Pat Spencer: “There’ll be some pushback on the guard heavy lineups, but the game has evolved so much”

Leave it to Pat Spencer, of all people, to defend the four-guard lineups on the podium!

If you look across the league, pace is up like crazy. And so I think there’ll be some pushback on the guard heavy lineups, but the game has evolved so much. I don’t know if there’s really a big out there for them. Kenrich Williams was playing the 4, but he spaces the floor, so you can say they’re a guard-heavy lineup. You just have to figure out how to capitalize, take advantage of it in both the half court on offense and defense. We’ve always been pretty guard-heavy here and, quite frankly, Trayce’s banged up, QP’s a stretch 5, Al’s out, so what other big are we gonna put out there right now?

I think a lot of the fan base needs to calm down until one Wardell Stephen Curry comes back. The team isn’t going anywhere without him.

This is a crazy stat: Pat Spencer games played = 14, Steph games played = 16. And we know next three games Steph won’t play and I bet Pat does play even though he’s restricted to 50 as a two-way, because you’ll get Seth Curry and De’Anthony Melton…

…for the medium to long term and so there’s plenty of games coming up where Pat will get DNPs with the glut of guards.

00:00 Pat, when we asked Kerr about what changed in the third quarter, he said there was an attitude adjustment. Obviously, you don’t have Steph. At some point, I’m sure you found out you weren’t gonna have Jimmy in the second half. Was there discussion? Was there just, did it just click? What happened there in the third quarter?

00:17 PAT SPENCER, POSTGAME OKC-GSW: Yeah, I think we picked up our pace. Against a team like that, if you let them get set in the half court defense, you’ve got five guys almost at all times that are out there that can defend. So for us, it was about getting a little bit more organized, offensively, but ultimately pushing the pace and not relying on really a first action to get us a bucket. That’s a defense you’ve gotta move side to side at least two times to be able to attack the paint. They’re long, they swarm the paint when you get in there and so, for us, we’ve gotta really commit to moving the ball side to side and just trust in each other.

00:57 What’s the key to pushing pace, but also limiting turnovers while you’re playing fast?

01:02 Yeah, spacing. Obviously, in transition you wanna get wide, run wide. I think the thing that was really great for us about the pace was that they get cross matched. You’ve got some guys that they want to get on individual players and so for us, it’s really tough to match up in the half court. And so if you push that pace, you have the spacing that you want, their defense gets a little bit lost at times. So, they’re elite defensively. You’ve gotta catch them in other ways. You can’t rely on half court offense night in and night out to beat them.

01:38 How often do you work on your post up game?

01:41 All the time. Yeah, I feel like I can pass really well out of it. I want that one back at the end, just missed it right over the top of Joe, there, but it’s something that I grew up doing with my brother. We kicked the shit out of each other enough, you play enough post basketball in the driveway.

02:03 Pat, obviously everything had changed without Steph being out there, but if you guys are missing Steph and Jimmy, what do you think you have to tighten up the most on this trip?

02:13 Definitely can’t turn the ball over. Jimmy’s elite at taking care of the rock for us. I think we’re gonna have to be an elite pace team. With Jimmy, we tend to slow down a bit. We won’t have the luxury of playing through him in the half court and so, like we talked about tonight in the second half, we had to generate some easy looks for ourselves. That starts with getting the ball out. One, getting stops. I felt like we finally got some stops together, got rebounds. Just makes it a little bit easier on your offense when you’re able to get stops, run, and generate some easy looks for yourself.

02:48 Pat, how much do you feel like you progressed as a shooter from last year compared to this season?

02:52 Oh, night and day. Last year for me, I was an energy guy through and through. We’re down 15, down 20, Coach called my number and get in there, try to change the energy. This year he’s given me the opportunity to come in operating the ball screens a little bit more, create plays for others. And so yeah, you just get a little bit more comfort when you know you can go out there and you have the freedom to miss a couple and you’re not gonna get yanked, so last year for me, every year has been kind of a stepping stone. Last year for me was just an opportunity to come in, try to change the energy, like I said. When we had some down nights this year, I’ve had an opportunity to get up and down a little bit more, have a little bit more comfort out there.

03:28 From your vantage point, how impressive was it to see Seth come out and look so comfortable for missing the last six weeks?

03:34 It’s in his blood. He’s always been a shooter, man. So he’s got the green light to shoot it from anywhere on the floor, just like his brother. We have full confidence that’s going in. We were just catching up after. I said it has to feel good. I know that feeling too, getting some DNPs and sitting out. There’s no better feeling and being able to get to lace ‘em up and get out there and get after it.

03:57 You guys make your run with those guard heavy lineups. How, what’s the difference between playing with these guard heavy lineups compared to something more traditional?

04:06 Yeah, I mean if you look across the league, pace is up like crazy. And so I think there’ll be some pushback on the guard heavy lineups, but the game has evolved so much. I don’t know if there’s really another, a big out there for them. Kenrich Williams was playing the 4, but he spaces the floor, so you can say they’re a guard heavy lineup. You just have to figure out how to capitalize, take advantage of it in both the half court on offense and defense. We’ve always been pretty guard heavy here and, quite frankly, Trayce’s banged up, QP’s a stretch 5, Al’s out, so what other big are we gonna put out there right now? So, asking a lot of Dray. I think we’d like to get healthy, first and foremost, and then we’ll figure that out.

04:53 Steve Kerr was saying as he considers who to play, he has to remember that you’re a two-way player. There’s a limit on how many games he has you for this season. What do you think about that as far as what you want for the season or what you want for your career knowing at the moment there’s a cap?

05:08 Yeah, it’s tough. Just compete every night that I’m out there. I’ll let them handle that. That’s something the front office and I will have conversations about. I can only control day to day right now, so yeah, I feel like I’ve shown that I can play at this level at a really high level impact winning. And so ultimately I’ll let them make that decision when the time comes, but yeah, we will have to monitor it and figure that out.

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05:35 SETH CURRY: What we got?

05:40 Seth, how’d that feel to have the warm ovation and get out there and contribute right away and just get right in the flow?

05:46 It felt good. It felt good. I mean, I’ve been waiting to get on this floor for a while now and the fans showed me a lot of love when I stepped on the floor and it felt good to get out there and make my first shot, ease the pressure a little bit. And then just from there, I’m just playing basketball, so trying to go out there and help the team, play well and get a win. And unfortunately we didn’t do that, but there was some good, some positive stuff out there from everybody.

06:11 You hadn’t played in an NBA game in a long time since last April. What was it like just stepping on the court for the first time and did it take any adjusting?

06:20 It felt normal. It felt natural. I was a little nervous. I ain’t know how I feel when I got out there. Just like I said, I ain’t probably been seven, eight months since I played a game, but what’s that? What’s, like I said, once we got up and down a couple times it was basketball and, I mean, nothing new. Team, we, found a way to play offensively that would help everybody out and especially withou Jimmy out there, we figured some stuff out to get some good offense, some good shots, and we just couldn’t close it out tonight.

06:52 Seth, what can you say about Pat Spencer’s game tonight and from your vantage point, first time playing with him?

06:57 Yeah.

06:57 Is it surprising that he’s a two-way player still?

07:00 He’s a basketball player, man. He’s one of those guys, you throw him out there, he looks different when he touches the floor for, even I was saying, telling Steph this last year, when he gets out the floor, it looks different from everybody else on the roster as far as he can, he’s a basketball player, he puts the ball on the floor. He can do a little bit of everything, so me and him, we had got nice little flow out there driving, kicking, being aggressive, and it’s good to see him get out there and get some extended minutes and play good basketball.

07:35 You guys, you make that run when Buddy, Pat, QP and Kuminga are in there. What was sort of working in that run that got the offense flowing?

07:44 I thought everybody was a weapon. The ball was moving fast. We were playing with pacing in the half court, like we were moving a ball, drive, swing. JK was able to point out some matchups he wanted. I was able to come up the screen and slip for him and he was getting downhill and kicking and I think everybody who touched the ball was aggressive attacking the gap, so we have, I feel like we found something in that second half that could help us over these next couple games.

08:14 It looked like you had some looks where you were, like you were you or you were open on the perimeter. Do you feel like there was like meat on the bone for you to score even more?

08:23 I mean, we’re just getting used to playing with each other. I haven’t played, I haven’t played with any of those guys in a live action, ever. So, I mean, the high IQ guys, I mean, Draymond, GP, even Pat, I mean, they know my game. They see me play enough where they know how to, where they get me the ball and where I like to be aggressive from. So they were finding me in that sense, but I mean, like I said, it was good ‘cause everybody was being aggressive and looking for their shots and they found me a couple times. So we’re, I feel like we’re gonna get better over the next couple games playing as a unit and hopefully get some wins until the main guys get back.

09:05 What would you say has stood out making your Warriors debut compared to debuts you’ve made with other teams throughout your career?

09:13 The energy in the building was good. The energy, I mean, it’s tough coming into your first game, playing against the defending champs who are playing, who have a brand of basketball. That’s, they know what they’re doing every night and we’re figuring stuff out. It’s my first game with this team, but like I said, in that second half, we played good basketball. So for me, I’m, I feel like I’m a basketball player. When I get out there on the floor, I can figure out what the team needs, I can give ‘em what they want. And tonight I had to just be aggressive looking for my shot, putting it on the floor. I made a couple mistakes defensively just ‘cause I don’t know the coverages and I was in the wrong spot a couple times, but I’m gonna get better at that. And then everybody, like, the main thing was everybody contributed tonight, which is good.

00:00 Draymond, what did you see and feel happened in that third quarter that was so different obviously than what happened the first half?

00:10 DRAYMOND GREEN, POSTGAME OKC-GSW: I think we just played with more force on both sides of the ball. We moved the ball offensively got downhill and you’re getting kick outs, which allows for offensive rebound opportunities, so just play with a lot more force second half.

00:31 Draymond, do you take any moral victory from the game?

00:34 Hell no. Nope.

00:37 When you study the league and you obviously know how good teams are, how good is that team over there?

00:42 They’re really good team. That’s why they are champions with an opportunity to repeat and they sit at 21-1, a great team, but there ain’t no moral victories. They’re, what, we’re still 11-11, so we didn’t get a, we didn’t get a win.

01:04 Draymond, we were talking about it last week, obviously everything changes without Steph. If you’re missing Steph and Jimmy on this trip, what do you feel like you guys have to focus on or tighten up the most?

01:20 You gotta be great defensively because you’re missing a lot of points and gravity on the offensive end. Can’t turn the ball over. We gotta play with a lot of energy and get a lot of offensive rebounds, create second chance points, limit transition opportunities.

01:43 You played most of the second half with five fouls. How does your approach change when you’re in foul trouble like that?

01:49 Just not to foul, but I’m still going to cover all that I can, but just do it with clean hands and not put the referees in the position to take it, do what they do.

02:02 How would you quantify Pat Spencer’s growth during his time with the program here?

02:06 He’s continued to get better and better. Pat just has a bravado about him though, a sense of pride that he plays with every night, every time he steps on the floor, but his skill level has gone up, his mid range, his shooting. I think he’s just got more and more confident. When he’s out there, he looks to take control and get guys in position and that’s, it puts us in a good position. He was great tonight.

02:38 We all know what Seth Curry can do. What is it that he hasn’t practiced much, he hadn’t played at all this season, and to come in and just fire up the shots, he put in obviously limited action, but important minutes out there?

02:52 Very important just to add that level of shooting. We know that he’s led the league in three point percentage multiple times and at one point I know he was the career leader. I’m not sure if that’s still the case, but I know it was for quite a while, so just to have to be able to have Seth and him come out and get going the way he did tonight, it was great for us. The one thing we know he can do and we expect him to do is shoot the ball, so it’s on us to make sure we getting him looks

03:22 After you guys made that comeback, OKC made like an 18-5 run to close the game. What sort of happened in that stretch to–?

