Celtics 108, Wizards 96
Q. JP, I know you guys were looking for a better defensive effort. It seemed like you got that. How pleased were you with the performance on defense?
JORDAN POOLE: I think we did a really good job today. Obviously that's a really good team over there, just finding ways to stay connected and just keep fighting down to the wire.
Q. What has stood out to you about Malcolm Brogdon so far, especially tonight? He had a good game.
JORDAN POOLE: Yeah, really excited to have Malcolm back. He is a vet. He's played high-level basketball before. It's just really good being out there on the court playing with him. He's able to get into the paint. He's able to make plays, strong defender. Really good at controlling the pace. Just using his experience, knowing where to drive, knowing where to kick. I think he's a really good piece for us.
Q. In what areas did you feel like the team made gains today?
JORDAN POOLE: Just staying connected throughout the course of the game. Obviously they're a really good offensive team, good team in general. They get up the most threes in the league, so just staying engaged, staying focused, locked into our game plan. From top to bottom, everybody who got in, just competing, competing until the end, making it a game. It was good for us tonight.
Q. What did you think of Bilal, his assignment with Jayson Tatum and the job he did defending him tonight?
JORDAN POOLE: Hell of a job. Hell of a job. I think everybody in the league knows what BC is capable of. Everybody on our team knows. He's just a really good player. Just being able to go out there, play 40, and just have the impact that he had on the defensive end, being aggressive on the offensive end, getting to the cut but also making the right plays. He's a really good player, and he's continuing to get better each and every day, and we're really thankful to have him back after missing the last game, last couple games. Always ride with BC.
Q. With the way that BK called you guys out after the Knicks game, how encouraging is it that the message was received and you guys had the performance you did today?
JORDAN POOLE: I think we know how hard Coach is going to coach us. I think we know what to expect. No one in the locker room is thrilled about losing games. We have a lot of competitors in there from top to bottom. That's just what it takes to win games, to be on a winning team, winning organization, and we're just building habits to put us there. It's a long season, and I think we're not really focused on moral victories, so just finding ways to keep building foundation, getting better offensively, getting better defensively, finding ways to stay connected, teaching the young guys, having them continue to learn but also taking every game seriously and using that as another opportunity to grow as a team.
Q. Kyle talked yesterday about how his role within the offense has changed. It's a little bit more off ball now, less pick-and-roll, less post-ups. How have you seen him adjust to that, and what was it like seeing him have a more efficient game today?
JORDAN POOLE: Yeah, I think me and Malcolm will help him a lot just because now he can use his size and we can find him in the pocket. Obviously Kuz is going to be aggressive, and he's around more experienced guys who can put him in positions where he doesn't have to work as hard. Last year he had to work really hard to get his buckets or really try to hunt mismatches, but I think bringing Malcolm back with our new offense, just moving the ball around, him using his size to be able to get down to the paint but also being able to pick-and-pop, if he just plays off of us how he did tonight, it'll help a lot of easy looks because we're willing to get off the ball, and especially trying to get him in more ball screens with me just because they either hard hedge -- very rarely are they dropping. If somebody is guarding him, they're probably in a switch, and he can just use his size to get to the pocket. Just trying to find that balance, and want to put him in position to score and then obviously want to allow him to get his post-ups.
Q. How do you feel that you can keep the defensive performance that you had tonight consistently throughout the rest of the season?
JORDAN POOLE: What do you mean?
Q. Everybody seems to be encouraged by how defensively you guys improved tonight --
JORDAN POOLE: The team?
Q. Yes.
JORDAN POOLE: Just keep working. Just keep working. Obviously make it a focal point in practice. The coaches do a really good job of keeping us prepared, challenging us in practice. Guys got to have competitive. It's a long season, we've got to find ways to be connected. It's a process. It's not every game we're going to be the best defensive team. We've got a lot of young guys who are still learning, and it's a team effort. It's a team effort. If all the guys can individually be competitive and we can stay focused on our game plan, I think everything will kind of fall in place.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports