NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS: LAKERS vs WARRIORS

May 4, 2023

Darvin Ham

Media Conference

Warriors 127, Lakers 100

Q. What did you identify as the adjustments the Warriors made? How did you feel like you responded?

DARVIN HAM: We went out, again, we expected either a rotational change or expecting something else defensively. I think the biggest thing was the rotational change that we didn't see Gary Peyton II earlier. They started off with JaMychal, bringing Looney off the bench. We anticipated something like that.

For us, I think just our stagnation... I felt like I still have to go back and watch the game. But my gut feeling, my instincts tell to me that my eyes saw us settle a little bit, mishandle the ball some early. We were right there early on neck-and-neck. A couple possessions got away from us early.

I thought they did a good job of crowding the paint and not allowing us, trying to prevent us from playing downhill as much. That in turn affects what we do at the free-throw line.

We'll go back to the drawing board and look at different ways we can sustain what we did well, what we've done well over the course of the first two games, and look at what we can possibly do better.

Q. New series now, but you lose Game 2 in Memphis after getting back home. Is there a different sense of your team in how you will respond, how different these series are?

DARVIN HAM: No, I fully anticipate our team to respond in the right way.

Q. A.D., 11 points tonight, 11 shots, one free throw attempt. What did you make of Draymond's defense against him?

DARVIN HAM: Dray, he's going to do his work early. That's why he's a perennial all-defensive player. He's going to force tough catches. When he's on the ball, his on-ball activity is second to none. He's a good communicator.

If A is not trying to go at him, he's going into secondary action after getting the ball to A. He's great at that, whether he has to switch or talk his guy through the scenario. He's been top shelf his entire career in that regard.

Again, we got to go back and look at ways we can move A around, put him in different spacing, different actions, just try to diversify his attack.

Q. You went the entire post-season without allowing 40 in a quarter. Second and third quarter today. Where do you think your defense wasn't up to snuff tonight?

DARVIN HAM: I mean, I just think being ready from the ball leaving our shooters' hands, sprinting back in transition, getting matched up, communicating. You make one slip, you miss one assignment, they're going to make you pay.

As I mentioned before, they're probably most dangerous once they give the ball up. That's when the race starts. I mean, those guys' ability to run around on the floor, their bigs, their facilitator guys, they can blindly throw a pass and that pass is going to be connecting to Klay, Steph, Jordan, right in their spot.

They have a lot of pride, a ton of pride. They're a championship ballclub for a reason. After Game 1, we fully anticipated them to come out and throw some haymakers, which they did. Klay got off. He was seeing the ball going in early and often.

Again, we got our work cut out for us. You don't get to this point in the season by it being easy. You have to buckle down, do your homework, look at the Ws and Ls, wisdoms and lessons, look at ways you can get better from it, try not to make the same mistakes twice.

Q. I believe this is the 16th game in the post-season where the team that was at home and lost the first game came back and won the second game. What does that say about the post-season and the intensity of it?

DARVIN HAM: I mean, you come in, you shift the home-court advantage by being the road team taking Game 1. Again, you talk about different teams in this position, in the position of being down 0-1 on their home floor, and let alone the defending champs. They going to pour everything they have not to go back to the road team's home down 0-2. Just simple mathematics.

Again, we expected it to be a tough series, even though we came away with Game 1, that was a hard-fought win. We expected them to come out today guns blazing.

It shows you the guys' ability, the team's, the individual players, their ability to take their intensity and their focus up a notch when their backs are against the wall, so to speak.

Q. Klay has gotten loose here in these two games. What does Austin need to do defensively to try to limit the attempts? How big of a concern is that?

DARVIN HAM: I mean, it was a concern from the outset. Not just for Austin, for our entire ballclub, man. These guys, they shoot the three ball at an alarming rate, and their clip in which they make them is also alarming if you have to try to defend it and stop it.

Many times in transition or different actions, you tend to have a late switch or early switch. You get cross matched. No one guy is going to stop Steph Curry or Klay Thompson. It's going to take an entire defensive unit.

Again, we just have to have a next-play mentality, that energy, that effort, that urgency to make multiple efforts. Just defending through the shot clock, making sure we're not leaking out, giving them opportunities off second and third possessions due to our lack of defensive rebounding and their offensive rebounding.

It's a ton. Again, we'll go back and look at the film and see what we can control and what we can clean up.

Q. You mentioned your eyes earlier. What did your eyes see about the energy level tonight?

DARVIN HAM: I mean, the biggest thing I told them before was not to fight that sensation of contentment, complacency. I don't know if it was that.

You could tell, they came out just ready to try to secure a game, and again not go back to our place down 0-2. I thought our guys were ready to compete. We didn't have enough back to back to back to back three stops in a row, three wholesome possessions offensively in a row. You know what I'm saying? We got fragmented a little bit.

We'll go back and do our preparation process and we'll be ready to go Game 3.

Q. You got more free throw attempts in the fourth quarter. Through the first three quarters it was 10. Majority of your shots two pointers. Did you have any thoughts on the discrepancy between Games 1 and 2?

DARVIN HAM: I have zero thoughts. I get paid to coach. I'm trying to coach my ass off for my team.

Anything officials related, that's on the league to look at, try to be as fair and consistent as possible for both teams.