03:30 We missed a couple shots. I think we turned a couple over, but we gave up a few threes in that run. We gave up the open one to Isaiah Joe and that was my fault. I called the double team on Shai to get the ball outta Shai hands and it was so, it was just, it was so random that I don’t think the guys were ready for the proper rotation. So if I’m gonna call that there for the double team, for guys to go double and I see the guys and I made that last rotation, I need to make all effort that I can to go from that other block and get there, at least try to get a contest. So I think that one was the killer more than anything.

04:13 Draymond, what did you learn about this group in that second half? You didn’t have Jimmy. You didn’t have Steph and so many different guys contributed in different ways and made quite a game out of it.

04:25 I didn’t learn much, but I hope our guys learned that if we play hard, we can compete with anybody, whether Jimmy’s out there or Steph out there or not. It’s gonna be much tougher. Room– margin for error is a lot less. You give yourself a chance and that’s all you can ask for, so I hope that’s what we collectively learn.

04:51 Draymond, your family is about to grow. What is it like going on the road knowing something like really big and important is on the horizon?

04:59 Sucks. Pretty shitty if I’m honest, but nonetheless this is my job. I love to do my job, so, but it’s terrible if I’m honest. I, it’s not the first time I’ve been in this position though, but my wife does a great job. She’s strong. I’ll do all I can to get back here if I need to. It’s been a, it is been tough, just with our schedule. We’ve been gone so much, so I haven’t seen my family much over the last month really, so try to cherish the moments we do get, but yeah, it’s fun. They keep me on my toes.

05:51 Your kids were here?

05:53 Yeah, this was a late one, too, but that’s why they were here so late because, about to be gone again. And then it’s just so much going on, so I was happy they was here.

06:09 Hello Draymond, talk about your kids. What do you want you to show your kids tonight, especially the game, competing against the championship team?

06:20 Just try to show them what I always do, that you must work hard. That’s a non-negotiable. If you’re competing, you gotta compete at the highest level and no matter what you always do, what you gotta do to try to win and whatever it is in life that you’re doing.

06:46 Dre, OKC 21 and one. I mean, you talked about how much you respect them. I know it might be a little early for this, but the chatter’s gonna start about can they get to where you guys were a few years back and, you know, what great teams look like. Do you, could you see them getting to that level?

07:03 It’s hard, man, but I do think they’re capable. You just need so many things to go right, though. Health, which they kind of plowed right through health. It really don’t matter. It seems you need a lot of breaks, though, to go your way, but they’re on the right track. And like I said, they’re more than capable. I think 73 wins took some years off my life. It’s hard, but like I said, they’re capable of a lot.

07:39 How cool is it having your kid down there on the bench tonight? Does that change anything for you or just, it seemed like you did a great job getting you guys towels and all that during the game?

07:47 Yeah. Yeah, it’s cool. If anything, it makes me shut my mouth on the bench. If I was gonna say something, it keeps me in check. I know he’s watching, but it was cool. He came up to me after the game, can I, can you introduce me to Chet Holmgren? I went and introduced him to Chet. Chet was nice. I really appreciate that. Like I said, anytime you give them those experiences that, quite honestly, money can’t buy, I’m always forever grateful.

08:19 We’ve been talking about when De’Anthony is back, that will change things. You don’t want to overstate it, but –?

08:27 No, don’t put that pressure on him. We gotta play better.

08:29 But, okay, what does De’Anthony Melton change about things when he’s, when he is back?

08:36 I think we know he shoots the ball at a very hot clip. He’s a really good defender. He’s a great secondary ball handler for us, in his time with us, but, like I said, I don’t want to put a bunch of pressure on him. I think, I’ve never said this, but I think Dennis Schroder was probably put in one of the worst positions a player can be put in. It’s not that Dennis Schroder couldn’t work here, but we were so desperate that it was almost like everyone expected him to come in and be the savior, so he never got a fair shot. And in turn then he got traded and the rest is history. But here in San Francisco, we never truly got to see the player that Dennis Schroder really is because there was just so much thrown at him that, if I’m honest, it wasn’t quite right. But it’s just what it was and it wasn’t like it was one person saying, Hey, like it was everybody. There’s a standard here to win and when you’re not doing that, everybody’s looking for that next thing to make that happen. And so I said all that say, I don’t want to see that happen to Melt, where a) the guy’s coming back off an ACL injury, that takes time. Even once he get back out there, you gotta get a rhythm, you gotta get unafraid. There’s just so much that has to go on in that process of returning back to the player that you are that I don’t want to see him get thrown in this fire of, Oh man, he gotta save the day and it’s on him. No, that’s unfair to him. And his salary doesn’t say that he should be the guy that does that. What he should be is the guy that comes and contributes in the way that he can and we have to be patient with that. And all of us around him gotta do what we have to do in order to help this team win so that type of pressure isn’t on him.

10:32 Perfect. Thank you. Appreciate that. Thank you.

10:34 No doubt.

00:00 Just wondering what y’all know about Jimmy at this point?

00:03 Hurt his knee.

00:03 Which knee?

00:04 Left knee.

00:05 STEVE KERR, POSTGAME OKC-GSW: Left knee. I don’t know anything more.

00:08 Did you, I mean, I know you guys were down 19 at the half. Did it feel precautionary to not have him come out or was it like–?

00:14 I didn’t, I didn’t even know until I got out there and I was drawing up the play with a minute to go and somebody came in the huddle, said Jimmy’s down in the training room. So, and then Rick (Celebrini) told me a few minutes later that Jimmy was, that he was gonna be out the rest of the half.

00:30 Steve, the 44 point third quarter, obviously without Steph, without Jimmy, what was happening there? Was it movement? Was it shot making? What was the highlight of that 44 point third quarter?

00:42 The energy, the competitive spirit was right. It wasn’t right in the first half. I think we had an attitude adjustment of getting into the fight and then both BP and Pat just playing the high pick and roll games, we had the floor space and we forced some turnovers. It was a fantastic quarter and I think it showed that we can play with that kind of pace and energy and taking care of the ball and that’s what it has to look like more often. And I’m confident that it will.

01:22 Steve, you said repeatedly the last couple days, you wouldn’t hesitate to use Seth.

01:26 That what?

01:27 That you wouldn’t hesitate to use Seth. What does it say about him that first game of the year? Not a lot of practice time in the last few days and boom, he rolls out of bed and hits–?

01:37 Well, he comes from the greatest shooting family in the history of basketball, so he’s a pro. The guy’s been around for a long time and he’s helped win a lot of games for a lot of teams. And he kept himself ready and he just knows how to play. He’s in the right place at the right time. He doesn’t turn it over. He’s a good passer and he fights defensively. It’s great to have him.

02:06 That three man combination of Pat, Buddy and Seth probably wasn’t one that you had in mind. What allowed that trio work?

02:16 Well, Pat, Pat’s pick and roll game was incredible tonight and, second half, we played faster. We were able to spread the floor and just get into a lot of high highball screens and Pat was getting downhill getting into the paint and when he wasn’t making his mid-range shot, he was moving the ball along. And once you get a paint touch like that, the defense has to react and, as I said, I thought BP did the same thing. Both guys really played great games and created a lot for others and obviously we played faster in the second half, spread the floor more and got a good rhythm going. Just couldn’t close the game.

03:01 I was just kind of wondering how, maybe the thought process and how you land on a specific closing lineup on a night like tonight where your two stars are out. You got kind of random guys chipping in. You have a big comeback with a lot of your bench guys. I guess, why did you go with the lineup you went with?

03:16 You just go on with the guys who have really played the best and you feel good about and we stayed with Gary because he’s our best on ball defender. Buddy is also better defensively than given credit for and we wanted him on the ball and we wanted his floor spacing. He got a good look late. He was mad at himself for not knocking it down, that corner shot, but Buddy’s a great shooter and so we were just going with the guys that we felt gave us the best chance.

