- Subtitles section
- At the boom mics, please raise your hand.
- We'll take first question up here in the front, third seat.
- Aaron Chaney with Ford Sports.
- Jamal was in here talking about how the offense is more read and react and just making plays off of certain sets.
- Do you think that's the beauty in your guys' offense is that anyone can cook on any given night?
- Yeah, I mean, it's equal opportunity for the most part.
- But we're going through Bigfella.
- You know what I mean?
- So Bigfella makes the right play, makes the right read.
- And he's just so smart, he's so cerebral out there, such a floor general.
- And Maul's a floor general, too.
- So if you make the right read and make the right cut or set the right screen, you're going to be open.
- And the ball moves.
- The ball finds the open man.
- The open man is the right play.
- And that's how we play the game, and it's a fun way to play.
- Second row in the center.
- Brendan Vogt, DNVR.
- Aaron, coach said you got the defensive player of the game chained tonight.
- You talked about guarding Jimmy coming into this series, said he might be the most complete player you've guarded yet.
- What did you see from that matchup tonight?
- What allowed you to be so successful?
- Well, I mean, it's really a team effort.
- I think the defensive player of the game could have gone to Michael Porter, too.
- He really stepped up on the defensive end.
- We're switching a lot.
- Everybody is helping.
- We're shrinking.
- We're stunting for the stunner.
- It's not just a one-on-one game.
- I've been saying that all week.
- It's a team effort to slow that guy down.
- Melissa, right here.
- Hey, Aaron.
- Melissa Roland, Fox Sports.
- Coach said that you don't always get the credit that you deserve.
- Obviously, you could be starring on another team, but instead, you come here.
- You're playing behind Nicola, Jamal, and taking the, obviously, challenge of guarding the best guy every single night.
- What has that process been like for you?
- And do you feel like you get the credit you deserve?
- I'm not here for the credit.
- I'm here for the wins.
- And playing with guys like the guys that are on this team is just a blessing.
- It's a beautiful opportunity to play with guys on the team that have so much talent, have so much skill, and have so much passion for the game of basketball.
- And that's what I've always loved, is to play the right way of basketball.
- And we do that here.
- And it's just, I mean, I don't care if I scored 50 or 0, as long as I'm helping impact the game, and we're winning.
- On your right.
- Your defensive, Rolando, from Israel today.
- Your defensive assignments in this playoff, people might talk about for 50 years, if you pull it off, Towns, KD, LeBron, and Jimmy Butler.
- Do you have time to reflect on this?
- Not yet.
- I'm definitely going to be sitting in my rocking chair when I'm 70, 90 years old.
- You know what I mean?
- Talking to my kids, like, yeah, back in the day, I locked these guys up.
- But it's just part of the game.
- I'm doing what my team needs me to do.
- And like I said, it's a team effort.
- It always is.
- You know, it takes five guys out there to play a complete defense.
- Oum, in the back left.
- Aaron, Oum, Young, Sagi, ESPN.
- This offense is so free-flowing.
- But at the start of the game, they clearly liked your matchup and gave you the ball.
- It was almost like you got to play bully ball.
- Did that feel like your old Orlando Magic days?
- And is that kind of just shows that this offense can adjust to anything and find any matchup, no matter who it is.
- And tonight's a perfect example of you guys winning in so many different ways.
- No, this is Denver Nugget basketball.
- We find a mismatch, we exploit it, and we keep going to it.
- I was just taking what the defense was giving me and just attacking what I felt was a mismatch.
- On your right, third aisle, third row.
- Aaron over here.
- Dan Devine, Yahoo Sports.
- Talking about taking what the defense gives you.
- Jamal Murray, first half, 18 points.
- Second half, six assists.
- Wondering what you saw from him in that regard, in terms of being able to impact the game, both with his scoring and his facilitating, what that gave you in game one.
- Loved his pace tonight.
- Just the pace that he played all night long.
- The tempo that he played at, controlling the game and controlling the flow of the game was great.
- His timely shot making and his distribution of the basketball was very important, very crucial for this win.
- All the way in the back, under the camera.
- Jake Shapiro, Denver Sports.
- Aaron, what does it take to be a good defender in this league, and how is Michael Porter Jr. advancing towards that?
- Well, you've got to want it, first and foremost.
- A lot of guys don't really care about the defensive side of the floor.
- So just effort, the want, the energy, that's where it starts.
- And then after that, it takes knowing the personnel.
- And then it takes technique.
- Oh, most definitely.
- Mike played an incredible game tonight.
- Just so well-rounded and so balanced.
- Affected the game in so many different areas.
- And he's just getting better and better on the defensive end.
- Vinny, in the middle.
- Hey, Aaron.
- Vince Guo, Yahoo Sports.
- Nicola didn't take a lot of shots, at least not until the fourth quarter, but it seemed like he played with a lot of force and physicality.
- Is that something that you've always known about him?
- Is that something that you guys feed off of?
- Is that kind of like an underrated sort of quality to his game, how physical he is and how much that can wear an opponent down?
- Oh, most definitely.
- He's a force down there.
- And he's just more athletic than people give him credit for.
- And he just has a ridiculous motor.
- He has a motor that just doesn't quit.
- So it's tough going to a guy like that.
- Third row here on the aisle.
- Alicia Jessup, Rolling Sports.
- Aaron, incredible performance tonight.
- The Nuggets have been an NBA team since 1976.
- This is the team's first game in the NBA finals.
- What did you think of the crowd?
- It was awesome.
- The crowd was super cool tonight.
- It was just like, it was beautiful.
- I took a moment during the national anthem.
- I was like, wow, this is really the NBA finals.
- And it's really, really cool.
- The crowd was in it from the start.
- Give us that extra juice.
- And they've been awesome all year.
- And they just turned it up another notch.
- Front row on your right.
- Derrick McKee, 104.3 The Fan.
- I remember you saying Christmas night was the most fun game of the year, having that conversation.
- It really did look like you guys were having fun out there.
- And I'm wondering if tonight topped that and how you felt when the game was really coming to you in the first quarter.
- Yeah, it's just an exciting brand of basketball.
- It's a lot of fun out there just to be battling with my guys.
- And yeah, winning is always fun, too.
- Was it a little bit more even fun than you expected it to be once it started rolling?
- No, I think I was pretty prepared.
- I was really excited.
- But it was very fun out there.
- Right here in the front.
- Everyone told that you have a great night in defense.
- But you had the first quarter, the first half in offensive, too.
- So when Ben go out from the ring and go to get the defense to Jokic, did you see your opportunity to make your impact in the offense tonight?
- Someone told you something, or you just see it by yourself?
- No, just taking advantage of my physicality out there.
- Yeah, like I said, just taking what the defense was giving me.
- And just trying to put my head down and get to the cup, avoid charges, and just really set the tone for our team.
- That final three.
- Mike, and then two in the back.
- Mike Singer, Denver Post.
- AG, was there a concerted effort to impose your size, given that Miami is a smaller team, and you and Mike have pretty distinct advantages with your size and strength?
- Most definitely.
- You got to play to your advantages this time of year, and I mean, all the time.
- So I was just looking to play to my advantages.
- Next question on the left side.
- Harrison Wind, DNVR.
- Aaron, you guys looked incredibly poised in that first quarter.
- Most of you haven't been to the finals before.
- Most of you haven't played on this stage.
- Why do you think you've been able to hold your poise so well tonight and throughout the entire playoffs when the lights are at their brightest?
- Well, I think it's a standard that we hold ourselves to and that we have held ourselves to all year long.
- You know, we've been building habits day in and day out.
- So you get to a game like this, the biggest stage in basketball, you know, you let your standard of play and you let your habits carry you.
- And you know, we don't want to change too much.
- We want to go back to the film and look where we can get better.
- And if we're looking to improve, I think we're in a good place.
- Last question, standing in the back.
- A bit of a two-parter.
- First of all, Aaron, Jamal had two kind of standstill dunks in the first quarter.
- What do you think about those?
- I know, I was surprised.
- I was like, whoa, my man got Vertimax.
- I did not think he was going to dunk them.
- But Jamal's like a sleepy athlete.
- He will dunk you for real.
- That was crazy.
- He was like, yeah, I'll vert.
- And then the second part, just when he's that engaged, I mean, what do you think he's kind of just proven this entire season, and this postseason specifically, coming back the way he has from the injury?
- Well,
- Blue Arrow, one of the best guards in the league, one of the best scorers in the league.
- He has a way about him.
- He has a discipline about him that when he's locked in, when he's engaged, he's up there with the best players in the world.
- Thank you.
- All right, guys.
- Thank you.
