Bulls - 129, Wizards - 98
Q. Bilal, how do you guys as a team kind of react when you have games like this? Obviously it's going to be hard, but do you kind of get any lessons in terms for how to grow over the course of the season with games like this?
BILAL COULIBALY: Yeah, we've got practice tomorrow. We're going to watch film and get better. That's what we've been doing. So we'll just go out there, try to watch film, see what we did wrong, and try to not do this again.
Q. Will has had a lot of good games this season recently. Not tonight. But in general, he's had, like, a couple 30-point games, stuff like that. What kind of growth have you seen from him this season?
BILAL COULIBALY: Just plays at his pace, not getting rushed, never. Yeah, really crafty. He can handle the ball well, even though he's 6'10". Yeah, really impressive. And he's been shooting the ball well, too. Yeah, it's getting better.
Q. Bilal, I know you've been at these towards the end of the year for the last couple of years. What advice have you been giving to the younger guys about trying to stay focused and trying to finish the year strong?
BILAL COULIBALY: We've just got to get better. We'll get better as a team in the future. So it's just like be professional and, yeah, be better; that's what we've got to do.
Q. Has it gotten harder over the last couple of years since you've been here to try to just stay consistent, especially these last stretch of games, going toward the end of the year?
BILAL COULIBALY: This is my first year playing at the end of the year, but it is tough. It's tough to lose a lot of games at any points. But like I said, we've just got to get better and stay locked in.
Q. Bilal, you talked about the turnovers seem to have happened when you guys were playing in crowds on the offensive end and just with the way that they're able to get out in transition kind of compounded the shots not falling. Did it feel like that for you guys on the floor as well, too? And how do you try to alleviate some of that in real time?
BILAL COULIBALY: Yeah, for sure. We talked about it on the court, too. We just had to make the right play. It's something we were forcing stuff, and we had wide-open kickouts to what would have led to wide open 3s. But, yeah, we just were forcing stuff. And so we talked about it. We got a little better in the second half. But still gotta make some adjustments.
Q. For yourself, the 3-point shot, seems like you have a lot of confidence taking it, and you're knocking it down. Is that a testament to the work and as well to just your availability at this point of the season?
BILAL COULIBALY: Yeah, I think it's finding my rhythm and definitely the work that I put in over the course of the summer and even during the year. Yeah, just being able to play a lot more games, I just got my rhythm and, yeah, it's been falling.
Q. You came out really aggressive in this game, a couple of drives to the basket, the pull-up jumper that you hit as well the first two minutes of the game right there. How have you seen yourself grow in that department, just being a little bit more physical, trying to get downhill?
BILAL COULIBALY: Yeah, I worked a lot on that. Play with my body a little bit more, because I'm pretty tall, so I gotta play with it a little bit more. And, yeah, I think I've been doing a great job in this last part of the season to play with my body a little more, be more physical offensively and, yeah, it's working.
Q. How do you think the improvements from behind the arc have kind of opened up that game for you?
BILAL COULIBALY: Yeah, they gotta step out so I can definitely just play my game now and try getting into them a little bit, be more physical. And, yeah, it opens lanes.
Q. How do you think in what ways has the team grown this season?
BILAL COULIBALY: Like we said, we talked about players, we talked about Will Riley, we were talking about Jamir Watkins, all the rookies that have been doing a great job just staying with it, working, listening to coaches and all that, doing the right things. So I think that's part of the growth of the team.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports