LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS MEDIA CONFERENCE

May 25, 2021

Rick Carlisle

Press Conference

RICK CARLISLE: With regard to the release from the NBA regarding KP's situation, we have addressed it internally. We obviously accept the League's ruling/statement and other than that we have no comment on the matter other than to get ready to play Game 2.

Q. Do you know Maxi's status for tonight, and if he is able to play, will he be on any kind of restriction?

RICK CARLISLE: My expectation is that he's going to play. I have not -- I should say Casey has not talked to me about any restriction, but these situations are all ones that require communication. You got to see with your eyes during the game, et cetera, et cetera. Game 1 he did fine. Last couple days there's been some soreness, but he's been a little better each day, so I believe that he will play tonight.

Q. A follow-up about Maxi. Could you share with us what it is about his defensive skill set, his defensive acumen, that you feel like makes him your best choice in terms of matching up over the course of the game with Kawhi?

RICK CARLISLE: Well, the size, length, ability to move his feet. Those things make him a unique defender in this league. And there are very few guys that have his size, length, quickness, ability to guard multiple positions that can also protect the rim. So he's a very unique player on the defensive side of the ball, and offensively he just -- does his job extremely well this year. He's a movement guy. He makes open shots. He passes the ball. He rebounds the ball and plays the right way. So he's obviously a very valuable player for us.

Q. Today is the one-year anniversary of George Floyd's murder. Could you tell me in what way over the last year has the NBA been a catalyst for social justice?

RICK CARLISLE: Well, we have seen so many things. On the heels of that, it's been well documented, the story about the NBA head coaches mobilizing and starting Coaches for Racial Justice and all of the things that all of the head coaches have done, not only in their own markets with local restaurants and organizations, but also with the Obama Foundation on a national level, with Nobel on the national level. And everything that happened in the bubble had a real sort of -- sort of really geared toward the fight for racial justice and it was universal. It was players, coaches, support staff, owners, media, and it was really an amazing experience on that level.

You know, we went through the Jacob Blake situation in Kenosha where some games were cancelled, players got together and decided whether they were going to continue to play, all those kinds of things and out of that came an agreement with the owners to really make an emphasis from that point forward on voting rights and attacking voter suppression and to make as many NBA arenas available as voting centers as possibly. And at that point in time there were eight NBA arenas that were certified. A lot of NBA teams were getting stonewalled by their local counties to do so. But after that day going forward, when the election came in November, 22 out of 30 had been certified and there was obviously a big swing in the vote and the NBA and the NBA players had a lot to do with that, and that's tied into social justice also in a big way. So there have been many events. Our awareness as a society has increased. I wouldn't even know how many fold in terms of awareness, but I would have to say exponentially. So much good has happened, but obviously the work goes on.

Q. Got a basketball question here on Porzingis. What's your analysis so far of what have his chemistry is like with Luka and what do you see big picture of what have that tandem can become?

RICK CARLISLE: I see it constantly evolving in a positive way. The bottom line is, the more they have been on the court together, the more their chemistry is enhanced. And so -- and then heading into Game 2, which will really be, if you count the three games KP played last year, this will be, I think their fifth playoff game together. You know, it's going to keep building from here.

Q. The last two years this team's been one of the best teams in the league at protecting the basketball as far as turnovers per possession. That's despite the fact that everyone knows who has the ball in their hands all game in Luka. Like how have you been able to foster that kind of offensive structure over the last couple years where even though you know Luka's going to have the ball as much, the whole team does a great job of just not turning the ball over?

RICK CARLISLE: It's an emphasis of ours. Our two guards, Luka and Jalen Brunson both are experienced. They both understand the value of ball security and they both have a natural tendency to do that well. We have been fortunate. I've been here many, many years and for the most part we have had teams that take very good care of the ball. Tonight will be an enhanced challenge, beginning of the Game 2, their intensity level will be picked up for sure, their physicality will be picked up for sure, and we're going to have to have really great offensive energy and intensity and recognition to make sure that we can take care of the ball the way we need to.