Bulls 127, Wizards 108
Q. As a veteran, is there anything you've learned about losing streaks in your career that you can try to impart on the guys here to help them get through it?
MALCOLM BROGDON: It's all about your attitude and approach every day. I was just talking to a few guys in the locker room just telling them, we've got to believe. We've got to believe. That's something Nate McMillan used to always say with the Pacers. You've got to believe that you're going to win. You've got to believe that you're going to turn it around.
Even when we -- I think we've been coming out, we've been having good starts to games, and then a team will make a run and we'll put our heads down a little bit and we'll let it have a snowball effect on us for the next three quarters.
We've got to believe. We've got to believe that we can play good ball for four quarters and have some consistency.
Q. You said that you brought that up in the locker room after the game. Do you do that after every game? Do you say something? Is it just after specific games where you need to?
MALCOLM BROGDON: No, you pick your spots. Especially as a vet, you don't want to be a guy that gets toned out by the younger guys. You want to pick your spots and have a feel. That's really what it's about.
I'm not a vet that talks a lot or over-talks, but when something needs to be said, I'm willing to say it.
Q. When you were talking just now in the locker room, was there any one young guy you felt particularly was really glomming on to what you were saying?
MALCOLM BROGDON: No, it was -- there was just a few of us. It wasn't like a pivotal moment or anything like that. But guys are on this team sticking together. We're going to stay together. We're going to get through this, and we're going to get a win tomorrow.
Q. Who did you say -- you said the thing about keep your heads up in Indiana?
MALCOLM BROGDON: It was Nate McMillan used to say that. He used to say believe. He used to say we've got to believe.
Q. What about tonight's game or what were you seeing in the locker room postgame that made you feel like tonight was a night you wanted to speak?
MALCOLM BROGDON: In moments like this, you can get discouraged, especially in this league. There are no easy games. It's not like oh, tomorrow, at least we've got so-and-so. No, we've got the Clippers. We've got some of the best players in the world on that team. There are no easy games. There are no nights off in this league.
You've got to pick yourself up. It's really you against you out here. Of course you've got a team. Of course you've got support, you've got family, but at the end of the day, it's about you performing up to the level that you know you can play at. Everybody has to believe in themself and believe in this team. That's what the goal is.
Q. Brian was talking about how he just spoke to you guys for a couple minutes about the importance of recovery. Can you take people who don't know what an NBA player's schedule is like, for you as a veteran, what your preparation on the night of a second -- after the first game of a back-to-back looks like. What do you do to make sure you're ready for tomorrow?
MALCOLM BROGDON: Yeah, so for me, after this I'm headed home. I have a sauna at my house. I'm going to get in the sauna for about 30 minutes. I'll be in there, probably get out around, at this point, around 11:30, 11:45. I'll have eaten on the way home.
Then it's really getting in bed. I might finish watching a game, the West Coast game, but it's getting in bed by 12:00, 12:30, and then my daughters will wake me up in the morning, but it's staying off my feet tomorrow until I get to the arena, making sure I'm hydrating all day. Like I'm actually over-drinking and having a lot of electrolytes tomorrow.
But yeah, it's as much physical prep as it is mental prep on a back-to-back because you know you're going to be tired, but you have to convince yourself that you're not, that you're fresh, that you're okay, and your body will get through it if your mind can.
Q. What's one positive from today's game that you can take into tomorrow?
MALCOLM BROGDON: We got off to a good start. We've been getting off to good starts. I'm encouraged about that. I'm encouraged overall but specifically about that. We've been getting off to good starts even against good teams.
We've just got to maintain that level of play and intensity throughout the whole game.
Q. What's one thing you feel like to maintain that consistency from the first quarter, what's one thing you've got to keep that going?
MALCOLM BROGDON: I think it's getting back and stopping the ball. We knew this team today was a team that liked to get out in transition and run, and I think that's how they got going in that second quarter. We let them get out in transition, get a few buckets, and they started feeling themselves and started shooting the ball well.
Q. With Alex taking a lot of threes in every game, even though he doesn't always make a bunch, there's been some conversation about how those in-game repetitions are really valuable him to learn about what it takes to make NBA threes. What do you think you can learn from those reps? What are the things he should be picking up game after game that can help him improve?
MALCOLM BROGDON: I always tell Alex, take your time. You're not known as a shooter right now. You shoot the ball solid. You're going to get better and better. If you're out there, if you're going to pop, take your time shooting them. Don't rush. I think he's learned that. I think he's learned that he can take his time shooting the ball. He doesn't have to rush. Earlier in the season, I think you saw him rushing a few threes. He's starting to slow down and really find his touch behind the three. Then he's also learning to roll a little bit, to mix it up, to keep the defense on their toes.
Man, he's young. He's playing really well these last couple games. He's just going to keep getting better.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports