Suns 136, Clippers 130
Q. Norm, where are you right now in the freshness of the season being where it is?
NORMAN POWELL: Frustrated. Worked really hard to secure our spot in the Playoffs with everything that we faced as a team throughout the course of the season, trying to find rhythm, trying to find the chemistry, trying to find some flow within the team with the injuries and everything.
Just frustrated with the results. Felt like we kind of let that slip out of our hands. Then the scrap and the fight, the dig and dog that we had to do to make it a game late. It definitely stings with the outcome.
Q. You've been with Kawhi before on another team. Going through what he went through, how do you plan on keeping him encouraged going into the off-season?
NORMAN POWELL: I don't got to keep Kawhi encouraged. He's a diligent guy with his body, working on his game. I know he's frustrated dealing with the injury. Just tough, man. Just tough. Carrying us in those first two games, no one wants to see him go out like that. You're looking forward to him being back in the post-season, playing, helping us, trying to achieve what we want to achieve every single year.
I know it's frustrating for him, but I know he's going to do whatever it takes to get him back right and get on the court and prepare for his return.
I don't have to encourage him. He's self-motivated. He's one of the best. He doesn't need no encouragement from me. I'm just looking forward to continuing to work with him, continuing to pick his brain, continuing to learn and grow my game in the off-season working with him. That's what I'm looking forward to now.
Season is over with. Now it's just regroup and improve.
Q. You've been on some teams in Toronto that couldn't get over the hump, then there's a breakthrough. This franchise has been living through that year after year. What do you think it will have to take to have that moment?
NORMAN POWELL: Everybody being healthy, man, honestly. That's the biggest thing. Want to be fully healthy so you can see what you need. It's kind of tough when unfortunate injuries happen and you got to next man up, guys doing everything they can to fill that void of your superstars when they go down. I think the biggest thing is health.
In those teams when we couldn't break through, we had a full healthy team. We could figure out what happened this series, who do we need to bring in, what improvements we need to make, whether that was internally or free agency or trades, whatever it was. It was tough.
This group, even before I got here, haven't had that togetherness and health to make a deep run and see what happens. I believe Kawhi went out in the Western Conference Finals when the team was good. It's really just health, it all coming together at the right time.
Q. Dumb question, but what can you do to retain your health? Sage? Good luck charms?
NORMAN POWELL: I sage myself in my house every single night.
Spiritually I think we're good. But just continue to be diligent in your approach and your everyday preparation. It's tough, man. I mean, P.G. goes out with a hyperextension from a blockout trying to get a rebound. You can't really control that. I don't know when Kawhi got hurt, what happened. I know he tried to play through in Game 2. It's just tough.
You just got to stay with it, man, stay positive and continue to work and continue to do everything to get your body in tip-top shape so you can withstand the course of the season.
But it's tough, man. Unfortunate injuries, guys running into some of the things you can't control. What you can control is what you have to do. I think all of us is doing that. We don't want to go out with an injury. We do whatever it takes to stay healthy and get back as soon as possible.
Q. Without your two top players, all the injuries, to push the Suns without Kawhi, does that make it hurt more?
NORMAN POWELL: Yeah, I mean, you go back and look at the film, we had substantial leads. It's tough. You're trying to sustain that energy. They got Hall of Fame, future Hall of Fame players, top players in the league, superstars. They make it tough on you.
You can't take your foot off the gas, can't have too many lapses, breakdowns, they make you play. Turnovers especially in transition, Book, KD getting out, three level scorers playing in the open floor. It's tough. The turnovers. Not even just turnovers, but some bad possessions offensively kind of fueled their offense in all three games. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot a little bit.
We're out there leaving it on the floor. That's all you can ask for, honestly. Live with the results every time and just try to get better.
Q. What did you want to work on most coming into the season? What do you want to work on most heading into next season?
NORMAN POWELL: You were asking me what I worked on this season?
Q. What did you want to key in on this past season and what will you focus on next season?
NORMAN POWELL: For me, I wanted to solidify myself as one of the main guys, someone you can rely on every single night. That's my main goal. I have high expectations for myself, which is why I work so hard on my game, trying to improve. I don't take my lifestyle model understand the grind lightly. That's who I am.
Looking over the course of the season, looking over the numbers, looking at where I struggled a little bit, that's where we start. Where I need to get better offensively, defensively. A lot of film. Especially off the ball defensively.
I look at what I need to do to improve on the areas that I struggled throughout the course of the season, then just make the strengths stronger. That's my biggest thing. We'll look at the numbers and see what they look like, work on those things as soon as possible. Take a few days, then I'm right back.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports