Bits from Quin Snyder Interview, Part 1, 9/24

On the Jazz’s mid-season defensive turning point
We made a decision — you know, you’ve got Rudy [Gobert] and [Derrick] Fav[ors] and these guys that, they’re rim protectors. So, in some sense, the way the league is going, it’s, you know, protect the rim and take away the threes, makes them want to beat you with the mid-range two or get to the ba–what was happening to us is, we weren’t doing a good enough job containing the ball, and we just decided we needed to get more aggressive with our bigs…

Some of the guys in the West and [Victor] Oladipo in the East were big, powerful guards, and they get going downhill. So we tried to bring our bigs up and help each other more, and what we found is, you know, we had guys that still could protect the rim. And we went, started playing bigger…

This is a really interesting trend that we’re gonna see and watch, and you know, the league going to the, kind of the playmaking four — Draymond Green being the best example, right? At this point, you know, I think you also have to play to who you are, and you know, that may be who we are.

You know, I think [Trevor] Book[er]’s gonna continue to shoot the ball better. Trey [Lyles] is 19. You know, but right now, I mean, Derrick Favors is a good player. So is Rudy Gobert. So, having those guys on the court for us makes sense, and if that means that we don’t look like, you know, some of the teams that are having success right now, I think that’s OK. We just gotta maximize what we do.

Can you use your bigs but still run?
First of all, one of the challenges, I think, for our team and for me more specifically, is how to space your bigs. And the way we play offense, sometimes if you can just face a guy who’s a shooter, it’s easier. The floor is more open.

We have to space more with movement, with screens, to occupy people that way. So, that’s the first thing that we can be efficient doing.

Now, the second thing is, I think, that there’s opportunities depending on how your possession starts. If there is a made field goal, you’re inbounding the ball, there’s a certain, there’s certain opportunities you have offensively.

If there’s a mi–most obvious one is you steal the ball, right? You got numbers, you make, you know, you attack. For us, that middle ground, I think we can be better, where, you know we get the ball on a miss, and we can be more aggressive attacking. I think Alec [Burks] will help us with that, and we get our bigs running. And that’s kinda how I see it.

How do you handle conflict with a player?
I think it’s, like, “can not” or “will not.”

You know, I mean, “can not” means maybe I’m not doing as good a job as I need to do, and maybe we need to be more clear about what we’re teaching. You know, I feel like for us, it, you know, we have to teach them to understand and know what we want before we can hold them accountable.

And then once they do it, you know, th–once they understand it and are capable of doing it, that’s another level. And then beyond that is when it’s theirs. And they can do it, they’re doing it, and then they want to do it because it’s who they are, you know, and they see those nuances of the game that way.

When guys aren’t willing to do that and they’re capable of doing it, you know — I don’t think our guys, it might be just a def–it’s not, I don’t think it’s necessarily defiance. You know, “Hey, screw you. I’m not gonna do that. I’m pissed off,” whatever.

And I think you’d address that by — there’s probably a reason he’s pissed off. Maybe it’s a good one that I don’t know about. But a lot of times with our players, it’s hard to do everything the coach wants. I mean, I know didn’t and I respected my coach.

So it’s, I think there’s, you know, “will not,” you know, there’s, sometimes there’s reasons. Maybe he’s tired, you know, and I can’t ignore that. You know, and sometimes, you know, I do ignore it because I feel like even though he’s tired, he can still do that. …

It’s a fine line. At some point, there’s a level of discipline or commitment that I think a group has to have even when someone doesn’t necessarily agree with what you’re doing. You know, that’s, you may disagree and maybe there’s a better time to disagree, but in this moment, hey, go do it.

You know, you may not agree with it, but hopefully there’s enough respect there when, even when there’s disagreement, it’s like, look, not at this time. Come on. Boom. We’ll talk about it later, and maybe I can show them on — we use a lot of film, just for that exact reason. And sometimes the film’s on me. I’m like, yelling at Eli[jah Millsap] to get back, and it’s not him. You know, so [I’m wrong sometimes]. (1280)