03:54 As you mentioned, Podz had been playing well, but did you think about keeping Spencer in there to close? I think you took him out with three something left. He was going obviously very well.

04:03 Yeah.

04:04 Was that a consideration?

04:05 It was a consideration, but we wanted to get Brandin back in the game because he was also playing at a high level and Pat had been out there for a while and just felt a good time to sub. We have played them together a little bit that was discussed in the huddle, but we decided to go with the group that we went with.

04:26 We’ve been talking about a lot, you’re gonna have a lot of guards very soon, a lot of guys to put in the rotation. That’s not gonna be easy, but given what Spencer has done what he did tonight, is he a guy that you have to look at, like maybe find some more minutes for this guy?

04:41 Well, Pat is, Pat’s just awesome. He’s such a pro, such a competitor and the fact that he can play any role, he’s the same guy every day, whether he plays, 21 minutes or zero. And he’s a really good downhill pick and roll player, which is a powerful force that you need that type of action, especially in the modern game with the floor spacing. And he’s a good passer, so I could tell you, yeah, I’d love to get him more minutes. We also have Melt coming back, hopefully on this trip. Pat’s also on a two-way, so he’s limited to (50) games, so we may have to, once Steph is back and we have Melt, we may have to give him some nights off because he’s got a 50 game limit, so there’s a lot at play here, but Pat’s a, he’s an NBA player. He belongs on our roster full-time.

05:45 I guess just to kind of follow, you touched on a little bit with Pat’s 50 game limit, just how much discussion has there been up to this point on how to use those games?

05:52 Well, we haven’t even had the luxury to not have him active through 22 games, so it hasn’t even been a question, but now it will be a question with, once Melt and Steph are back. We do have to ask that question.

06:12 This was Draymond’s– hi, Steve– Draymond’s 900th regular season game in his career and for a second round pick, reaching this milestone, how do you describe, gosh, the mark he’s made on this franchise and the longevity he’s had, playing in a position where he’s understanding–?

06:29 Draymond is just incredible. He struggled in the first half and he’s such an emotional player, which is what drives him, that passion, that emotion, and the game just did not go his way in the first half. And I was just so proud of him for fighting through that and then having a great second half, even after picking up those fouls, to sit for a while and come back and play a great fourth quarter. Guy’s the ultimate champion and we ride with his emotion and sometimes it gets the best of him, but more often than not, he’s just a, he’s just a winner. He’s just a championship player and somebody who our guys feed off of. And I thought he was brilliant in the second half, after his first half struggles,

07:28 Steve, after Pat gave you guys a one point lead inside five minutes, they went on the 18-5 run. Was, it a matter of what they were doing? Did they just find out gear or did you guys, do you think you guys ran out of gas a little bit?

07:38 I didn’t feel we ran out of gas. I mean, they’re 21-1 for a reason. Shai’s the MVP for a reason. He hits, he goes 5-for-6 from three. the step back at the top of the circle was a huge shot, and it’s one you kind of have to live with, you don’t want him getting to the rim, obviously. And, they made big shots. I think Isaiah Joe made a corner three, jalen Williams made a big shot, so you give them credit. They’re the NBA champs for a reason.

08:14 Hey Steve, what from that comeback do you want to see carry over as you get ready for this road trip?

08:21 The energy, the competitive fight, the ball movement, the ball security. The second half, I think we had four turnovers and despite playing at that pace and defending like we did, so shots are gonna go in, shots are gonna miss, but you can be consistent taking care of the ball and consistent with your effort and energy and that’s what we’re looking for on a consistent basis.

08:51 Steph gonna make the trip?

08:52 Steph will not make the trip. He’s gonna stay home. It was a long shot for him to play in the back to back and we don’t play again until Friday, so it just makes perfect sense for him to stay home with Rick, get the rehab done here, get his work in and hopefully be ready for Minnesota next Friday, yeah. Thanks a lot.

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