Willie Green postgame interview following the 106-104 loss to the Houston Rockets at Smoothie King Center on December 23, 2023.
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00:00 Give Houston credit coming in our building on a back to back and
00:04 beating us on our home floor.
00:07 They're a tougher team than we are right now.
00:10 It's something that they're really good at.
00:15 We saw that coming in that you gotta force the issue with transition.
00:19 We didn't do a great job of executing when we had transition opportunities, but
00:23 it came down to our ability to execute at the end of the game,
00:28 much like it was when we were in Houston.
00:30 >> The biggest thing is the turnovers.
00:31 The last three minutes of the game, I believe we had three turnovers.
00:34 Zion dribbles one off his foot, pass to JRE, CJ passes Zion.
00:42 And the same thing I told our guys, I'm not saying anything different here.
00:47 We watched it today.
00:50 We looked at our clutch time execution and we're 30th and
00:55 taking care of the basketball and that has to be better.
00:58 And tonight was much of the same.
01:00 Until we learn that, it's gonna be tough for us to win these games.
01:04 Like you said, they're a good defensive team.
01:07 So they're gonna have their hands on you.
01:09 They can switch, they got like sized guys on the floor that can red screen,
01:15 switch screens.
01:17 And so it comes down to executing with force, with patience,
01:22 making sure you set screens, dive and getting a quality look every time down
01:26 the floor.
01:26 That's how you're able to go down the stretch and beat a team like that.
01:30 I don't know if they're the most difficult opponent, but
01:32 they present challenges for sure with their defense.
01:34 And you got Brooks and Smith and all those guys, give them credit.
01:39 I don't wanna continue to go down a list, but give them credit.
01:42 They did what they needed to do to win.
01:44 They were more physical team.
01:46 In my opinion, they were more mentally tough down the stretch.
01:49 And our guys, this is a growth moment for us.
01:52 We have to learn from this.
01:54 We will learn from this.
01:55 We'll continue to get better.
01:56 And at the same time, we have to be honest about where we are.
02:00 We gotta take care of the ball and
02:01 we have to make free throws down the stretch of games.
02:03 He just kicked our butts, to be honest with you.
02:07 He got 17 free throws, so his gamesmanship is off the charts.
02:14 You throw a two minute post and he makes solid plays.
02:18 He just makes a simple play.
02:20 He's a great passer.
02:21 He has that spin move where if you're not careful, he can spin.
02:26 And he took over in the fourth quarter.
02:28 They played through him.
02:29 We didn't have a great answer for him.
02:32 But like I said, these are moments where we have to feel it.
02:38 We have to be honest with each other and we'll improve and get better.
02:42 >> Coach, Herb didn't see any time in the fourth quarter.
02:44 Was there something that you saw in the matchup that you didn't think he'd be
02:47 effective in or just going to something different there?
02:50 >> We like the group that we had on the floor,
02:53 tried to go a bit bigger against Shin Goon with JRE,
02:59 especially with Jonas being in foul trouble.
03:01 Trying to have spacing on the floor for Z, B, I, with Trey and CJ.
03:06 So that was the thought behind it.