Wizards 113, Raptors 95
Q. It seemed like a good game in terms of flashes from the young players. What stood out to you the most as the biggest positives?
BRIAN KEEFE: Our resiliency. Didn't start the game great. That didn't get us down. We continued to defend. Learned some lessons from the last game. We didn't finish the quarter well end of the second in New York and we went on a little bit of a run to finish and go up one at the half, and then I think we learned that they're going to be in the paint, and we made some really good passes in the second half, and that really opened the game up.
But the defense traveled and we stayed with the defense the whole game.
Q. What aspect of your defensive focus and momentum, especially at the end of the first half, did you like most, and how did that carry over into the second half specifically?
BRIAN KEEFE: Yeah, I thought our physicality was pretty good all game. We were pushing catches out, ball pressure, guys were active, forcing them into places we wanted them to shoot. We were pleased with our effort for sure on the defensive end.
Q. Bub seemed like he did a good job getting into the paint. What did that do for the offense?
BRIAN KEEFE: Yeah, paint attacks kind of collapsed the defense, and that was what we talked about at halftime. We made a good adjustment. He made some great plays. He got in there and sprayed it out to his teammates. He's growing every game. These are good experiences for him. He had a nice one tonight.
Q. With Ky moving into the starting lineup, what was the rationale for that, and what did you think about George's game?
BRIAN KEEFE: Just to try different units to see who was going to fit and who's going to work well together. We'll do more of that. We changed in the second half, we started Corey, so we're going to see different people out there, just to see different combinations. I thought his passing, his ability to make plays, and then obviously his shooting. So we were looking for a little bit of that tonight from him.
Q. Ky consistently seemed to make the right play. What have you seen from him so far in that regard?
BRIAN KEEFE: I think he's a good processor. He sees the court well, sees the open passes. That's one of his skill sets.
Q. How is Bub doing overall?
BRIAN KEEFE: Doing great. The guy has got tremendous spirit. The energy he brings on a day-to-day basis is contagious, a worker, and brings a lot of passion to the game. I think everybody can feel he brings a tremendous joy to our team and our organization, something that we're thrilled to have.
Q. What specifically prompted you to call the early time-out in the first half, the first quarter and in the third quarter?
BRIAN KEEFE: I have amnesia on that one.
No, we didn't get back on defense. I called it pretty quickly. They got a lay-up, and it's a standard that we have that we're just not going to allow those type of things, and I did it both halves pretty quickly, same type of plays. We've got to get back in transition, get our defense set. We addressed it and we moved on, and guys got better.
Q. That fourth quarter, only one actual turnover, second one ends up being that offensive foul. What was it about the fourth quarter that you guys were able to really lock in and not have those turnovers that we saw against New York?
BRIAN KEEFE: Didn't play in crowds. We played in the crowds even to start the game tonight, and I think we had seven for the second half, 14 in the first. We just got off and we saw two bodies, sometimes three for them. We just turned, made the right pass. That kind of opened up our threes. I thought that was great.
Q. I asked Bub after the game how he was able to read what the defense was doing that allowed him to attack the paint and get in there. When you have a player that young that has that type of IQ that can read and see where he can find his spots, what does that do for a guy, especially with the growth potential?
BRIAN KEEFE: You know, this is a guy, he's got size, too, so he can see over defenses as he starts -- these are all new reads for him, which is great. These are all new experiences. He's getting game experience and learning by the minute, and you saw the game slowed down for him tonight, saw who was open, delivered the passes, and it was a good game for Bub.
Q. Jordan seemed like he came out of the game for a bit. Is he okay?
BRIAN KEEFE: I believe he's okay but we'll probably know more in the next couple days. But he came back in and played.
Q. Kuzma started slow but picked it up as the game went on. What did you see from him?
BRIAN KEEFE: Just playing aggressive. We want him to be aggressive. This guy is a scorer. Getting downhill, putting pressure on the rim, and that second half when he started getting in there and collapsing the defense, kicking out, those are the things we want to see. We want him to be aggressive.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports