00:00Thank you, guys, for letting me come on a little later.
00:02Oh, your kids had school today on voting day?
00:05Yeah, they did.
00:06Oh, wow.
00:06That might be private school.
00:07I think my daughter's at school, to be honest with you.
00:09Hey, we've been talking about the Wiz a lot this week,
00:14but especially in the last few days.
00:16Just defensively, and we understand Orlando was down some players,
00:19but just defensively, Will, how much more impressive your roster is
00:24than in years past.
00:26And we get it.
00:26I mean, you've got better players on your roster,
00:28but defensively, you guys have been really, really good this year.
00:32I believe you guys are second.
00:34Is it second in the league in field goal percentage allowed?
00:36I believe so.
00:3741.8%.
00:39Very good.
00:40But just talk to us about how much.
00:41Eighth in contested shots.
00:42Yeah.
00:42Just talk about what you've been noticing on the court defensively.
00:46Yeah.
00:48I think you guys said it, like, we're becoming a defensive team,
00:51and that's something that was important for us coming out of training camp.
00:54I think you heard it from Coach Keefe and all of our players.
00:56I know we're young, but you don't have to – defense is more predicated on effort
01:02and willingness to compete, and we have a lot of size.
01:05I think we're pretty big, and we know that that's how you're going to be able
01:08to stay in basketball games.
01:10And I think the last two games we've probably seen our best efforts,
01:14our probably best full game was against Charlotte,
01:16and then last night coming out of halftime, that best quarter that we played
01:19against Orlando and probably the best half.
01:21So I think our team's starting to figure it out, starting to put it together,
01:24and it helps when you can add A.J. back into the mix and just his size
01:28and length and physicality that he's shown on the defensive end
01:31already in his first three games.
01:32So we're excited.
01:33A lot of work to do, but we're happy to be a top 10, top 15 defense,
01:37and that's kind of the goal for the rest of the year to stay there.
01:39I don't think you understand, Will.
01:41We've been doing this show for, I mean, you know, 30 years,
01:43but we've been having coaches on dating back, you know, like Flip Saunders,
01:47Randy Whitman, Helly, we had them all, okay?
01:51And they always talked about defense going to be a point of emphasis.
01:53I think I've said this to you before, and it never is.
01:56I mean, it might be, but there's no, but this is literally the first time
02:00in 25, 30 years, like, we're actually, they say it's going to be a point of emphasis,
02:05and you see dramatic, like, they're 15 points better.
02:07You know what I mean?
02:08They're markedly better on defense, so you're actually seeing it.
02:11And I believe it, you know, at the game the other day,
02:14and I see the guy's effort.
02:16I actually tweeted this, Will, and I don't know, it might be lost on you,
02:20but you, whatever, you've been here only for a few years.
02:23I know you're fully invested, but it's the first time I've gone to a game
02:25and actually cared about the score.
02:28Like, because it used to be completely opposite.
02:30It used to be I go there because I have great food.
02:32You see the guys a little bit.
02:33Get on the wood.
02:34Vodka sodas.
02:35Yeah.
02:36Now I'm like, I want to do all that, but I want to get back on the court.
02:40I don't want to miss.
02:41And I want to be sick close.
02:42You know what I'm saying?
02:43Like, it's for the very first time in a long, long time.
02:46I appreciate that.
02:47Like, we're trying to inspire the fans and play a brand of basketball
02:51that people can be proud of and show some toughness,
02:54and defense is a part of that, and that's our mindset.
02:56We know we have a lot of talented offensive players,
02:58and that's going to take some time.
03:00But I hope the joy and the passion in playing together comes through.
03:03But come down to D.C.
03:05It's a lot of entertainment.
03:06Come get the food.
03:07Come have a good vibe and bring the fans down there.
03:09But, like, we want to play basketball, too, you know?
03:11Yep.
03:11So, and the one thing I just want to say about A.J.
03:13is obviously he's blowing everybody away.
03:15Like, just his charisma, his charm, his effort, enthusiasm, all of that.
03:19And I just, I mean, he's everything that you expected.
03:22Like, there's no disappointments.
03:24I'm just, I'm kind of blown away.
03:27And I guess my question for you is, maybe what strikes me the most,
03:30beyond just, like, obviously how well-raised he is,
03:33obviously how driven he is, the talent, I mean, you'd be an idiot not to see the talent,
03:37but maybe that his comfort level, like, immediately, like, are you kidding me?
03:44Like, I know you've always been better than everybody else at other level,
03:46but now you're playing at the very highest level,
03:48and it literally looks like he's playing pickup with guys.
03:51I would say, you guys, what you're seeing is real,
03:55because we felt it when he wasn't in training camp for that week or whatever,
03:59when he sprained his ankle.
04:00The coach was just like, we miss his size and physicality,
04:03but more so, like, his professionalism and his habits
04:06and the confidence that he has as a player.
04:08So, he's the full package, like we talked about when we drafted him.
04:12Obviously, it's very, very early, but he's off to a promising start.
04:15But his mindset is he wants to find a way to compete.
04:17He wants to find a way to help the team, no matter what it is.
04:20And I think he's shown it defensively in the first three games,
04:23but offensively, just getting to the basket, using his physicality and size.
04:27And I probably thought he should have got a few more foul calls last night,
04:30but he's moving grown men at 19, and that's impressive to see he's got that mentality.
04:35But, again, it's his rookie year.
04:36There's going to be some ups, there's going to be some downs,
04:38but the approach and the human and the person that he is,
04:41we're really happy with that.
04:42Hey, we were talking about AD and how good of a start he's off to.
04:46And, of course, every Wizards fan was just concerned on Anthony Davis' health for the year
04:52because he's missed a lot of games the last few years.
04:54But, hopefully, knock on wood, this is going to be a great year for him.
04:58But we were kind of talking about all the big names that have been hurt this year so far.
05:04Would you guys, I don't even know if this is your decision or if this will be coaches,
05:08but if Anthony, if you guys are playing a back-to-back,
05:10especially when you're traveling, like going Atlanta to Oak City,
05:13would you give AD a day off just for rest?
05:16Yeah, I think it's been an unfortunate trend at the start of the season
05:19just to see so many bodies get nicked up with soft tissue injuries.
05:23So, we're always going to be smart with our players, Anthony being one of them.
05:27But no matter who it is, we're going to make sure that we're being smart with them.
05:30We have our specific metrics that they have to hit to make sure that they're capable to play.
05:35And if they hit those, they hit those.
05:36But I think we'll be smart about how we go about it moving forward.
05:39Yeah, what are those metrics?
05:40A lot of it is body functioning, making sure that they're hitting their exact testing,
05:44jump numbers, things of that nature to make sure that their body's not overly fatigued.
05:48So, a lot of it is more scientific and biomechanical.
05:51Is that in-game numbers that you guys are tracking?
05:53No, no, no, no, no, post-game, how they're feeling, reviews,
05:56and then pre-game, how they're feeling with their body,
05:58and if they're able to move and go on certain force plates, machine,
06:01things of that nature that allow people who are a lot more smart than I am
06:05to set time on and kind of make sure that our players are physically ready.
06:09But our staff, in terms of performance and how they get those guys ready every single day
06:14is high, high level, and we listen to what they say.
06:16Do they wear monitors or sweatshirts, you know, and all this high-tech stuff
06:20where you actually are monitoring their in-game, all that stuff?
06:23Yeah.
06:23Their O2 and all that?
06:24Science has really grown, and a lot of the cameras,
06:28we obviously track all of our internal practice data as well,
06:31so we have a very good feel for where guys are at and what recovery they need,
06:35so that's the good part about being in the NBA today.
06:38Should we be concerned on Alex's knee?
06:41No, no, I wouldn't be too concerned about Alex.
06:45That's more of a day-to-day than week-to-week thing.
06:47I think we got pretty lucky on that one, but again, we're going to be conservative
06:51and prioritize our players, and I think you'll see Alex back here fairly soon.
06:57Keyshawn, man, he's just been balling.
07:00Tough to guard with his size, can go out there and shoot the three.
07:04He had four in the game against Charlotte.
07:06I'm not sure how many he had last night.
07:08Hold on, how many he had last night?
07:10Oh, he had four in that game, too.
07:12So he's had eight in the last two games.
07:14Just talk about how he's been playing.
07:17Yeah, I think his confidence is growing.
07:20Obviously, you guys see the natural progression in him physically,
07:22but I think the game before that, he had 11 assists
07:26and was one of our primary playmakers getting downhill against Cleveland.
07:29So his game's evolving.
07:31His game's diverse.
07:32The thing I want to give him credit for the last couple games
07:34is defending some of the best players without fouling again
07:37and being able to stay on the floor through those moments.
07:39So he's growing.
07:40I think the coach is putting him in situations where he can make decisions
07:43and grow as a player.
07:44And defensively, when you have him, Bilal, and A.J. out there,
07:50we're long and can switch.
07:51And I think you're seeing that the last couple games as well.
07:54So the effort's going both ways, but he's put a lot of time in.
07:57So I'm happy to see him have some success early in the year.
07:59All right, Will.
08:00Always good talking to you.
08:01Catch up on your rest.
08:02Thanks, Will.
08:03Appreciate you guys.
08:03Have a good one.
08:04Talk to you.
08:04All right.
08:04Thanks, buddy.
08:05Bye-bye.
