Raptors 119, Wizards 104
Q. Any update on Bilal?
BRIAN KEEFE: No update yet, no, not yet.
Q. Got a chance to see some of the guys play with the Go-Go yesterday. What did you think of them, particularly A.J. and Tristan?
BRIAN KEEFE: I thought they gave us good minutes. Obviously they played yesterday, too, but I thought they came in, gave us good energy. Especially in the first half, we were more connected offensively. I thought those guys did a good job of organizing us, getting us some good shots. I was pleased with what they brought tonight for sure.
Q. You played Alex and Tristan together for a stretch there. What led to that decision and what did you see?
BRIAN KEEFE: Some of it was our rebounding was not where it should have been, and two, I wanted to see them together and how they would partner together. I actually liked their minutes. I thought we played a good little stretch there. They complement each other offensively, and I thought they could complement each other defensively, so I wanted to see what that looked like. I thought they did a good job during that little stint.
Q. Can you expand on how they complement each other?
BRIAN KEEFE: They've both got shooting ability. They both can stretch the floor. Alex can guard on the perimeter, Tristan can rim protect and vice versa, so I just wanted to see what that combination looked like, and I actually thought it was pretty good.
Q. Going back to the guys who played yesterday and got some minutes today, I know there's synergy amongst the organization, but knowing that they came in even to the season so late with you guys, be able to have an impact with the Go-Go and get through what you guys wanted to do tonight, what does that say about what you're doing and what Cody is doing in cohesion?
BRIAN KEEFE: Terrific. They've got a great -- Cody and his staff are terrific. Like we say, we're all just part of one staff. Cody was on the bench with us tonight. We're all just in this together. We're doing the same things. We have the same principles, same development plans. It's all one.
Really credit to those guys who get those guys ready to play. In a game where we had some guys go down, those guys had to step up and play tonight, so it just shows you how well connected our staffs are and how well-coached those guys are by Cody and his group. Thrilled to have all those guys play with us tonight. I thought they did a good job.
Q. I know it's a very, very small sample size for J.T., but coming in as quickly as he did and being able to be available tonight, what did you see from him in the minutes that he gave you that gives you a positive outlook for what the rest of the season could look like for him?
BRIAN KEEFE: He's got defensive versatility. He's a good offensive rebounder. He's got great size. I like the things he brings to the table intangibles-wise, his effort, his energy. He's a big wing who can really guard, and those are the guys that are really valuable in this league. I thought he did a nice job tonight.
Q. Not necessarily the result you want but did have five players in double figures again. Is that kind of putting in perspective what you'd like to see from a scoring and offensive standpoint, putting aside what you would like to see worked on from what was issues tonight?
BRIAN KEEFE: Sure, yeah. We have been really spreading the wealth of the ball. Lots of guys in double figures here recently; some games seven, eight, nine I think we had in one game. That's how we want to play: Ball movement, share it, hit the open man.
I didn't think we did that as well as we did the first game, but we had some good stretches of it. I thought A.J. and Tristan were pretty good at that in the first half, his group with Corey. A.G. was out there in that unit, too. That's how we want to play.
Q. Minus 15 in the third quarter. What happened in that stretch?
BRIAN KEEFE: Just didn't come out with the same zip that we've been having, how we finished it in the first half. They got us early, and we weren't touching the paint as much as we would have liked. They got physical with us, and we weren't getting the type of shots -- we had some open threes that we didn't make, but they weren't paint-touch threes, and then they were getting the type of shots they wanted on the other end, so that's how they opened up the game.
Q. Alex took 19 shots. What did you think about his shot selection?
BRIAN KEEFE: The threes were okay. I was okay with those. I thought he was aggressive, missed a couple chippies around the rim. Some of those were two-shot offensive rebounds, so it looked like a higher volume than maybe it really was, but I liked his aggressiveness.
Q. I know the rebounds, they had a strong advantage. However, Alex, second night in a row where he was able to have double-digit rebounding. What has shifted for him from the way he's approaching crashing the glass as often as he is versus maybe not as often as he was earlier on in the season?
BRIAN KEEFE: I think he's just getting a feel for positioning, where to be, when to go, especially offensively some of the crashing. Did he have five? I think some of those might be his own Moses Malone-type shots. If you guys don't know the NBA that well, look that up.
But he's also being able to help and recover, block his own guy out on defense. But we were poor rebounding tonight. We've got to be better. You can't win when you give up that many second-chance points. We actually did the other night, but that's very rare.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports