Hawks 125, Wizards 111
Q. Bub, what was going right for you on the court tonight?
BUB CARRINGTON: The ball was going in the basket a few times. Teammates were finding me. I would just say the ball was moving a lot more, so I just got a little bit more opportunities to put some shots up, and they were going in today.
Q. Trade deadline has come and gone. I'm curious what you think about what people like Marcus Smart and Khris Middleton can bring to the locker room and help you acclimate to the NBA?
BUB CARRINGTON: They bring a lot of experience and just overall knowledge on the game, and then those two guys are specifically specialists in their areas, so they bring a lot of knowledge on certain things, as well. Like Marcus obviously bringing all the defensive knowledge you can think of and he's already implementing that, and then Khris just bringing winning knowledge, bringing how to score, how to attack different defenses. They are already talking us through things like that.
Q. A.J. said you guys have gotten to know each other pretty well. What do you think about his addition, A.J. Johnson?
BUB CARRINGTON: I love it. Got an American rookie for once (laughter). But no, I've known A.J. since high school. We kind of go back a little bit. He's a good guy. Obviously he'll fit right into this locker room. Obviously a good player, too. It just makes us that much better, adding him to the team.
Q. I know you guys have talked about having three rookies and how it's cool to be in it together. What do you think about adding a fourth from the same class?
BUB CARRINGTON: Yeah, like I said, I love it. It's just another person to just relate with, another person to carry Chick-Fil-a with. I would say in my opinion it's just a lot more fun, a lot better when you have more people to relate to in a newer environment.
Q. Bub, you talked about Marcus already helping out on the defensive side of things. In what ways has he already started lending his voice?
BUB CARRINGTON: Like I said, he's been -- well, I didn't have to say that. He's been in this league a long time so he's played against pretty much everyone out there, so he's bringing a lot of specific player knowledge to the team. In this game, for example, playing the Hawks, he's probably had to guard Trae Young 25 times so he's given us a little bit of knowledge on how to stop him, what are his tendencies, going right, he's more likely to do this and this and going left -- just trying to give us stuff that the coaches may not tell us.
Q. You've talked about how you want to become a two-way player. How nice is it to have someone like Marcus who brings that specific defensive skill set and that expertise?
BUB CARRINGTON: Yeah, it's amazing. It's kind of what you want, what you ask for, someone that's cool enough to know when to speak, when to give their two cents, and to know that their two cents will always be right. He's not someone that's going to steer you wrong. He's seen it all before, seen it multiple times, so it's a great piece.
Q. You were characteristically modest about your game tonight. How fulfilling is it to see that all the skill work you've been working on is accelerating some of the production that you're having on the court?
BUB CARRINGTON: It's always nice to see kind of the fruits of your labor, especially like coming into the league. Actually like after the game, Georges Niang, we've played the Cavs four times and he was on that team, I think, all four times or three out of four times before the trade. We played them earlier in the year, and their scout on me -- he was just telling me after this game, their scout on me was go under everything, force him to shoot, stuff like that, and he was telling me just now that, like, it's nice -- it takes a lot of guys a lot more time to be that confident and change scouting reports and things like that.
To hear someone that I'm not even necessarily friends with, I couldn't tell you two things about Georges Niang, but just to hear someone tell me that, that means a lot. That's nice to see, like I said, like the fruits of your labor.
Q. You made a three where you fell down at the end. It was obviously very contested. Do you practice stuff like that at all, or was that just kind of how it happened?
BUB CARRINGTON: I mean, to the extent of a late workout goofing around with your teammates, I guess. But you don't really -- that was some BS, to be honest. You don't practice that, no.
Q. What kind of growth have you seen in yourself and the team since the beginning of the season?
BUB CARRINGTON: Oh, wow, we're playing a lot more together. But that was going to come. No one knew each other on the team. We were just getting a lot more comfortable with each other. We're playing more together on both ends of the floor, like, defensively especially. We're focused more on being in help spots, not leaving guys on islands, rotating. I've seen we've made a lot of growth on that end.
Q. You guys came out, great first quarter, and you had a great attempt at a comeback in the fourth quarter, cut it down to eight. How do you take those moments in games where not only do you look like a team that can play with a basketball team like the Atlanta Hawks, but in some ways you can be better than them, surpass them. How do you take those moments and stretch them into a 48-minute game?
BUB CARRINGTON: Experience and just discipline. I would say coming with younger guys, you naturally just don't know the value of each possession. Older guys, older teams or championship teams, whatever the case may be, they value each and every possession, and sometimes we can get careless, so we're always trying to play from behind. Sometimes it helps us, but ultimately it's not going to win you basketball games. I would say that's the biggest thing is discipline.
Q. You talked about Marcus being a specialist. I'm curious if you emulate him in a mentality sort of way. Do you base yourself off guys like that?
BUB CARRINGTON: If you're asking me -- you're saying emulate. For sure. For sure. Marcus solidified himself in the league because of his approach to the game, and I think I've been here and said that before, that I would do the same.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports