Hornets 129, Wizards 112
Q. How concerned are you guys about making your flight?
BRIAN KEEFE: I don't know all the details of that yet, but I'm just concerned about everybody getting home. I don't know. That one I'm not sure of, to be honest.
Q. Obviously they shot the three ball very well tonight, specifically too with LaMelo. Was that really what turned things for you guys, or was there something else that trickled down, the domino effect?
BRIAN KEEFE: It was really third quarter. Obviously they hit a ton of threes. They had some tough ones; got to give them credit for sure. But our communication was not as sharp as it has been. We were pretty good the first half. Obviously I didn't love our defense the first quarter. Second quarter, 23. But the threes, that was really at a barrage right at the beginning, and we never really shut it off. Credit to them.
Q. You mentioned you didn't like your defense for some of those LaMelo sequences. I watched a few of them over again, his threes. He was getting really open; whenever he had anyone go under a screen they were just getting stuck on the weak side of the screener. What do you think exactly went wrong?
BRIAN KEEFE: Communication stuff. They have some movement. They do some stuff that's interesting where they slip people out and then are screening. But give them credit. But just communication issues, like I said.
Q. Jamir Watkins, in the back part he's attacking the rim more last couple games. Where are you experimenting with him, not just on defense as this weird small little center sort of, but also on offense, being someone who's going to be stronger than his other matchups?
BRIAN KEEFE: We've used him at the 5. Sometimes out of necessity, but we're actually liking what we're seeing. He can play make. He has a good feel for the game. He knows how to play in the short role.
He just does a lot of positive stuff, not just defensively. He does really good stuff offensively. We're learning that he can play some of that. That's what we're learning. That's the good things about these type of -- this part of the season. You're learning about guys like that in different positions.
Q. What has stood out to you about Jaden Hardy so far?
BRIAN KEEFE: Yeah, just learning him, obviously, but can score. You can see his ability to obviously create shots on his own, make threes, get to the paint. He just has a knack for scoring. You saw that some in Dallas, too, in his career; had some good playoff games. But he can score the ball.
Q. What did they do against Bub tonight? Was it something on the defense there or did you like the process of his shots?
BRIAN KEEFE: I liked the process of his shots. I thought they upped their physicality a little bit in the third, but I liked what he was getting.
Q. Is Bilal under any sort of minutes restriction or any sort of injury issue?
BRIAN KEEFE: No. The game got a little out of hand there in the fourth. That's why those guys didn't come back.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports