Michael Martin
@MichaelOnSports • 4,111 subscribers
OKC Thunder beat reporter & content creator | Let's Talk Thunder on YouTube | @bball_ref Brand Ambassador | Knower of Ball | email me: [email protected]
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Jaylin Williams on how his friendship with Jared McCain came to be. “I mean, his locker is right next to mine, first off, so I can't avoid him. But he's just a good dude, like he's confident in himself, he's confident in his abilities, he's confident in his own skin. Like he's just a good dude.”
Michael Martin3,915,666 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
Most people from California aren't exactly dying to move to OKC when they've never been there before. I asked Jared McCain about sort of falling in love with his new home city. “And the city, everywhere I've gone, they're always trying to help and always trying, always, no matter what. So whether it's being able to just pay for somebody's coffee, help somebody out, give someone a picture, like whatever it is, I try and do that. I think that love just kind of all comes back around to you and that energy comes back and that allows me to fall in love with a city.”
Michael Martin657,377 Aufrufe • vor 23 Tagen
“I mean, we could sit here all day and talk about all that he’s done for the game. Guy is one of the best players to ever pick up a basketball in the history of human beings… You guys don’t need me to sit here and tell you how great of a player LeBron James is.” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on facing LeBron James in a playoff series.
Michael Martin1,611,035 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
I asked JJ Redick about this and whether or not he has also shown tape from his playing days on defense to his team. He said there has been only one time, and it was in a clip featuring LeBron James on offense with JJ defending him. “The only clip I've ever shown the team was, we were not taking charges to start the year, my first year, last year, and I wanted to get the guys incentivized to understand the importance of taking charges and using that as a means of rim protection. So I showed a clip of me taking a charge on LeBron, catching his spoon move, and it was his left elbow that went into my eye, and I got nine stitches and a concussion, but that's the one clip I've ever shown them.”
Michael Martin1,031,669 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
Jalen Williams brings some perspective to the Thunder’s rough stretch. “This is like gonna sound cocky, but the last three years we win so much that when we have a normal human stretch of losing a game or two that we shouldn’t have the world freaks out.”
Michael Martin3,214,671 Aufrufe • vor 5 Monaten
Before anyone asks, yes, it was me who forgot my question for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tonight 😭😭 I wasn't ready to get called on/didn't think it was my turn, and airballed the shot, but luckily SGA kicked it back out to me, and we got the question off and got a good answer.
Michael Martin497,508 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the Spurs defense. “They have multiple guys that are tenacious, they get into the ball, and then they have Wemby behind them, and they know that, and they do that to their strength. So obviously, a really good defense. They've been a really good defense for a year, and to score on them, it's gonna take quick decisions, smart decisions, the right decisions, you gotta be really good offensively and really sound.”
Michael Martin247,113 Aufrufe • vor 29 Tagen
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had nothing but praise for his teammates after this series. “Yeah, I'm so impressed by this group. Not to make any excuses, but they're a really good team over there, and losing Ajay and Dub the way we did in the midst of the series, you'd think it'd be a lot harder for us, but those guys never got discouraged, they played their butts off, d the reason we got to this point in the series is because of them. Supporting cast was amazing this series. Hats off to them. They were big time. I wish I was a little more myself throughout the series, give them more of a boost, more of a chance, but yeah I'm nothing but proud of my guys.”
Michael Martin183,813 Aufrufe • vor 23 Tagen
Jaylin Williams on Jared McCain. “He's such a good dude, and he can be in any situation. We can be right after we win a game, right after we lose a game, he's going to be smiling, he's going to be dancing. He's going to play Olivia Dean in the shower, and you can hear him singing, regardless of what it is. So he's just a good dude.”
Michael Martin166,423 Aufrufe • vor 23 Tagen
Are the Thunder bored with winning? Jalen Williams sure isn’t “Winning is never boring. Cause there was a time when some players on our team were getting blown out. Not gonna name names, but we lost by 70. I think a lot of guys still have that in the back of their mind.”
Michael Martin605,943 Aufrufe • vor 6 Monaten
Mark Daigneault says the “permanent sub” idea of keeping Dillon Jones at the scorers table was to counteract the speed at which Nikola Jokic was inbounding the ball and controlling the games pace. Mark felt that the officials didn’t control the pace properly and countered.
Michael Martin1,427,008 Aufrufe • vor 1 Jahr
I asked Shai Gilgeous-Alexander about instilling his younger teammates, like Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain with confidence and whether he picked up that habit or learned it from his past Clipper vets or from guys like Chris Paul on the Thunder. “I remember being a young player, it was always easier knowing that I had guys behind me that believed in me. That's what it's all about. When the best players believe in you, when people who have accomplished things believe in you, it's more of a confidence boost… I try to reverse it. Like if I were in their shoes, what would I need from me?”
Michael Martin115,892 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
Alex Caruso discusses what led to the Thunder losing to the Spurs. “Just kind of ran out of time. We weren't good enough in stretches. I think we didn't course-correct fast enough. I think there were games that were close that we ended up losing, 1 and 7 in particular, that we had chances to win in both games. We made too many mistakes.”
Michael Martin50,149 Aufrufe • vor 23 Tagen
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on his flagrant 1 foul on Austin Reaves. “I felt like he was hugged around me. I just tried to get loose, our arms got caught, unfortunate. Yeah, I didn't mean to hurt him, obviously, but it's the way it goes. I got a flagrant, it is what it is, gotta move on.” SGA also mentioned that he didn't ask the officials for clarification on why it was a flagrant because asking wouldn't have changed the ruling on the call, so he didn't care to ask.
Michael Martin92,577 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
Asked Shai Gilgeous-Alexander about JMac’s overall scoring talent when people mostly mislabel him as only a shooter. “I’m glad you said that. Jared McCain is a scorer. He’s not a 3-point shooter, he’s not, he just has an ability and a knack for putting the ball in the basket.”
Michael Martin66,274 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
Mark Daigneault didn't call his first timeout in Game 3 until around halfway through the second quarter despite some big punches thrown by the Suns. I asked Mark about that decision and deciding to stick with his guys and allowing them to figure it out on the fly. “I trust our team, and if we can't handle tough situations, then we're not gonna do very much. So we gotta be able to fight through it, and we did. Doesn't mean I'll never call a timeout. But I thought coming on the road it was good just to get a little exposure to that and have to grind through it and the guys did a great job of it today.”
Michael Martin68,386 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
Lu Dort says that he has started watching film so he can learn how to get steals like Cason Wallace. “Caso offensively and defensively I mean what he’s doing is amazing. It’s crazy to see and I’m to the point where I’m watching film to learn how to get steals like that.”
Michael Martin155,858 Aufrufe • vor 6 Monaten