Mavericks 137, Wizards 101
Q. Marvin, first start of the season tonight. Talk about the professionalism to be regulated to the bench most of the time but being thrown into the starting lineup?
MARVIN BAGLEY: Yeah, just staying ready. I give all the glory to God. I wouldn't even be sitting here if it wasn't for Him. Just trusting His path for me, whatever I don't see, I don't understand, I don't get. Just trusting the Lord and His path for me. That's what keeps me going every day, keeps me strong, keeps me doing my job, getting my work in, being a good teammate.
No matter what is going on, whether I don't play or whether I'm starting, whatever the case, that don't change for me. I just try to help do my part and help the team win games and do whatever I can to help the team in positive ways.
Q. What do you think about the way that you were able to seize the opportunities that you were given tonight?
MARVIN BAGLEY: Staying ready, man. Like, you never know when you're number's going to be called. This is the NBA. I've been through every situation in my career, starting games, coming off the bench, DNPs, injuries. I've seen every aspect of it.
At this point in my career, in life, it's all about controlling what I can control. That's how I prepare, how I stay ready, how I cheer my teammates on, how I just try to bring good energy every day. Every time I step out on the floor, play my hardest, don't take it for granted.
I give all the success, everything I do well, I give it all to honor the Lord.
Q. With you way you guys played tonight, lately, what areas do you think you need to improve the most in the short-term?
MARVIN BAGLEY: It's hard to say now with the emotions of the game. I got to go back and watch for this game specifically.
Just got to stick together. Just go to stay with it, man. We talked about this before the season even started. There's going to be times like this where we're going to have to go through tough points during the season. It's about how we respond, how we bounce back. We've hit that point now.
We got to make a decision on who we going to be, coming together and fight our way out of this. That's really the only way. Nobody's going to come save us. Nobody's going to help us but ourselves as a group. That's what's going to get us out of this tough stint we're in.
Q. Marvin, you were 2-3 from the three-point line. Talk about the work you did in the summer on your three-ball game.
MARVIN BAGLEY: Yeah, man, that's pretty much a majority of what I worked on this summer. Just shooting it. I've always had the confidence to shoot. Just continuing to work on that.
The game is evolving. Bigs got to be able to shoot, space the floor. That's something that I work on just to get it to where it's second nature, I can just let it fly, shoot it with confidence every time. No matter if I miss or make it, just know if it's an open shot, shoot it and live with the result.
Q. You tend to play with a lot of energy. Is that something that comes natural to you?
MARVIN BAGLEY: Yeah, that's me (smiling). I don't know how to explain it.
Yeah, I try to impact the game with energy. I try to impact the game with my motor. I could do a lot of things out there. The motor and energy is what's most important. It don't matter how much points I score. I don't care about that. I don't care. I just go out there and play, play hard, try to help the team, whatever that looks like game by game.
Yeah, that's just who I am. That's just what I pride myself on.
Q. Shaq is going to be performing here in March.
MARVIN BAGLEY: Shaq?
Q. Any chance you're going to be performing with him?
MARVIN BAGLEY: Probably no. Respect to Shaq, though. That's my guy (smiling). I got other things to worry about right now.
Q. Was there a Duke reunion?
MARVIN BAGLEY: Yeah, for sure. For sure. For sure. It's always good to see those guys, even though we were in different classes. It's always love and respect when we come across each other. Yeah, it's good to see those guys.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports