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NBA ALL-STAR WEEKEND 2019February 17, 2019Michael MaloneMike BudenholzerCharlotte, North Carolina Team LeBron - 178, Team Giannis - 164 Q. Coach Malone, when you see LeBron after when you worked with him in Cleveland, after all this time kind of doing some of the things he does on the court, what do you feel? What do you think about? MICHAEL MALONE: I feel really fortunate that he's on our team. I was with LeBron for five years many years ago. I've always stayed in touch, have a great relationship. So for me, that was probably one of the best parts of this weekend was reuniting with guys that I've coached, like LeBron and Klay, and getting to know some players that I've never been around before, and spending time with Bud and his staff. This was a hell of a weekend. The game tonight obviously was the icing on the cake, the comeback in the second half. LeBron is the greatest player in the world, and he can do anything out there, and he makes all of his teammates better. Tonight was just another example of that. Q. Was it fun coaching against Joker? And was he running his mouth a little bit? MICHAEL MALONE: You know, I think it was probably better that he played for Bud. Got some good coaching from Bud. But I was just so happy to see him out there, see him relaxed, having fun. That's who Nikola is. So I think everybody got a chance to see Nikola's true personality. He was guarding LeBron at one point, and I called for the iso, and LeBron scored. I don't think Nikola liked that very much. The best part about that is that Nikola is now seen as an All-Star. He's played in his first All-Star Game, I think the first of many, and now we have work to do. We have 25 games to go. So now it's about getting home and getting ready. Q. For Coach Bud is the question: Even though you lost, in the back of your mind, you have a little bit of joy because, when Giannis misses something, he plays harder, and I mean for the rest of the season. MIKE BUDENHOLZER: No doubt that Giannis will be ready for the last 25. He was pretty special tonight. I think he enjoyed it. It was great for him and all his teammates with his group. He's a joy to work with all weekend. Like Mike said about LeBron, I'm happy he's on our team when we go back home. Q. Coach Bud, you coached Kemba, and with this being his hometown, can you just talk about the moments you had with him this weekend and what you've seen in his game? MIKE BUDENHOLZER: It's so great for Kemba to be a starter here in his hometown of Charlotte, what he's done for this organization. He's a great competitor. He's got a great spirit. Being around him all weekend, you get to see and feel that spirit. He's just a guy you want to be around and you have on your team. Just really happy for him and how his game and his career has grown. Q. In the regular season and even in the playoffs, can this type of setup work when both coaches are coming in doing a presser together? MICHAEL MALONE: I'm going to let Bud take that. We haven't made the playoffs, so I can't speak to that. I'll let the experienced coach take that one. MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Probably not a good idea. We could try it, though. Q. Coach Bud, talk about this is your second time coaching in the All-Star Game. Compare the experiences and how much you enjoy it. You know, which one you enjoyed more? MIKE BUDENHOLZER: I didn't enjoy one over the other. It's just such a special weekend. It's a celebration of the sport. You feel honored to be here. I know I said it the last time, I said, I don't know that I'll ever do this again. So I really want to enjoy it. And I am kind of saying the same thing to myself, you don't know if you are going to get these moments again. Just feel incredibly fortunate to have done it twice now. If it comes again, I'll do my best to enjoy it again. Q. Coach Malone, how were you able to convince your team to play that smothering defense in the second half? MICHAEL MALONE: It was a rousing halftime speech. What really happened was, I was in the coaches' locker room, and LeBron asked if the team could go out and watch the J. Cole concert, and I said, listen, I'll let you go watch the concert if you promise to get your ass back in transition. LeBron made my words known, they watched the concert, and they came out and played great. Honestly, I thought the key to the game was that second group that was out there - Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, Klay Thompson, Ben Simmons. Those guys just played with tremendous pace, and we started making shots, and the game turned. The best part of that for me watching it was how excited the guys on the bench were. Just like in the first half with Coach Bud's team, when they had it going, the whole bench was in the game. And seeing the best players in the world happy for each other and celebrating for each other, that's great to see. So it was a lot of fun, and just happy to be a very small part of the weekend. Q. I'm thinking specifically of guys like Paul George, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, but what do you guys think of the depth at that wing position right now in the league and where it is? MIKE BUDENHOLZER: The wing is stacked. Every night you feel like you've got a tough matchup. With the size and athleticism of those guys, they're just tough covers. They can do so many different things, they can handle, they can post-up, set screens in pick-and-roll, be the ball handler in pick-and-roll, just do so many different things. A lot of them are impacting the game defensively, too. A lot of two-way players at that spot. Every night you feel like it's a tough one at that spot. MIKE MALONE: I agree with Bud. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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