Q. Even with the result last night, was there anything from the defensive side of things in the second half that you can take away positively?
BRIAN KEEFE: I like the fact that we responded. That's the takeaway; that our group wasn't happy with how they performed in the first half, and they came out and played with a bit more force and a bit more aggression. Obviously Eugene was a big help with that. Kind of changed the game a little bit, but I liked our bounceback effort in the second.
Q. How do you balance when there's the frustration of you want them to give you something, like effort or whatever, and it's just not there. Is there a balance, that, okay, do I go in the huddle and do Xs and Os, or go in the huddle and talk to them to see if they can get back on track?
BRIAN KEEFE: I think you're always just feeling the team, what they need in the moment. Last night we needed to figure out how to get ourselves more and better collected as a unit. I think we did that more in the first half. I am that's just a feel.
Q. What did you like from Adjiva, I know you can probably talk ad nauseam about what he brings, but that instant impact that no matter how much he plays, he always seems to just be able to do it every single time.
BRIAN KEEFE: I think the fact, you answer kind of answered. He's always ready. He's gone down to the Go-Go, which we have talked about how that has been a great stepping point for a lot of our players in terms of their development. But when his number is called, and it could be sometimes random, he always comes out and produces.
Q. Once you looked at the film, how did Jordan produce in his new role?
BRIAN KEEFE: I like I said the fact that he was aggressive. He definitely had the ball in his hands more. As we grow, this is going to be helpful for him and I think he's going to see opportunities and things he probably didn't see as much before, and I think it was a good starting point.
Q. As humans, we all handle change differently. So now he's got another opportunity at this. How do you think he responds? Because he might have came off the bench but, he still had starter's minutes.
BRIAN KEEFE: Like I said, Jordan has been one of the most professional people I've ever been around. It's been a joy to watch how he works on his craft, and when you talk about the decision to make this change, he handled it like he's handled everything all year.
I have great faith in Jordan and how he carries himself on a day-to-day basis. He's a good example or a lot of our players.
Q. In Denver last night, from my location, when you called that quick time-out, it was you pretty much communicating to the group the whole time. You're different in that way where if you see something right away, you call a time-out instead of holding it. Is that the way you think about coaching? How do you determine when it's time to address something?
BRIAN KEEFE: I think that's just one of the messages when I first started -- when I first took over and talked to the team that we were just going to be direct and honest with each other. That is how we were going to get better, and then we were going to have honest conversations when things were not going as well as they should have or when they are going positive. We just address things head on and we just move forward.
Q. I apologize if you've already answered this.
BRIAN KEEFE: Sure.
Q. You were an assistant coach for a long time here. What's it like being back now as a head coach?
BRIAN KEEFE: Haven't overly thought about it but have, now that you have asked, obviously a lot of great, offensive end memories being here. This is a place -- one of the starting places of my career. The team moved from Seattle and I came from Seattle with the team. So saw how this place grew. Obviously had a chance to work with some great people and get a chance to coach some really great players.
Q. Now with Will, Michael, yourself there, there's a lot of people with sort of Thunder ties. What's it like reuniting with them and working alongside them as you guys try to build this up?
BRIAN KEEFE: It's been great. Obviously I know those guys really well. Worked with them a long time here myself. We're trying to build it the right way, and those guys have a great vision, and my job is to execute that for the team going forward.
Q. Showing support for Jordan as he's going through that, how valuable is that as opposed to just X&O philosophy?
BRIAN KEEFE: Our teammates, that's what we always talk about. We have to do this as a group. We support each other as a group and we support people when decisions are made and we celebrate things. I'm in constant conversations with all of our players. I think that's a big thing that we believe in is that our organization wants to help our guys and put them in the best positions to be successful and there's obviously a human part to take care of that stuff when that kind of stuff arises.
Q. Tyus continues to be consistent from start to finish, and also quite efficient with his scoring and does it in a low-key way.
BRIAN KEEFE: Yeah, he's obviously our floor leader when he's on the court. He has a great control and command of the game. I may not have give a lot of trust in him to run our offense, and he makes great decisions and we are going to continue to ask him to do that.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports