even coming
• 22:35
  Speaker 13: out here and just competing this is something and it's
• 22:38
  Speaker 13: all right.
• 22:39
  Speaker 4: Ah so yeah, yeah, you